Title company & fees

[Rahdia Green]

Hello all, 

I'm new to investing and on my way to finding my first deal. I'm now looking for title companies to work with and my first meeting with an attorney didn't go swimmingly. As a beginner I've always been told to start with wholesale because it's the easiest and quickest way to make money and there is little to no risk. The attorney burst my bubble by telling me there will be transfer taxes I'd be responsible for specifically dealing with double closing. (something I didn't want to hear AT ALL). I'm a college student and don't have money to spend at all. Can someone explain to me if that's just in Maryland and/or just some title companies require both parties to pay that? At this point I'm just very confused about what fees I will and will not be responsible for. 

[Nancy Roth]

Rahdia, as far as I know there are no hard-and-fast rules about who pays what settlement fees. It's all subject to negotiation, as long as you stay within the regulations that apply to certain buyers, as John just said, such as first-timers (in MD) and veterans using VA loans.

Also, there is certainly no requirement that you do a double closing in MD. I don't know anyone who does that. It would just cost too much. 

I'm sorry to say, it sounds like the lawyer you spoke with didn't know enough about wholesaling to counsel you reliably. People you want to discuss this with are actually out there doing it, not sitting at their desk. So why don't you try getting out to some RE investor meetings (google it with "Maryland"--or go to Meetup.com) where you can cultivate some relationships. 

BTW, I don't want to burst your bubble either, but wholesaling is not the only way to get started in real estate. It's a bumpier path than some would have you think, and for some people it's just not the right way to go. There are soooo many great entry points into the trade, please don't confine yourself to wholesaling just because you heard it was the thing to do. 

Good luck to you.

Nancy Roth