All Forum Posts by: David Gruszka

Hi - This is a pseudo-continuation of my previous post with purchasing a house. We are buying the house with cash, no contingencies under a LLC name. The only requirement was that the seller obtained an U&O prior to the closing. I go through all my parts obtaining private funding, getting contractors set up (meeting dozens of them to find the right ones), and I'm about to get my civil engineers plans for the addition as well to propose to the town the day after closing. My agent just called me today (a month after being on contractor and about 3 weeks remaining letting me know the seller may not be able to obtain U&O. The seller agent had claimed he had 17 calls from the day he had the sign out for sale and that he wants to move on with another contract if they have to obtain a U&O. Given the large time I already put in, is there a way to force the sale with the U&O in place? I really don't want the seller to just walk away because the U&O is too difficult (I also went through this process about a month ago with another home.)

Should I call offer some advice/contractors number to hire to get it fixed up, go get a lawyer involved, or do I have other options? Out of the few house purchases I’ve been through, this is the first time I’ve had the seller have difficulties with their side, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for the support.

Unfortunately they wanted 200k+ and the place is still trashed. The realtor tried to talk me up to at least 175 but… that's cutting a bit into my profit margin and I'm not that eager to buy it because that'd also be my biggest renovation project. I'm sure there is stuff in there that I didn't find that would creep up as well. They now have a dumpster in front of it with plans to empty out the house in an attempt to make it more appealing when it gets on MLS. Next potential update is in 3 months if no one buys it on the market. Thank you for all the advice!

Potential tenant in question and this is my first time renting tenants in this area. It’s a Class B maybe B- neighborhood right across the river from a Class C town attracting opportunists that steal if you leave something out or unlocked.

The tenants has a few red flags and I’d like some input on them after listening to some rental books. She is the only one that applied after the process and my wife said she was very nice to talk to and pleasant. Previous landlord has only one late payment in the past two years and no problems. Names are not given.

1) Credit score less than 650 with 24 derogatory marks.
Potential Solution: is cosign with a close family member to alleviate payment issues.
2) Wanting to close her storefront and run the business in our house. Town violations, fees, client liability would all be directly onto us.
Potential solution: Get business related insurance (either through rental or umbrella), and town permission to run a business here.
3) Not being entirely truthful of questionnaire when asked about history. Mentioned a fight in ____ but didn’t mention this drug felony in ______.

Potential Solution: None
4) First class drug related felony 7 years ago.
Potential Solution: Call ______  police and see how heavily her involvement is/Talk to _____ about this issue. May not be resolvable.

So the above outlines my concerns. I’ve worked in the legal business for the Navy and it’s not a problem to get police reports and get an RFI from the tenant. Would you give her a chance or would you repost the property, spend more time interviewing potential candidates, and possibly miss a month rent. She has been extremely responsive, polite, etc in all communication. I just don’t want to decline her application and run into the exact same tenant applicants in the future because that’s the area

Thank you in advance for your response and wisdom,

David

I’m not pushing them to be professionally represented or not. I just stated to him that I wanted him to be aware and I gave him the information to make an informed decision. It doesn’t matter to me if he is or isn’t represented and I told him that it only changes the terms of the deal and how much he gets, my offer is the same. I’ll budge and “grudgingly” give up to 155 to let them win but I’m also completely okay with losing this deal. 

Thank you - I’m going back and forth with the realtor now. I won’t be contacting the seller again directly based on your recommendation. I was definitely trying to approach as a friend and offer my information even if he doesn’t go with me (helping close a deal will still give me more knowledge that I’m in great need).

The realtor reviewed the LOI and is setting up a second talk tomorrow. I'll be respectful and nice to him even though I know how easy of a deal this is. The talk today proved he wanted dual agency. I personally don't care I just know how much he is being taken advantage of. If he accepts my offer of 150k cash then 6% goes right off immediate leaving him with 141k minus 94k loan to even less.

I’ll update after tomorrow.

Hi - I’m relatively new to the real estate game and am just starting to read multiple books involving this topic.

I noticed a house being cleaned up two weeks ago, talked to maintenance people, and was in the right place at the right time to talk to the owner. I tried to build up a relationship by making myself the problem solver but the house condition is rough. Potential ARV of 325k and rehab costs roughly 78k (these may be off slightly). He also has a loan of 94k that I teased out of him but I don't think he is interested in signing it over. After everything was said and done I gave a verbal offer of 150k and followed up with a tactic of Letter of Intent having three offers. Offer 1) 150k cash, fast closing, I take care of closing costs and trash at house; Offer 2) 165k, 7.5k down and Seller finance 5 years; Offer 3) 180k, 2.5k down and Seller finance 10 years. I told him to talk to me before signing with an agent as I know it will cost him 5-6% additional which would reflect on a price increase plus I have to deal with competition. He finally emailed me back tonight and gave me a number to call to talk to his realtor. I called him up to verify he still hasn't signed with the realtor yet but insisted I talk to the realtor. I have a call set up tomorrow morning to talk with the realtor. I have a feeling they are going to try to push me into a dual agency spot and probably make me use their title company as well. I already have a preferred real estate lawyer. Do you have any advice for me to prepare me for the conversation to secure this deal and not get talked up by the realtor? I just cannot understand why he wants me to talk to a realtor that he hasn't signed anything formally yet unless they are trying to be the "problem solver" as well. Thank you in advance.