All Forum Posts by: Curt Riffel

I work at a CPA firm now in the Dallas area. We primarily do tax preparation for Partnerships, S-Corps, C-Corps, and personal returns. We also do some audit work. We can assist in tax planning and strategy, but you may be better served by visiting with a CFP to discuss investments.

Jim I am not close to being a professional of real estate by any means, but I agree with you on some of your points of contention. The MLS change would be the best in my opinion. Seeing what a house is listed for, when it was put up for sale, having access to comps, and mainly being able to use it to list a property for sale would be tremendous.

In a hot market, the main reason I see using a realtor is solely to gain access to the MLS. If there was a flat commission structure I would support the idea more. I've always thought it ludicrous to pay 6% of the sales price to RE agents when selling a home. I'd be much more inclined, if possible, to pay a nominal fee (say $200) to list the house on MLS and then pay the buyer represented agent a flat commission of $1500 for 'finding' a buyer. But if purchases had access to view the MLS as well, like via a monthly subscription ($50 a month), then you could likely lower the $1500 commission and have just the lawyers and loan agents draw up the paperwork.

Personally I don't have any known issues with agents purchasing good deals for themselves or owning rental property. I imagine if I had enough capital I could pay someone to monitor the market and find good deals. I also don't understand enough about the Broker/Agent relationship to comment. I understand that agents pay a portion of their proceeds to the broker they work under. 

Hi Daniel, welcome to bigger pockets. I grew up in Amarillo, I'm curious how you would say the rental market is there? I'm in Dallas but the price of housing has risen significantly while rents I feel have stayed flat.

Keep hanging around this site and reading all of the relevant posts you can. I think you will learn more and more for what you are seeking. Some other posts have said that duplexes are hard to come by in this area, so best of luck. As your income rises, maybe you will have a softer market to deploy your strategy of purchasing a duplex.  

My home I purchased 3 years ago had foundation work prior to my purchase. (required most likely and previous offer probably fell through due to this) I believe they spent around $7500 for 13 piers. Sorry for the guesses, but this will give you an idea of the retail cost. There was also an evaluation from a structual engineer not affiliated with the repair company. This was probably $400-500 of the total cost.

Through talking with someone recently however, I heard the cost per pier can be as low as $150. If I do foundation repairs in the future, I will keep this in mind while seeking bids.

@Daray Olaleye you may be able to search through the county records online. You can then view the original mortgage documents, however if there has been an assignment, the mortgage might be held with a different bank currently. 

I previously worked at one of the nation's largest 2nd mortgage debt collections offices. 

This is a short sale. I know tons of 2nd mortgages had their liens released by the banks a few years back. I'm not familiar with the Wells Fargo 2nds though, the ones I'm thinking of were through Chase. 

If the bank owns the 1st and the 2nd, it will likely be an easier process to deal with. The fact that they owed $55k over your offer means it was going to be a short sale either way. It's unfortunate that the seller agent appears incompetent, as they should have known and expected all of these issues. The bank has the incentive to get the top price as well, because they are the ones taking a bath on this deal. I don't see a way to take advantage of this situation personally, except for asking for more money from the seller. 

@Heather Keller what kind of things did you learn about HOAs, taxes, neighborhood, schools, etc? Dallas, will still have many of those same issues, and our property taxes are fairly high. 

It's never a bad idea to assemble a team of professionals. But in your case, I don't see the need* of having a real estate CPA. I'm studying to be a CPA and unless you own multiple properties, your tax situation is not very complicated. I'm afraid you would be over paying for the advice of a real estate CPA. Many of your questions can likely be answered here on BP for free!

Wife says I should go. I look forward to the awkward interactions :)