All Forum Posts by: Charles Jessup

I'm supposed to close on a house on Wednesday.  My lender sent me a disclosure this afternoon (Friday) saying they need it signed and returned before midnight today to be able to close on time.  

The problem is that the disclosure has a small mistake in it, in that it shows I'm going to be paying for a home warranty when actually the seller is going to. 

They say they'll fix it Monday, but they need me to sign it today (even though it's wrong) anyway so that they can comply with a three-day federal requirement about lending disclosures.  

Should I sign it?

I replaced a kitchen sink myself, but couldn't figure out how to get the plumbing underneath to line up correctly without leaking.  It leaks where the flexible P-trap meets the pipe above.  Does anybody know a plumber that can fix it for me?

Here's the photos of my handiwork (aka The Problem): http://imgur.com/a/LACPx

Alternatively, can anyone give me advice on how I can fix it myself?

I just saw that Brandon Hall wrote a blogpost on  biggerpockets about this very topic.   He goes into detail on section 121 rule, and explains exactly how it works.  Check it out if you're interested.  https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2016/05/0...

Thanks biggerpockets community for your helpful advice!

Wow, this was a huge response! Thanks biggerpockets community for sharing your knowledge and experience.

It’s obvious that people’s experiences differ a lot on this topic. This helped me get a ballpark idea of what other people are paying, so I appreciate everyone who responded.  I'm an analytical guy so I made a graph of what people said they would pay:

Since 6/8 responses said to use a professional, I'm going to do that.  If anyone knows a good photographer in the north Houston area, let me know.  

Hi biggerpockets, I'm a new landlord trying to put my first house up for rent.  What kind of pictures do you think I should use?  Do I need a $500 professional package, or can I just use my smartphone camera?

I also like the harris county flood warning system at http://www.harriscountyfws.org

Cypress Creek overran its banks.  Most of Cypresswood is flooded over the curb.  Yesterday I had to wait at an intersection for about 15 minutes while some military group escorted people past.  I heard there was some kind of national guard evacuation.

I did go by after the storm and look at the house I'm about to buy, and there was no flooding in that area.  I never would have thought to check that if it hadn't stormed so bad.  

I'm planning to buy a house, and the current owners want to lease it back for a month before moving out.  I'm ok with this, but want to protect myself in case there is new damage.  What I'm worried about is that now once they've sold it, they might not take such good of the house anymore.  What can I do to protect myself?  Do I need to do anything?

Thanks for the answers everyone.  

Right now I'm planning to rent it out (my first rental!) and deal with the capital gains tax if and when I eventually sell.  

So does it matter if the appreciation occurred while I was owning or renting the property?