5 Properties to Sell - I want one...

[Marc Scoleri]

Hi BP Group,

I just started working with a client who responded to a direct mail champaign that was sent to find multifamily properties off market. 

She has 5 investment properties to sell in the Naples FL area and one of them is a duplex that I'd like to purchase, rehab and buy off market and then rent as an Airbnb. A few questions came up when the seller said they wanted to sell one property a year to not get hit so hard with taxes. 

1) Is there some way to structure the duplex sale to me of less than $250,000 for my client/seller that could save them in taxes?

2) If I don't want to do a conventional loan for the purchase of the duplex and have at least 40-50k in repairs to do, what type of loan options are out there that allow remodeling as part of the loan?

3) There are current renters that are month to month in the 2 units currently paying $300-400 a month below market rate. Would you recommend having them vacate before closing? Yes or No?

Thanks for any feedback or recommendations! 

Cheers,

Marc

[Nick G.]

1. Seller financing or some version thereof might be a good option here for the seller.

2. Both FHA and Fannie/Freddie have rehab loans. Otherwise, a portfolio loan would be your next option, with hard money as you last and most expensive option.

3. Personally, I will almost always like having my own renters, not someone else's. It's just safer. That said, it's very possible you may need to honor the remainder of their leases.

As a final note, you called this person a "client," which means you owe them a fiduciary duty whereby you put their needs above your own. That can be exceedingly difficult to do in a situation where you are buying a property from someone whom you owe a fiduciary duty to. So consider exercising extreme care, or explicitly do not represent them for that property. In my state of CA at least, negligence/violations of fiduciary duty are one of the biggest drivers of lawsuits that take agents out.