All Forum Posts by: Andy D.

Obviously the specific laws vary by state, but the principles of self defense are universal. I'm a retired police officer and I have always told people that if you can reasonably explain why you feel threatened, then you're fine. Being pissed off because someone stole something out of your garage and shooting them in the back as they run away won't fly, but if the bad guy's actions would cause any reasonable person tofeel threatened, then you are on solid ground.

Good luck in the hood and nice choice of weapon. I carried a Glock 22 for years and still do.

Hi Chad, and welcome to BP. There are a lot of knowledgable people on this site with answers to every question you can think of.

You mentioned that you were exploring a 203k loan and you were concerned about the "investor rule" and wondered what would make you an investor. For the lender, it's about occupancy. You can only do a 203k loan on a primary residence, so if you're not going to live there, you will have to find another option.

Glad to see you getting started in RE investing at a young age and with enthusiasm. Best of luck to you!

Here in my state,networking with listing agents can be effective. I can't submit an offer to the seller prior to getting a listing agreement, but once I do have a listing agreement, I have 48 hours to put the property in the MLS. If I have a buyer ready to go and can get their offer accepted within 48 hours, then the property goes in the MLS and is immediately pended. Of course this only works if the bank lists at a decent price. That's not very common these days.

Good luck all...

The cost varies a bit but I sure wouldn't recommend that a seller turn away a purchaser who wants to use FHA financing. There are some specific closing costs that FHA won't allow a buyer to pay,so those items become a seller expense. Not a big deal. A few hundred dollars maybe.

Here in Indiana, about 70% of purchases are done with FHA financing, so turning away FHA buyers would mean turning away 70% of your prospective purchasers. Not sure how common FHA financing is in your market.

As for the agent asking how much activity you've had, I would interpret that as an attempt to find out how flexible you are on price. Can't blame them for asking, right?

Good luck with your sale...

A Quit Claim deed from the wife would only release HER interest in the property. It would not release the interest that the mortgage holder has in the property.

Argent's mortgages are still being serviced, mostly by AHMSI. If they have not yet foreclosed and decide to, your interest in the property won't even be a speed bump for them. It doesn't affect their ability to foreclose at all. They will do a title search as part of the foreclosure process and when they see a deed that shows you have an interest in the property, they will name you in the foreclosure action just like they name every other lienholder or person with an interest in the property. You may be able to negotiate a payoff for less than the full balance, but you don't really have any leverage. A wise foreclosure attorney would negotiate a settlement that would net his client the same amount that the lender would receive if they completed the foreclosure. You have no ability to stop the foreclosure, so you are at their mercy.

I agree with all of the above advice. A title search is the place to start with this one. There could be a whole stack of liens and judgments filed against this property and they don't go away when you acquire the property by Quit Claim. They still have to be paid. But if you get the property at the right price, it could still be a great deal despite all of this.

Good luck with it.

Most of the banks I work with would give you the option of a price reduction, repairs, or release from contract if the property is damaged while under contract but prior to closing. Depending on how bad the hail damage is, it may be covered by an insurance policy. Just notify the bank of the problem as soon as possible.

Best of luck!

Since rent payments are not technically "credit" payments, I don't think it can be reported to the major credit bureaus. Credit reports only reflect payment history on borrowed money, not monthly bills like rent, utilities, car insurance, etc..

But even though it doesn't report and affect your score, the payment history is very valuable. When you apply for a mortgage loan at some point, the lender will want to see verification of rental payment history. Other trade lines that do not show on credit, such as regular payment of utility bills, can be used as "alternate tradelines" when you're doing an FHA loan and don't have a sufficient number of open trade lines.

In my opinion, the best way to improve your credit score over time is to establish at least 4 tradelines, even if they have to be secured credit cards, and keep the balances low, below 40% of available credit, and of course make the payments on time. It helps to have different kinds of credit, both revolving and installment, but just make sure everything is paid on time. Your rental history will count, just not on the actual credit report.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
Andy

If you sell a property on a seller financed note, what kind of value can you realistically receive for that note if you sell it? What factors affect the price? Term? Rate? LTV?

Procedures vary with each bank, so it's hard to determine whether the listing agent was responsible for contracting the de-winterization and winterization or whether the bank was supposed to handle that. But either way, I have two suggestions...

First, you could contact the bank. often the asset manager's contact info is somewhere in the addendums that you signed. Talk to them and see if it was their screw up and if they will do anything about it.

Second suggestion... If it turns out that the listing agent WAS responsible, then call the broker back and ask him to send you the information for his insurance carrier. Most states require companies to carry Errors and Omissions insurance. This covers the company and the agents in case they screw up. I'm not sure if this would be covered by the company's policy, but it's worth a shot.

Good luck and let us all know how it turns out?

It often depends on the strength of your market and the demand for the particular house that you want, as well as how long it has been on the market. If you're in a hot market where listings sell in 30 days, a seller will be less likely to take a creative offer, especially involving owner financing. If the home in question is in a slow market and has been on the market for 200+ days, then I would say your chances improve quite a bit.

Good luck to you!