All Forum Posts by: David DuCille

my fiancees brother just graduated from Scranton 2 years ago.  I remember going up to his graduation and going by his apartment.  I'm not sure anyone bathed at all in that place! lol

What kind of condition is this house in?  run down, old, borderline frathouse like my fiancees' brother's place?  prefab.  But if it's a nicer place to begin with, I think tiling it may not be a terrible option.  I remember when I was in college how the guys always had very run of the mill apts but girls always had the very nice higher end apartments.....and their parents always paid the premium prices for those places.  The bathroom you see pictured below was done with wall tile that was $1.25 sq ft and the mosaic insert tile was $2 a sheet.  and I got 3 strips out of each sheet so I think I needed about 8-10 sheets.  So for me, if i thought a nice tiled bathroom could net me more money, I'd tile it all the way, those surrounds are so hideous.    I do agree, on going with shower only, seems like this day and age only people that use tubs are those bathing small children.

2 things jump out to me and neither has much to do with his loan.  

1. the notion of winter being bad time for sales is simply false in todays market in many areas.  most of the areas where that is true it is climate related.  hard to sell homes with a foot of snow on the ground.    The market drives sales moreso than the seasons.  Rates are super low right now, lenders aren't being as tight with qualifying credit scores, rents are high, it all adds up to homes being able to sell.  You are at a higher price point which always takes longer to sell but when a home is in as great of condition as yours is and it's not selling, it's one thing and one thing only.  Price.  which brings me to #2.

2. If a realistic sales price is 750k, why did you initially list the property at 949k?  I'm not local to your area but I can't imagine a million dollar home in So Cal NOT having a swimming pool. Seems to me that you were certainly priced way to high initially. Some people falsely think they must price high because everyone will be looking to offer low to begin with, but when you price it right from the get go, you generate the most exposure to your property and increase the chance of multiple offers coming in.

Finally, not trying to pick a fight but I find your attitude to be a bit offputting.  "The area that I live in is referred to as "The IE" (inland empire). Think, flat billed baseball caps, sentences always completed by using the word "Bro", lifted 4x4 pickups that NEVER leave the pavement, tattoos, Harley Davidson, and very, very low IQ's. I almost forgot, smog and constant traffic congestion."  

I don't wear baseball caps often but when I do, it just may be with a flat brim.  I say "bro" at the end of sentences sometimes and dare I even say "homie"!!!   No Harley for me but I do have a high end mountain bike.  With all of that said, my IQ is 131.  Not sure how you know these peoples IQ, or their income and if you are so intelligent, why did you choose to move there?  I know plenty of wealthy people that are far from the smartest people I know.  I know plenty of people in baggy jeans and flat brimmed caps on the weekends that wear suits to Wall St on the weekday.    Your home is GORGEOUS.  Everything about those pics says its an amazing house.  The #1 driving factor in selling homes is price and yours is priced too high.  If you listed it at 750k last summer when you first listed it, it would have probably sold by now.  I think this guys offer is very reasonable considering the situation and lets face it, this is a negotiation, he isn't coming with his best offer because he knows you don't have anything else on the table right now.  I think it's more than appropriate for you to counter with what you suggested and make it clear that you are open to doing what you have to do to make the transaction a win win for both parties.   If you can't get a deal done with this guy, you should probably look to relist with a STRONG agent that will AGGRESSIVELY work to market and get your home sold.  I'd be more than happy to refer you to a Keller Williams agent out there that would work aggressively to get your home sold. Inbox me if that is of interest to you.

You seem to have emotional reason moreso than financial reason to sell your home.  nobody wants to lose money or not get top dollar but sometimes you can't put a price on your happiness and if you really want to get back to the Midwest, there may be a price you need to pay to do that.  Don't rule that out.   

Welcome Rose, also in Tampa, living in Carrollwood.  I'm a licensed agent and active investor, let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

 I stopped watching fixer upper and deleted all episodes from my DVR when they tried to say that putting in 3 gfi outlets was a $800 cost.  LOL

Nicole Curtis voice annoys the hell out of me but I don't think her show is any worse than any of the others that are out there.  Regarding flip or flop, I like to think that it's somewhat realistic.  the times that they only make 30k on a 600k deal is because they ran into a lot of problems.  We all know in the real world there are people LOSING money on doing bad deals.  When you are doing flips in the volume that they are doing them, you are bound to lay a few eggs.

Nicole Curtis model can work because between acquiring properties from the city for $1 and the money that she is pulling in from HGTV and the connections and pricing she can probably get from contractors for the exposure she provides them means she probably has her costs well under control.  And she doesn't make any bones about repurposing stuff.  It seems like in the end, her properties come out nice and it seems to be a labour of love for her more than profits.

I don't understand what the problem is here he just told you you have out so why don't you simply exercise them and get out of the deal? What exactly is your end goal here? Its real estate everything is negotiable, but there are processes in place to go about doing that I'm not convinced that either you or your agent understand that.I also disagree with your agent that he has to work with your banker.  I have very little contact with the letter what time representing buyers. Its not my area of expertise I shouldn't be dealing with it

be glad you only have $500 in emd but if you don't get it back, managing broker should just pay it back to you.  

