All Forum Posts by: Dave Melton

Contact your local area board of realtors. There is also a state real estate commission.

There is always Redfin where you pay a reduced listing commission and co-op commission to the buyers agent (usually 3% from my experience). You could also take a couple of classes and get your license, of course you're still going to have to pay a consign to your broker as well as the buyers agent. I find that a good sellers agent earns their commission. Might seem like a lot of money but if they are hustling to get you strong offers quickly, they earn their share. If you plan on this expense from the outset it's just another mine item in the deal.

I think your best bet for seller finance is fisbo's or distressed sales. If it's on the MLS the seller is gonna be on the hook to pay an agent a commission. They are less likely to carry back the paper if they are going to have to write that check. Also buying former rental property from landlords might be a good source. A structured sale means deferring the gain over the life of the finance. When they have a depreciated property that facing a large gain relative to their balance they might be more receptive. Ultimately you will likely have to convince a seller to carry back the note.

LoopNet.com is for commercial and multi family listings.

Why the interest in owner finance? We used to sell a lot fo properties on owner finance and we charged a premium interest rate for the privilege. Mostly because we were effectively lending borrowed money, and in come cases wrap around financing. The repeal of Glass/Steagall and the passage of Frank/Dodd has made this business model nearly extinct. I suspect you'd be better off working with a hard money lender, or finding fisbo's that might allow you to buy "subject to". 

In my area the tenant amount gets reviewed and adjusted annually, regardless of a change in rent. It's based upon their income and if their income goes up so does their portion.

If the owner is willing to sign a quitclaim back to you, whatever the payoff works out to is the cost basis when/if you resell the property. Don't be in a rush to get the seller out. You can rent him the house back at a percentage of "purchase price". You can even offer him an option to repurchase the property for a specified amount of time at cost or a specific mark up. If you do offer him an option make sure it's contingent upon him getting outside financing so you don't end up in the same position again.

Traditional lenders require inspections and appraisals to verify they have good and adequate collateral. They require the buyer pay for these services and while they may benefit the buyer they are ultimately for the benefit of the lender. The lender then rolls the majority if not all of these costs into the financing. When the seller is financing they likely will not require this as they are the current owners of said property. If you as a buyer want to pay for and have these services that is your right as a buyer, don't expect the seller to finance these costs. In a seller finance deal things are often negotiable. The price might be high at the concession of the interest rate or the inverse. You'll often hear the phrase "your price my terms" . You have to decide what it takes to make the deal work for you. The value of the property is only one small factor of the deal.

Our section 8 limits increases to 2%. not 2.01%.  2% is the absolute max they will approve. When we renew it has a line for requested rent, soe every year, every tenant get a 2% increase. Those who have been around a while have submarket rents but if the tenant is good I'm in no hurry to shell out $3-5k to turn the unit so I can make an extra 1-200 per month. Especially when I have a tenant that takes cars fo the property, doesn't complain and pays their portion timely. If however the tenant is an issue, i simply wont renew when their term is up.

I can't speak to every granite/stone countertop installer, the one I use won't install on knockdown cabinets. The cabinets they stock at my local Home Depot and Lowes are factory assembled and packaged, as are the Kitchen Kompacts. Nails and glue, no wood screws, brackets or dowels. Some of the smaller retailers near me sell assembled knockdowns. In the last 20 years I've done a lot of kitchens,  tried many brands brands even some knockdowns. Based upon my experience the knockdowns are just not worth using. YMMV