Asking seller for Schedule E

[Kwesi S.]

Hello BP World,

So I am in the process of purchasing my first investment property that will be owner occupied. It is a mixed use property. It has 2 units and also has a store front.

My realtor (I should mention that I am a little sketchy about him) brought this property to my attention today. He told me the cost and asked me if i would want to see the property. I then asked him if the seller can provide the schedule e on the property so that I can see what the rental income and expenses are. My realtor then in turn asked me why do I want to see the schedule e?

Should I not be asking for the schedule e? I took an investment course last Friday and the instructor instructed all of us to ask for the schedule e before we decided to make an offer. He mentioned that this could be a negotiating tool to help outline your terms.

Again is the schedule e something that I should be asking for? Why would my realtor ask me why do I need this information?

[Account Closed]

Kwesi,

I always get a Schedule E. In my experience this is fairly common practice. Any seller can lie about their P & L numbers on an excel sheet. But no one is going to overstate their income and low ball their expenses to the IRS.

Your realtor is working for you. Tell him what you want and make sure he gets it done, or find a new one. Just my 2 cents.