All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Wow! That's a tough one. I would need to be a little more familiar with the area but pretty much either one would work since I do both commercial and residential. Residential has less paperwork but if I'm trying to sell a property that doesn't really compare to ones it surrounds it might be more difficult. If it is surrounded by residential I would want to sell it as a residential. If it is surrounded by commercial I would want to sell it as commercial.

OK, that makes more sense now. Well, it depends on the area and what the area is typically used for. But, more importantly is the zoning. Could you do such a conversion even if you wanted to? In this situation I would contact a zoning consultant in your area to find out what your options are, then proceed from there as to finding out which option would be the best investment AND easiest to sell. One option might sell for a higher price, but if you limit your buyers to a very specific type, then you could be sitting on the market for a VERY long time paying holding costs.

Lonnie, I think the question is a little vague, that migh be why nobody has answered.

Did you say zestimate? I am assuming from Zillow. I would highly recommend NOT using Zillow as any form of tool for RI. It is not accurate and not good way to get values and comps. In my area alone, I have seen Zillow estimates off by as much as 100% of the true value of the home! I've seen people use Zillow before and get in big trouble because of the inaccuracies. You need to find a better method of getting comps.

No, you did the right thing. This guy has crook written all over him and I guarantee he is not looking out for the best interests of his clients, only for himself. Attitude goes a long way, for him, it's just the wrong way!

There are no realtor fees for the buyer at all regardless of whether or not he buys a FSBO or not. There can be some disclosure issues with FSBO's though so you need to be careful if this is going to be a home that you live in. Many FSBO transactions end up in court because of the lack of knowledge on real estate transacton. The realtor is not asking for a "good faith payment" on HIS behalf, he is asking for earnest money when you write the contract. This is a required part of the real estate transaction to show good faith to the buyer that you are going to buy their home and to put the status of said home as pending. This money does go into an escrow account and under normal situations is 1% of the purchase price. Before you go house hunting though, get a pre-approval from a bank or lender. Many selllers agents won't even look at an offer unless you have a pre-approval and they know you can buy the property. Let your agent know that you are a first time buyer and he will walk you through and explain everything in detail. DO NOT sign a buyers representation agreement. If the agent said it is required, move on to the next agent. This agreement basically locks you into using this agent no matter how good or bad he is. You want the option to be able to find a new agent if the first one you meet with doesn't work out for you.

Depending on where you are, this can be very difficult due to zoning restrictions. Also, not very practical considering not many people would want to by 1/4 of a house to live in with 3 other families.

well, before you even get to your second question your numbers don't add up to be short sale compliant from what I see. From all of my dealings with short sales the seller needs to owe more than what the home is worth. With those numbers he's showing 30K in equity. I think you also have a real hard time writing a letter of distress with another property with equity as well.

invstr,

I received your PM but I'm not sure you received my response (not showing on sentbox) so, let me know if you received it. It might be easier and quicker for you you to click on the "email" button on the bottom of my post. That will go directly to me.

The best thing I can tell you is to save some money first. It will be very difficult to find anything that you can finance with no money down. On top of that, without putting anything down your property won't cash flow and you'll be losing more money than you are making. Don't fall for any of those late night infomercials offering get rich in real estate schemes buying property with no money down. While your saving money, invest your time in researching real estate investing in places like this forum. Ask questions about items you don't already see posted. someone will have an answer, and it's a great place for advice.