All Forum Posts by: Bryan Zuetel

@Ryan K., you can likely utilize the note from the title company, follow the rules for the one property in 12 months exception in Dodd Frank, and keep going with your real estate investing.

@Ivan Sarabia, since you're in California, be wary of the advice offered by those from other states with different landlord-tenant laws.  If your lease explicitly required the tenant to open the utilities in his/her name, then you can probably serve a three notice to cure or quit based on a breach of the lease agreement.  However, I do not suggest that you have the utility company turn off the utilities.  That might create more headache for you than you want.  Also, you have not stated what city the property is in, but certain cities may have local laws related to utilities that will be important for consideration in this scenario.

@Jim G., if the insurance claim involved a matter that was a material issue, then yes, there is a statutory duty to disclose the material issue/defect.  However, you referenced the CAR Form SPQ.  If your version of the CAR Purchase Agreement required that the seller completed the SPQ, then the seller was contractually obligated to truthfully complete the SPQ.  If your property has already closed escrow, your options are a little more limited.  You can send a demand letter to the seller based on the nondisclosure and demanding that the seller pay you for the repair of the undisclosed issues and the premium increase.  The seller may offer you some money or may tell you to pound sand.  Then, you may need to file a small claims case or hire legal representation.

@Lydia Rodriguez, it really depends where you're located and the customary way of doing a FSBO wherever the property is located. You can do it through an attorney or a title company or an escrow company. However, you should take steps to protect yourself and ensure your compliance with the state and local laws.

@Justin Anselmo, in one part you mention past owners and in another you mention tenants.  The capacity of the occupants is important - past owners or tenants.  You have a few options, which depend on a number of factors, including whether there is a valid lease agreement with a remaining term, how long the tenants have lived in the property, whether they are still paying rent, the city that the property is in, and whether any city ordinances apply to the property.  If there is no valid lease agreement in a non-rent controlled city with rent-paying tenants that were in the property before the foreclosure, you would likely be required to serve a 90 day post-foreclosure notice to quit.  But, again, there are many factors.

@Storm S., unfortunately, in California, you would have to prove that this was a material breach of the lease, such that the Court should declare the tenants in material breach and cancel the lease.  Good luck with that!  Your post also assumes that you have a lease agreement clause that prohibits sub-leasing.  Without such clause, a tenant can sub-lease the property.

@Corben Briggs, if you want to stay in state, check out some areas in east and northeast San Diego County, parts of Riverside County, and Imperial County.  If you want to go out of state but stay reasonably close, try Phoenix or Las Vegas.  If you're willing to go anywhere in the country, check out the 2019 top markets from Realtor.com, Zillow, and other websites.

@Leslie Ray, unless there are compelling reasons not shared in this public forum, I agree with your reaction that this California-Wyoming LLC setup seems a little excessive. Most beginning investors (particularly those living in tax-heavy California, regardless of where investing) should only need one LLC.

@Account Closed, you may be able to still apply the Section 121 personal residence exclusion if you lived in the property for at least 2 out of the last 5 years. So, based on your scenario, if you meet the other requirements of Section 121, yes, you may be able to exclude capital gains of $250,000 if individual or $500,00 if married couple. The transfer to an LLC may present problems if there are any additional members that weren't on the original title/living in the property.

The sale of a property in an LLC is not overly difficult, if the Realtor or parties understand the additional steps.

@Elena Mafla, run the numbers, but I suspect that if you purchased the property in Corona 8 years ago and have properly treated it as an investment property for the last 8 years, you have significant appreciation and capital gains.  You would likely be better off selling the property and doing a 1031 tax-deferred exchange, rather than trying to move back into the property and trying to exclude a proportion of the gains under the personal residence exclusion.