All Forum Posts by: Bryan Zuetel

Hi Savannah real estate investors, I'm a real estate attorney and investor based in Southern California with properties in several locations around the nation.  I like the potential future for the Savannah market and want to continue building relationships there.  I am in escrow on a beautiful, historical fourplex in Savannah, Georgia, in the Victorian District, just over the border of the Historic District.  Do you have recommendations for potential investor partners, insurance providers, property managers, and lenders for this unique market?  Thank you.

@Kevin Brenner, what did you select for insurance?  I'm based in Southern California and invest in several different places in the nation.  I have a beautiful, historical fourplex in Savannah in escrow right now and working on insurance quotes and potential investor partners.  Thanks.

@Emily Caldwell, Is this a regular meeting?  I'm based in Southern California and own properties in several areas across the country.  Right now, I'm in escrow on a beautiful fourplex in Savannah and would like to meet Savannah investors and service providers.  Thanks.

@Account Closed

If the cancellation is exercised in good faith under the C.A.R. purchase agreement physical inspection contingency, the cancellation reason provided must be a good faith reason that the buyer has discovered during the inspection period, not an open/obvious condition, such as old/dated carpet or windows.  Can a buyer make up a reason?  Yes, of course.

@Michelle L Moore, there are six standard contingencies in the most common form purchase agreement used for California residential properties created by the California Association of Realtors.  As some have noted, yes, there is a contingency for the physical inspection of the property, but that contingency and cancellation must be exercised in good faith and cannot be exercised simply because one decides that the home is too dated.  In other words, you cannot rightfully exercise a contingency and cancel a contract for a visually obvious/open reason, such as thinking that the property now appears too dated.  However, if one discovered during a physical inspection that the home utilized dated electrical system like knob and tube wiring, one could cancel the contract.

The seller can negotiate a no-contingency purchase agreement, which could potentially enable the seller to keep the earnest money deposit if the buyer cancelled the escrow. 

@Rudy T., as the posts above have mentioned, there are pros and cons to creating an LLC to hold your investment properties in California. To answer your specific questions (but not necessarily suggesting that you should go the LLC route), the California Secretary of State actually provides a pretty good walkthrough on how to create/organize the LLC in California: http://bpd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/llc/forms/llc-1.pdf.  You will also need to consider whether you need an EIN from the IRS, a separate bank account, and insurance endorsements for the LLC.  

Your question about the 1031 exchange property is very fact-specific. However, generally, if your single-member LLC is created properly and is considered a disregarded entity for IRS and state purposes, the transfer of the 1031 replacement property into the LLC will not cause a problem for the 1031 exchange process or for capital gains consideration.

@Paul Passafiume, tell the insurer or insurance broker that you want the named insured to be your LLC, the titleholder. If they can't do it, find another who can.

@Richard Rice, the answer to your question depends in part on what jurisdiction/city your rehab is in.  Generally, an inspector doesn't show up unannounced, with an appointment, for an inapplicable trade or component of a house.  Did you receive a business card?  Did you confirm that he is actually an inspector with that jurisdiction/city?

@Rob Bergeron, I'm a Southern California investor with properties in Indianapolis, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.  I'm interested to understand why I've been hearing so much about Louisville from others.  So, please let me know if you plan something here.

@Aaron Xie, there are more expensive and less expensive parts of Irvine to rent.  Most of Irvine will be more expensive though than surrounding cities.  But, Irvine is a great, safe city with good schools and community.