All Forum Posts by: Catherine Emert

@Jaydene Codrington usually you can just go back to the lender and ask them to adjust the amount. 

@Natalia Orosco a lot of realtors do ask for you to sign this type of agreement. I think it comes from all the time where a realtor has shown a client home after home and then a client goes to an open house and uses the listing broker to represent them. The agreement can be terminated usually with simply an email. We have used them, and we do ask buyers to sign them, but if they are uncomfortable we usually just leave it be.

@Nikolai Sazonov as a REALTOR I want to say how sorry I am about your experience. Unfortunately I get many calls from the public asking this same question and seeking advice. It is one of my biggest pet peeves when people fail to communicate or stay in touch or follow up. I would recommend that if this is how it has started to reach out to someone new. Express this concern in the beginning and hope for a better experience.

Good Luck.

@Breanna Barajas if it is in their lease that they are to pay the electric bill you shouldn't have to even worry about this. The amount of electricity used on the blower for the furnace is probably not amounting to much on the electric bill.

@Yitzchok Carmen I have a few questions - are you making the guest aware that there are cameras that you are watching them on? Have you contacted AirBnB to see what they would suggest?

As for service animals - no you can not charge an extra deposit for a service animal. You can however ask if it is a true service animal or if it is an emotional support animal. You can restrict the emotional support, you can not however restrict someone from having a service animal. Service animals are ones that help those with seizure disorders, preform tasks, etc. An emotional support animal is one that anyone can get and are not specially trained.

@Kyle Nelson - sorry I may have not been clear - I sell vacation homes and help people buy them. We have considered buying vacation homes all over as we love to travel and the income would be nice, haven't pulled the trigger. 

@Marquis Williams If you have a lender that you are pretty sure you are going to use then I would have them start the process for the pre-qual. If you are still trying to decide then I would hold off. The reason being is that you want the pre-qual there, ready and complete so that when you find the deal you can simply call and take that next step. Find a lender that is quick to respond, understands your goals and communicates clearly. I can't tell you how important it is to have a good lender on a deal. I have dealt with lenders that have zero communication and it can really kill a deal quickly, hope that helps.

@Marquis Williams a true pre-approval includes the running of credit. You could consider getting pre-qualified which lenders can do based on information you provide to them. Unfortunately you will want to check with the contracts in Texas as to what is required when you submit an offer. In Oregon, for example, our sales agreements say "pre-approval" most sellers and brokers don't catch this detail but we watch for it and call the lender when we represent the seller to check where they are at in the application process.

@Kyle Nelson we have a lot of vacation rentals here in Central Oregon - couple of things I would keep in mind based on the issues we have here is - 1. Make sure if there is a permit required for the vacation home you are purchasing, that it is transferrable. 2. Research more than just warm areas - Central Oregon for example has a tremendous amount of tourism, is beautiful but we have cold winters that bring in a lot of business for the winter months of vacation rentals because of our skiing. 3. Start running your numbers now on what the income would need to be for it to make sense, so that way you are focusing on deals that make sense for you.

I think this depends on where you live, the type of home you are renting, etc. If it is just a general single family home, in my opinion I think this is a bad idea.