 Well considering there is no fee to you, the buyer, in 99% of cases, why wouldn't you want a professional representing you in the transaction?  When I represent buyers, I am pulling detailed comps with ACCURATE data, not some ******** that Joe homebuyer finds on Zillow only to find out it's incorrect.  The problem lies with inexperienced and/or shady professionals

"being business partners with someone who brings nothing to the table aside from financing."   so other than brining the cash money to make deals happen, she brings nothing to the table!  She would probably drop your *** in a second if she read that statement!!!! lol

I understand where you are at, my fiancee is the breadwinner.  Makes well into 6 figure salary at the day job and that job is the reason we moved to where we live now and that move meant restarting my existing fitness biz or doing something new and I always wanted to do real estate.  I wish she had 1/10th the passion that I have for it but she just doesn't.  IT's also hard convincing her that these are intelligent investments that are putting money in our pockets today and in the long term.  It's especially frustrating because she works in ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE!  but she really just doesn't have a grasp on personal finance and wealth building.  I think in the end, the opposites attract thing is potentially a good thing for my relationship and it's probably good for yours too.  Because I know she is so conservative and risk averse, it really makes me do all of my due dilligence on any deal that we consider because I truly do respect that it's ultimately her money I'm investing.  As a result, we have scored 2 really good deals on singlefamily homes.  one that cash flows $700 a month and has a large amount of equity via the great deal we scored at acquisition and smart renovations we did and a 2nd property that we bought cheap, gutted and now rent for $1100 a month and own free and clear.  I can probably sell that for 20% above what we have invested in it, plus we've been getting monthly rent for 4 months.   

I understand your boredom but I strongly encourage you to really take a broader view and see just how good you have it and if you stay on the path you are on, you truly will be retired young and have freedom of time and money to do anything you desire in life.

lots of good advice here. it's a bit of a tough decision.  I'm born and raised in the Northeast.  Moved to Fl, in nov 2013.  Everything in the northeast is hardwood and carpet with tile only being in kitchen areas (and even then hardwood is often prevalent)  In florida, tile is EVERYWHERE.  We have rainy season where it's a gurantee that 5 out of 7 days will have significant rain and we have very sandy soil so that sugar sand just acts like sand paper on laminate flooring.  I HATED tile but moving here and seeing what all the other homes had and the argument for it, I went with it. 

So to me it's all about what kind of neighborhood is this rental in and what kind of tenant are you trying to attract?  somebody thought tiling the whole thing was a good idea for a reason.  Hardwood is everywhere in the northeast but so are leases that say you are required at your own expense to cover 80% of the floor with carpet!  I like the idea of staging the unit with some carpet to give potential tenants an idea of what the place can look like.  I'm not a fan of laminate.  cheap laminate is just that, cheap, and it needs to be ripped up 5-7 years.  Tile is forever; which when it's an ugly design, color, or grout can sometimes be a bad thing!

This entire post is a bit confusing to me as it goes off on several tangents.  Contracts and procedures vary state to state.  Here in Florida, the inspection period is essentially the time to walk away for any reason whatsoever.  There is no requirement to give a copy of the report to the seller and no option for them to make the required repairs and continue with the deal.  The exception to this is with Fannie Mae Homepath properties.  Fannie Mae requires the use of their Addendum and in their addendum it states that they must receive a copy of the inspection report and given the option to make the repairs.  fortunately, fannie mae pretty much NEVER does repairs so it's still pretty much an out clause.  

Here is why I'm confused, did you or did you not provide them the inspection report within the time frame that was given?  if so, then they are on the hook to make those repairs or cancel the deal.  Either way, is that not what you want?  to get the repairs done and not have to pay for them yourself?

As for representation, that also varies state to state.  here in Fl we have Single agency and transaction brokers.  Transaction brokers simply represent the transaction, they do not have loyalty to you.   Single agency is where the agent has full representation and essentially works for you.  I always represent my clients with Single Agency unless the other side of the deal is also in my office than by law both agents become transaction brokers.  If you have a single agency relationship with your broker, he should be doing your wishes, not going rogue going into properties and conducting repairs!  That is about the craziest thing I've ever heard!!!  

I'm still hugely confused about this whole deal. based on the peeling paint alone, you will not be able to get the loan and this deal is dead and your EMD is coming back to you. Are you telling me the Agent went ahead and painted the house?!! Also, what you describe with the electrical panel is also a pretty major repair, no way VA/fha loan goes through with that so again, the financing contingency should kick in and the deal dies and you get your EMD back. Am I missing something here?

I have a hard time believeing the agent is working so hard because he has "commission breath" and is dying to cash a check.  3% of 43k is $1290 and since he is a KW agent, he is certainly probably giving 30% of that back to the brokerage.  we are talking about a $900 commission here.  I pride myself on being an "investor friendly" agent and I will happily work small deals for people with small commission because i'm passionate about the investment space, but there are things I make clear upfront about how the transaction will go down and what my role will be and if additional services are desired, a retainer for my services is not out of the question.