All Forum Posts by: Alexander Gill

Again speaking in general terms because not sure of the specifics to Adam's situation and also speaking from a MA perspective. The 30 day timeframe can be confusing. A notice to terminate a tenancy at will under MA law has to expire on a date the rent is due. 

The law states,"the time of such notice shall be sufficient if it is equal to the interval between the days of payment or thirty days, whichever is longer" so just as an example, if a notice to quit is served on May 15 to tenants who are required to pay on the 1st of each month then landlord would not be entitled to a judicial remedy (i.e. going to court) until at least July 1 because July 1 would be the first instance where the tenant’s rent would be due after their tenancy at will expired. 

Ultimately, I would communicate with the tenant if you have a good relationship with them to minimize any confusion around when they need to vacate. If the relationship is not so good and there is a concern over a potential eviction looming, I would first look to whatever lease exists, should there not be a lease, then to state law, and then to local ordinances to make sure notice has been properly served. If it is going down the eviction path, talking to a lawyer upfront might be a good course of action to save a lot of headaches later on. Just my further two cents.

Hi Adam,

Generally, with month to month leases the termination notice would be 30 days from the date the tenant received the termination notice. If your agreement with your tenant is 90 days, then it should be 90 days from receipt of the notice. It is usually easier to provide notice on the 1st of the month to be easier for the tenant to move out and find another apartment but it does not necessarily have to be the 1st of the month. 

A word of caution to the general statement above, NY and even the City may likely have some specific tenant friendly provisions which you may need to be aware of when providing the termination notice. Also, there may be certain protections on the time the tenant has to vacate the property. I live in Massachusetts where there are similar "tenant friendly" legal protections for different situations. None of this is legal advice, but just my experience. 

Any real estate agents or brokers had issues with a PPP lender denying their application due to SBA restrictions on the NAICS code? My lender is trying to say I do not qualify based on code 531210?

I do not read this restriction in any of the guidance produced by SBA and Treasury, and it also runs counter to NAR guidance as well. Just wondering if others have encountered this?

Thanks in advance.

I am closing on a residential property at the end of next month. I am a licensed broker in the state where I am making the purchase. Currently the transaction has hit a bit of a snag. I am running into an issue with the seller's attorney who is unfamiliar with concept of broker fee rebates towards either purchase price or towards buyer closing costs (note: will be within Fannie/Freddie percentage requirements). I explained the benefit of having the fee due as buyer's broker flow to the transaction as opposed to me personally, however the concept is something the attorney is unfamiliar with and now wants to advise her client against the concession.

Looking for assistance on specific language or advice on how explaining the in more detail to the seller's attorney. 

Thanks in advance!

I have been reading up on the benefits of investing in qualified opportunity zones. I am currently selling an investment property my partner and I have owned for awhile. My partner is not interested in expanding his real estate investments and is using this sale to cash out for upcoming retirement.. The area we own the property in has appreciated substantially from the initial purchase which made this an ideal time for him to sell. 

Without going down too much of a rabbit hole, a 1031 exchange is out of the plans because of my partner does not want to pursue this. The deed to the property is in his name, but the partnership agreement will have the sale proceeds split 50/50 between us. Thus, finally we arrive at my question, could I use the portion of the proceeds I will be receiving towards an investment in a qualified opportunity zone, assuming all other legal requirements are met (i.e. set up fund, 90% investment in the QOZ, etc.)? 

To illustrate my question using a simplified example: if the total proceeds of sale of the partnership owned property are 500K, and my subsequent share is 250K, could then leverage my amount due for capital gains of 250K to invest in a QOZ property? Again, using a very simple example which ignores depreciation recapture to make a more straightforward hypo. 

I did not come across any section of the code covering QOZs precluding this type of investment, and will talk to my CPA, but wanted to see if anyone else had come across a similar scenario. The partnership element is the wrinkle I did not come across in other posts. 

Thanks Will and Bryan.

Buyer is seeking to both back out using non-existent quotes and/or renegotiate the purchase price. Inspection report still has not been provided. I think at this point sale will fall through, but learning lesson for my former broker on scheduling/managing tenants.

I am in the process of completing the sale of a multi-family property. I accepted an offer with the standard inspection contingency. Buyer's inspector viewed the property yesterday. The buyer was at the inspection and walked down to talk to one of the existing tenants, under the pretenses of offering to keep the tenant on as a rental once the sale was completed. 

During the course of the buyer's conversation with the tenant, the tenant relayed some information about plumbing repairs recently completed. The buyer is now requesting additional plumbing work be completed to determine if there are any lingering issues. I am refusing  the additional plumbing work because the inspection report has not yet been completed, nor shown to me as justification for additional the plumbing work due to the inspection turning up a serious defect. Secondarily, the actual inspection conducted by the inspector, at least the verbal conversations relayed to me by my broker who was present during the inspection, did not find or prove any plumbing issues.

I am refusing the buyers request for the additional plumbing work, to me, the buyer agreed to provisions in the offer and is now trying to waive or get around those provisions to renegotiate the price. Buyer also is using the purchase as part of a 1031 exchange process so he is up against a deadline.

Looking for anyone who has experience or guidance on how to handle this without tanking the sale.

I requested in writing to have the PMI removed from a conventional residential mortgage loan. The loan is less than a year old. My LTV is 78.7. Per the closing documents and Freddie Mac guidelines, I made a conforming request for removal of the PMI when the LTV was at or below 80%. The lender declined the request based on the "good payment history" provision.

The guidance relative to what constitutes good payment history from Fannie/Freddie is:

"A borrower has a good payment history if the borrower: 

(1) has not made a payment that was 60 days or more past due within the first 12 months of the last 2 years prior to the later of the cancellation date, or the date that the borrower requests cancellation; or 

(2) has not made a payment that was 30 days or more past due within the 12 months prior to the later of the cancellation date or the date that the borrower requests cancellation. "

My contention to the lender is the guidance does not say the loan shall have existed for either one or two years and that there be no late payments within the time periods prescribed. It states the borrower needs  "to have made no late payments within the past 12 months". The difference in phrasing is really the source of contention. Thus because the loan has been in existence less than a year should not preclude or prevent a removal request from being granted as not having the required good payment history.  

Anyone come across this requirement, or had luck with a request for removal at 80%?

Working on my first purchase which has hit a snag.

I had an offer to purchase accepted for a condo purchase and as part of the next steps, the Sellers agent sent over the association meeting minutes and financials. The minutes were from 2018 and the last set were dated August 2018. During the August meeting the association discussed a termite issue with some of the units, one unit in particular had to be gutted and renovated which the association had to pay for. The association is multi building which are conjoined and is 180 units total.

I asked the Seller’s agent to forward the meeting minutes after August to determine what actions were taken to remediate the issue. The agent has indicated the association did not meet since August. She was going to check with the association on the next business day.

Something seems odd about this situation, wondering if and how others have dealt with a similar issues?

Thanks in advance for the advice.