All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Stephen Nicholson 

B-1 is 3 months, B-2 is 6 months, my bad.  Extensions may be granted just as you said.  If someone is B-/B-2 I would NOT rent to them cause who knows if they get the extension. 

Making the point that a lot of these work visa guys are trustworthy and I would certainly rent to THEM.

And here is how to do due diligence if you want a trustworthy tenant who will pay top dollar......

Ask about the visa status, ask who the employer is, many of them have official employment contracts with big U.S. corporations, so ask for a copy of the contractual offer of employment.  The annual salary will be on the letter.  If they are from the UK, they can get a copy of their Equifax credit report for $20 and provide it to the landlord.  A true international credit report can be ordered by the landlord for $150-$250.  Call references. Ask for cashier's check and wait a week for it to clear.  If too much trouble, wait for the next renter.

Find out if the borrower has a work visa such as an L-1 or H-1b, or E-2, which gives them a legal right to work here and live here, usually for renewable 5 year terms.  If they are on the level, they will be among the best tenants you will ever find, as many of them hope to someday attain green card status (some do not, of course).  They will do EVERYTHING properly.  Ask to see the copy of the work visa, and make a copy, if you can.  If they only have a B-1/B-2 visa, you have a problem as they can only be in the U.S. as a visitor or tourist for 3 months, and then have to fly back out to country of origin.  If a student, then they will have an F-1 visa or J-1 visa, you may have to decide how to handle the rent for summer vacations.

Florida has some of the highest percentages of work visa holders in the country, on par with geologists and workers in the oil sector in Houston, researchers, academics, and hi-tech workers in California & Redmond, Washington (Microsoft).   In New Jersey, a lot will work in NYC in financial services or in the medical field.  If you think you are being played, ask for a cashier's check and do not let the individual move into until the cashier's check has cleared.  Florida has a lot of problems with fraudulent cashier's checks as well, so cashier's check has to clear.  Either wait or ask for first, last, and security wired in.  A lot of these folks have money and no intention to be a perpetual renter, so they will pay on time and may move out after 24-36 months.

@Brenda Harper We have the same set-up in Florida, LLC allowed on a 30 year fixed; however rates are about point and a half to 2% over comparable Fannie Mae fixed. It seems to me its strong suit is that there are no limit to financed rental properties. Also based on the cash-flow of the property. Same deal in Texas?

Welcome Patrick.

SW Florida is a good choice, as is South Florida area, though much tougher to find a duplex under the $200,000 mark in Miami/Fort Lauderdale.  I have traveled back and forth on Alligator Alley (I-75) many times to hang out with family and friends on the Gulf Coast of Florida, specifically Naples, Cape Coral, and Bonita Springs.  

Weather is warm and sunny on both coasts, rents are solid.  I think you will find a better return on investment in SW Florida, and more duplexes in your price range in Cape Coral and Fort Myers.  Fort Lauderdale may be too expensive, but just an hour and a half ride or less, on the "Alley".

Welcome, Matthew! 

@Mark Holencik Apologies as I misunderstood your original post and sometimes just flat out misread.

@JdMartin Using a property manager as a buffer is a pretty good idea.  Somebody else can be the tough guy.  That being said, some people are particularly empathetic and sympathetic, and where would the world be without people like that?

Nan

The two takeaways from your story are 1) You went the extra mile, read the law, went full-on proactive, and effected change with a police department on the local level.  I have always thought and believed that if possession is nine-tenths of the law, then occupancy is 99.9%. Anotherwords, once someone is in your property, you are (unfairly) hard-pressed to move heaven and earth to get them out, they basically own your property and your soul.  

Second thing is...a little bit of compassion can go a long way.  @Mark Holencik glad that you turned things around.  I am fond of saying, "There but for the grace of God, go I".

Over the years, I have noticed that helping out a couple or a houseful, as compared to helping out a single guy or a single girl, is akin to taking on a larger army.  Numbers are against you.  Not only that, if they are homeless or crooks for all the wrong reasons, then that couple will tend to reinforce each other's behaviour.   

@Angel Moreno Welcome and I, too, am getting a feel for how to make better investment decisions in real estate.   And learning new strategies.

@Alyssa Larson Welcome to another Floridian.

@Jerry Limber  Shoulda answered your question "Are these new lender fees legitimate? with another question: "Are these title fees (as forwarded to me, by my lender) legitimate?" So, yes, every single one of those title fees goes to the title company recommended to you by your realtor, and your lender will not get a single penny.  Your lender/loan officer, if doing their job properly, calls up the title company and asks for the fees, then inputs those fees into the loan estimate, or good faith estimate.

Sometimes title companies are slow to respond, the loan officer wants to get your loan moving, so will estimate a number just to complete the application, and invariably estimates high.  Or leaves a fee out.  Then the title company responds several days later, loan officer notices that the title company has an additional fee, so the loan officer generates a new estimate, as he or she should.   Maybe why you got 2 estimates.

Are the title fees too high?  Probably yes.  And keep in mind these fee might not be accurate, but the loan officer simply aiming high so as to CYA.

Room for lower title fees and title charges?  Yes.  The environmental of $150 is likely an endorsement to the title policy called the Florida Form 8.1  It should be $25 or $35. $150 has to be a mistake, call up title or realtor, and ask about that one.

Escrow fee of $695?  @Wayne Brooks said this is the same thing as settlement fee, this is correct.  I have seen them as low as $495 through $695.  Think I saw one pretty close to $1000, if I recall correctly, we all took the title person to task til the figure came back to reality.  Wayne also mentions that title exam and title search should not be a double fee, again I agree, and one of those fees is probably being charged to seller, and one to you.

Judy

The fees that changed were not lender fees, but title fees.  The lender is responsible for "disclosing" title fees, but not responsible for the number and the dollar amount of the title fees themselves.  You and your realtor have much more control over the number and the dollar amount of title fees than the lender does, but back to this point, in a minute.

It is accurate that some lenders historically underestimated fees so that the bottom line "cash to close" looks less from lender A to lender B, perhaps done knowingly to get you to close with them.  It is now also accurate that loan officers currently overestimate fees so that the borrower is pleasantly surprised at closing.  

Back to title fees.  Is the end result that you want lower title fees...I guess I would want lower title fees, too.  However, you have to look at your real estate contract.  Who selected the title company?  If the seller or seller's realtor picked that title company, and contract indicates this, about all you can do is call title company to request a reduction in title fees.   If seller's side picked this title company, they are likely paying for your owner's title policy and saving you a chunk of money on title fees (about $500 per $100,000 of property purchased), so will not be much interested in reducing fees.   

If you or your realtor picked the title company, then the ball is in your court.  You can change title companies or "FIRE" them in the words of the Donald anytime up to 2 weeks before closing with nary a ripple in the water (unless they have done some title work for which they may request reimbursement).  Point is, lender does not set title fees nor pick title company on 99.9% of purchases...buyer, seller, or realtors pick title company.

Here would be my issue.  WHY is ORIGINATION exactly ZERO? Is there an underwriting fee listed?  Or a processing or admin fee listed?  How about appraisal costs?  If none of the above is listed, is your lender going to give you a credit for these fees?  If yes, the lender is giving you a credit, they will need to increase the interest rate quite a bit to cover these fees.  Finally, are there documentary stamps on the amount borrowed and a charge for recording the deed in your Florida county?

Services you can shop for means just that.  Don't just shop for a lender, shop for a title company, too, unless the executed real estate contract says otherwise.

Sorry for the long post....coffee, you know...