All Forum Posts by: Cara Lonsdale

 Oh, I see, you'd rather just invalidate and attack me as a person instead of acknowledging the obvious flaws within the finance industry....and there are plenty.  My experience spans beyond Realtor, but I don't need to justify that to you.  You clearly know everything....only problem is the types of examples I provided happen every day.  If you don't want to acknowledge them, that is your choice, but don't pretend they don't exist.

 Alot of words.... NONE of which are based on real life examples.  So, let me help you understand this broken system of yours Ron....

Example #1.... Client is given a 90 day trustee sale notice.  Borrower contacts the lender to request a loan modification.  Lender requests a packet of info, and submits a needs list.  Borrower completes needs list.  Meanwhile clock ticks down on trustee sale..... Borrower checks in with lender, lender requests more info (updated bank statements, etc), Borrower sends in more info.  Borrower waits.  Day before Trustee sale, Borrower checks in with Lender.  Lender states that it is still in process.  Next day, it goes to Trustee sale.  Same day, Lender calls borrower to tell them they were approved for modification, but needs a LOX for something trivial, which the Borrower was more than happy to provide.  However, the sale had already transpired.  The Borrower lost the home.

Example #2...Short sale where the Buyer's spouse was the Realtor. Lender approved the short sale price and all terms. Inspections were done, closing was eminent. HUD-1 (obviously a few years back when the HUD-1 was used) came out, and lender put a halt to the sale citing that that the Spouse would need to either relinquish the commission, or the Lender would not approve the HUD-1. This example was one that I was thinking of when I stated that lenders get caught up in minutia because the lender was willing to pay a commission, and eventually WOULD pay it, but for whatever reason, they got caught up in the fact that the Buyer was related to the Realtor, even though that was fully disclosed in the contract AND the Buyer was purchasing as a sole and separate, so the Spouse didn't have interest anyway. The property ended up going to trustee sale, garnering a fraction of what the agreed to purchase price for the deal.

I get that you may be sensitive to lender bashing if you are in the finance business.  However, you need to acknowledge that really dumb mistakes are made by lenders on many different levels.  Many times it's for the simple fact that there are too many people touching a file, and it gets lost in the cracks.

However, I can't accept your comments that this is a clean and clear system, or we wouldn't have just had one of the biggest lending and finance crashes in history just recently behind us.  You gotta know your weaknesses.

To be clear, I am not speaking to guidelines. Of course the lender has guidelines that need to be met. So many times when you call your lender, you find out that they are just the servicer. So, getting to the lender/investor and/or adding in any government stips for FHA/VA also comes into play. However, my post was speaking more to the flaws, as evidenced above in the 2 examples given (and I have a ton of these examples) of how lenders get caught up in the minutia, and sometimes that leads to a lesser net to them in the end.

@Tony Nguyen  Would love a copy of your syndication pitch book to compare it to the one we have.  Thanks!

 I think that is wise.  It always make sense to explore all of the options before making a decision.  Best of luck to you!

In your state is it only a 3 day notice?  In AZ it is a 5 day Pay or Quit notice.

Either way, YES!  File it.  It doesn't hurt anything if she pays, but it starts the process so that any stalling tactics she is using with you will not delay your process.  It also conveys to her that you mean business and will not mess around.

It doesn't cost much to submit a 5 day Pay or Quit, its basically just certify mailing the form to the tenant.  I usually regular mail it to them as well so that if they refuse service, they still get it in the mail.  They usually will respond to you.  If they pay in the meantime, you just don't go on to the next steps.

I have heard that a good rule of thumb for a quick land sales flip is to price it for sale at half the rate of comparable land, while making double your money.

So, with that being said, I would research demand and land prices for comps on a popular land website like landwatch.com.  If comps for your land are justified by the tax assessment of $13,000, then you would want to list it for $6,500, which means you could buy it for up to $3,250.  My guess is that the other offer she has in hand follows the same premise.  So, the land comps must've come in lower than the $13K, or the other offer is being more conservative.

The key is to make sure there is a demand for the land.  If you don't have a Buyer, then no price, no matter how discounted, will make sense.

Best of luck to you!

I personally HATE this topic as I feel like it is so abused at the sake of truly disabled people needing service animals.  There are so many people that just go online to register their pet, and there are many online websites that will provide a letter for this.  It makes me sick.

