Need Advice on an Investment Property that Is Not Working Out

[Bruce Harding]

I really could use some advice.  

I went in halves with a Real Estate Agent on a rental property single home that she was going to rent out for Assisted Living.

I lent money based on a lien contract.   Turns out it is a second lien  ( I don't know if there is a first one on the property).

The agent is working with REMAX who lent her the money where they make 3% interest spread and she does not have to pay them back for 5 years.   We are 1.5 years into the deal.   This is why I think I am on a second lien not a first.

She is making interest payments only on the property.

She has been unable to secure a professional tenant and is renting to a single individual at the interest only payment level so no money is being lost at the moment.

The downstairs bathroom is not finished and she does not have the money to finish it right now.

This year 2020 she switched to becoming a mortgage lender.   She has 10K coming and and two more loans in the pipeline that have not closed yet.  Her mother died so she took some time off of work and had to travel out of state to take care of her mother for a few months which hurt her income.

Her husband sells commercial insurance and has been in the industry for 30 years

She came to me asking me to take out an unsecured personal load on a Velocity Baking concept where she would put her future income going forward back into my revolving line of credit.    I have decided I am not going to do this.

Time is up on the lien and has been for 2 months.   She was paying interest on my money but does now not have enough coming in on the property to do so.

Her intention is to fix the bathroom, get another tenant and refinance the place in 6 months to pay me off.

I am wondering if I should get an attorney and sue under the lien at this point as I am not going to get a line of credit for her.

I worry putting pressure and hardship on her would inhibit positive solutions going forward and neither do I want to force her into bankruptcy.  

[Michael Plaks]

@Bruce Harding

This is not any kind of professional advice. Just a personal opinion of one guy who has heard way too many similar stories over his 25 years in business.

Separate business from personal, especially since she is not your relative or girlfriend. If your concern is not hurting her etc. - it's honorable and may even be the right thing to do, depending on your values, however then you need to be very honest with yourself that you're acting from a charitable position, not business. As in - I had some money, it is gone now, but it went to a worthy cause/person. And move on.

If you're valuing your business position in this case, then her personal challenges should not factor in. This is hers and her husband's concern, not yours. Your goal then is to minimize your losses. I'm not an attorney, so I have no idea what claims you might have to the property. If you can do it at a reasonable cost and effort, then you should probably try to gain possession of the property and either finish and operate it or, more likely, sell it and recoup what you can.

If claiming this property is not practical, then I believe that your best option is to walk away ASAP and stop the bleeding. What I have seen over and over again, in various scenarios somewhat similar to yours, is that an investor hopes against the odds that the situation will somehow get resolved amicably, meanwhile continues to plunge more money into the deal trying to keep it afloat all by himself, and the only result is ultimately losing MORE money and taking a harder emotional hit.