All Forum Posts by: Alex Fenske

Chris Gilbert the new buyer will need to qualify based on credit & income but does not need to be a veteran. However, if they are not, then you will not be able to use your VA loan benefit again until the current loan is paid off/refinanced. If the new buyer happens to be a veteran then you get your eligibility back as soon as the sale closes. Either way you do not retain any financial responsibility for the loan after the sale, it is out of your name. Contact your current mortgage servicing company for next steps.

Find a mentor, and see if you can accomplish that by networking through people you know and trust. There are such things as bad advice, well-intended people who steer you wrong, and ill-intended people. Gaining a lot of book knowledge and not having experienced advice is a trap, and so is relying on the wrong advice; ask me how I know. A trusted mentor will be able to direct you to valid learning resources and keep you out of the woods. 

As for whether to get licensed, in many cases it can be very helpful as it has been for me. Getting licensed gave me the ability to learn the industry more rapidly and has become a very valuable tool in my toolbox. But most of the value of the license has not been in simply having it, it's been from becoming an active real estate broker. If I've participated in a few dozen deals as an investor, I've brokered hundreds, and the experience of those hundreds of transactions has taught me a great deal about how to be a more successful investor. The only reason it might not make sense is if you don't use it, because it does cost money to obtain it (about $2,500) and maintain it (another $1,500-$2,500/yr). If you're not doing deals either as an investor or a broker, the costs have no return.

With all that said, I made some dumb mistakes when I first got licensed because I thought the license meant I knew what I was doing or knew better than experienced agents. In retrospect, until I'd learned more from experience, even when I was licensed I should have still been working with an experienced agent for my investment deals.

While I have not personally invested in mobile homes, they've been hitting my desk as brokerage deals and I've been surprised to see that months of supply (the ratio between the number of available homes vs. the pace of sales) are far lower than for SFR. Based on that, if I came across a distressed/value-add opportunity in a mobile home, I'd not hesitate to flip it assuming the #s made sense.

I will echo the advice above that the transaction process and ownership considerations are different for a mobile home than for real estate, so I'd strongly recommend searching for a mentor who has experience with them.

Hi @Neal Fridrich,

You'll want to consult with your managing broker as to what they allow and how they require it to be documented, as I know that most in my area do not allow it despite it being legal with the state.

Generally speaking you'll need to document two things: 1) agency relationship(s), and  2) compensation. 

Re agency relationship(s):

You would sign an agency agreement with a) one of the parties (seller, or end-buyer), b) both of the parties with dual agency disclosure language, or c) or notice of no agency disclosures with both parties, based on whichever is most appropriate and true to the circumstances. 

Re compensation:

A compensation agreement will be needed in conjunction with one of the above agreements. Either a listing agreement with compensation, a buyer agency agreement with compensation, or compensation on either or both of the notice of no agency disclosures.

Essentially the wholesale fee becomes a commission and then is handled as such at the brokerage level. But again, check with your broker.

 Ok, not in my area but looks like some of those other meetups are in yours. Good luck and stay plugged in here!

 I don't think you can make partial payments but I might be wrong. In Cook, which works differently from every other county in the state, they publish the 1st installment bill which is due prior to the 2nd installment bill even being figured out. So you have pay 1st installment, then wait for 2nd installment to be figured out, then pay that when it comes out. Usually 2nd installment is issued around July 1 and due by Aug 1, but this year was way late due to them changing tech systems and arguing with the assessor about whose fault it was.

The only flexibility you have is something they introduced a few years ago where they're issuing the 1st installment bill prior to the end of the calendar year. That means, if you're looking for ways to shovel in income tax deductions before the end of the year, you can pay the 1st installment of the next year's bill in the current calendar year. So if I'm expecting a higher income tax liability this year than next, I can pay that installment this year; or if cash is tigher I can wait til next year.

If you're like me and you're always waiting on pins and needles to see the damage on your Cook County rental property taxes... They're available as of yesterday on the cookcountypropertyinfo dot com website. I imagine we'll be receiving the mailed bills within the next week or so.

As a reminder, you should review the 2nd installment bill to ensure the correct exemptions have been applied.

Also, typically the bill for the first installment of the next year's bill is issued in December, and is due by March 1. So you may be getting your first installment bill for 2022 taxes rather soon. The first installment is always 55% of the prior year's total, regardless of any changes in the assessed value, tax rates, exemptions, etc.

Hi Garrett, where in the Chicagoland area are you?

Hi Charlie, looks like your post came up blank - how can we help?

Hi Robert, I've dealt with a fair number of tax lien scenarios but from a different angle, working with clients to sell property when tax liens are in place or LDTR is upcoming. I have not purchased taxes or certs personally. The only advice I can really offer is that if it were my first time doing what you're doing, even as an experienced investor, I would hire the attorney. There are so many moving parts, and when the whole lien could be invalidated by one missed step, the stakes are high enough that I would feel it's worth it to pay for the guidance until I'm knowledgeable enough to do it on my own. And even then I might still retain them, the same way I do for evictions since I theoretically COULD do it myself but find it worthwhile to hire the specialist and recommit my time to other income-generating activities.