You may have something specific to your state, but from a national standpoint, the ADA is very clear about ESAs (Emotional Support Animals).  It states on their site that they are NOT considered Service Animals.  Also, one interesting note, ALL service animals MUST be certified in order to be considered service animals and receive the same protections as a service animal per their website.  Here is the link with specific info.

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.htm...

Now, some would argue that there are different rules for Fair Housing.   There is alot of chatter out there that states that as long as they have provided a note from a REGISTERED MENTAL HEALTH care provider (not just their PCP or family dr), that they can have their ESA.  I am not so sure.  Unless you are receiving government subsidy, or are considered student housing and so forth, there seems to be good cause to assume that you can refuse pets that don't meet the guidelines.  Below is the Fair Housing link that points specifically to service animals and ESAs.  Take a look at page 3 at the top.  There are 2 questions that you have to ask to ascertain the legit nature of the service animal.

https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/SERVANIMALS_NT...

From experience, I will tell you that it is usually pretty clear when an animal is a legit service animal or ESA.  We have a Tenant who is a military vet with an ESA.  The dog is certified, and we have the paperwork.  It is also trained to support this Tenant in stressful situations.  It has a function.  We did not collect any deposit or charge pet rent as the law is very clear that these types of animals are not considered pets, and you are not allowed to charge them as such.  

I wish you the best of luck in handling this.  It is a sticky situation as it still seems to have alot of gray area around it.  I would start with requesting a note from a registered mental health care provider.  If they provide that, and you can validate it as legit, I think you have to proceed.  At least I would at that point.  Many of the tenants we ask for the letter usually back down, and then either get rid of the pet, or pay the fees.

 It really depends on the appraiser.  Some welcome the info because they don't have to do as much when they go back to the office.  Others won't even look at it.  So, it will really be a coin flip.

If this project was a recent rehab and you have a complete budget of expenses, the appraiser will definitely look at that as that PROVES value beyond the average comp.  

Keep it short and factual (don't get wordy or sentimental). As I stated in my previous post, provide comps that the appraiser may not look for (non-MLS) . Does Zillow give you a favorable zestimate? If so, print that out and provide it for the appraiser.

Best of Luck to you!

 If you want to stay in the conventional space (not commercial), you need to be 1-4 unit.

If you want to purchase with the least amount down, within the conventional space, you need to be an owner occupant.  Many wannabe investors start out this way.  You live in it for 12 months to satisfy the lender requirement, then rent it out.

You will be hard pressed to find an investor loan that will offer 5% down without requiring you to live in the property as an owner occ.

@Pat Jackson you were right!  This topic IS divisive!  :)

I think someone here said it best... it really depends on your ultimate goal.  Here are some things to think about and/or consider....

The most amount of interest you will pay a lender is upfront.  The later part of the loan is mostly principal payment anyway.  So, paying off a loan that is 2/3 into it's maturity is not a good use of that money as the lender has already collected their portion of the interest in the first 2/3 of the loan term.  If you need a visual, go to any amortization table and see how each month the interest and principal is allocated, and how it shifts after year 5, 10, 20....and so forth.  So if you are trying to pay as little to the lender as possible, don't get a loan from one.  :)

You touched on a great resource at your fingertips...a HELOC. These are great as they can stay open and be used over and over again without incurring closing cost fees associated with originating a new loan. So, each time you pay it off and dip back in, you are just using it like your own bank account. Awesome.

If you have the kind of money that would be enough for a local property at trustee sale, this would be a good way to MAXIMIZE your dollar as you would be afforded the opportunity to purchase a property at a deep discount, and either rehab and flip it, rent and hold it in your portfolio, or wholesale it as-is.  If you are selling it, you don't need a loan because you used your cash for a short term.  If you decide to hold it, you can refinance it and avoid paying mortgage insurance (giving you more favorable terms and rate) because you acquired it at such a deep discount.

Keep in mind, properties without interest payments don't provide tax deductions....just FYI.  You may want to seek counsel with your accountant about what the loss of the deduction looks like versus the added cash flow.  It may not even be an issue.

Also as someone mentioned, free and clear properties provide good opportunities of leverage when the market shifts.  

I don't think either strategy is bad.  I think it all depends on your financial situation, your ability to access funds for your new purchases, and your ultimate goal for investing.