All Forum Posts by: Cara Lonsdale

So, are you telling me that your title company doesn't offer open house registers, sample contracts, Ways to take Title sheets, FSBO manuals and so forth??? These are not RESPA violations. They are marketing materials to help assist the public with real estate transactions. I am not sure why you think these are compliance issues. They are not.

 No it isn't.  You should re-familiarize yourself with RESPA.  If a title company REQUIRES you to use them in exchange for trustee sale lists, that would be a potential RESPA violation.  I wasn't suggesting that at all.  What I was speaking to was the benefits of having a relationship with a title company.

These lists cost the title company little to nothing as they are usually generated in house as who better to have access to title/tax records than a title company?!

Additionally, the title company has a SLEW of resources that they offer to anyone as I mentioned in my post.

What I think you may be mistaking for a RESPA violation is when a vendor (title company, lender, home warranty company, etc) pays for all of the expense of doing a mailer for a Realtor.  This is a clear violation of RESPA.  RESPA requires that the investment made by the vendor has to represent equal exposure for the investment.  In other words, if the vendor pays for 1/2 of the mailer, their business should occupy 1/2 of the mailer.

Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with accepting, or asking for items that the title company has at their disposal, as long as they are not requiring you to utilize their services as part of the resources.

Hope that helps clarify.  Best of luck!!

 Yes.  Home Depot has the "Bid Room".  If you are spending at least $1,500, go to the pro desk and ask to set up a bid room proposal.  You have to know all of the items you want by providing the UPC #s for items in the aisles, and create purchase orders for major departments (go to appliances and have them work up an order, go to flooring for that order, and so forth).  

Just a little tip....go to the SAME Home Depot each time.  Your bid room deals build on each other.  The more deals you do, the more involved the manager onsite will get involved in discounting your bid room bid even farther than the bid room automated system will.  You would think that the stores are all inter linked, but they aren't.  They work more like franchises.  So, if you are bringing the same store your deal, they will respond in kind.

Best of luck to you!

 I am a 20 year Realtor, and investor in the Valley and want to add to Patrick's point.... our market here sits at a neutral point at about 25K active listings.  We saw this go dramatically above in the 2005-2008 time frame, and we all know how that went.  A good rule of thumb is to watch that number.  As Patrick mentioned, we are at 18K.  This still assumes that there is room for growth in this market.  As we see that number approach the 25K mark, it may be a different story.

NOW, that doesn't mean that there will be patches or areas that sit stagnate while other areas thrive.  That is true in any market.  However, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.

The other poster is also correct.  We see a slowing around this time through the new year because no one wants to move around the holidays.  However, that brings opportunity for you as Sellers wanting to sell this time of year tend to be more motivated.  

Best of luck to you.

If I may offer a suggestion to help.....

Make contact with a title company.  They all have marketing reps who can provide you with a trustee sale list.  These are people who have been given notice (90 days notice) that their current lender is going to foreclose.  This will be a hot target list. for you to pursue.

Some of them will be owner occupied, and some may not, but the list should give you the info you need to pursue them.  Then, it may make your driving for dollars more productive.

In turn, bring your deals to the same title company.  You will get an investor rate for repeat business, and continue to get your new lists.

 It's not just appliances for a warranty in that range.  Home warranties cover electrical, plumbing, HVAC, pools/spa equipment, garage door openers, water heaters, garbage disposals, and so much more!  Now think about how much it would take to set aside each month to cover those types of items..... times how many properties?  If you do the math, a $500 home warranty will break down to $41.66 per month, per property, which is a TOTALLY doable line item.  

Truth is...if you only have 1 property, it may be okay to roll the dice with your $500 in a reserve account, but for owners with multiple properties, this can break a reserve account if 2 or 3 of them have AC units go out in the same season, which is common.

Does Florida have a squatter law or anything to address trespassers?  In AZ we have something that avoids eviction if there is a squatter. 

I would call the police and tell them that someone is trespassing on your property and let the police go figure out what his deal is.  Most likely, if he can't produce a lease (which if he isn't on the lease, he can't produce one), they will escort him off the property.  Who knows...he may even be a fugitive!  If the tenant was a criminal, this may be her co-hort.  I would send the police over there to sort it out.

I would not leave him there any longer than you have to.  who knows what he is doing to your property....Or even to the tenant's stuff.  Something that hasn't been addressed here is that you may have an obligation to the tenant in regards to her personal property.  

Yikes!  Best of luck to you!!

WOW!  This group is really torn in 2 extreme directions.  I hope I can shed some light to help.

Home Warranties are like any other type of insurance.  You feel like it's useless when it doesn't get used, but are grateful when something catastrophic happens and it is there for you... Just like your car insurance or health insurance.  Equally notable....there are all kinds of home warranties.  Some only cover appliances.  Some cover major systems (HVAC, electrical, basic plumbing), but not personal appliances like the fridge or washer/dryer.  Others cover only specific items like the sewer line from the street to the house.

As @Maria Flowers so clearly pointed out, it can be used as a tool to not only help with repairs, but eliminate you as the middle man for every little thing as the Tenant can be set up to submit claims and pay the trade call fee if written in the lease to do so.  

It is true that Home Warranty companies sometimes go through an overly cautious repair period prior to replacement....just like your doctor may send you to physical therapy before he elects for surgery.  But put this in perspective.... you spend $500 for the home warranty, and they are trying to evaluate whether or not to put out $3K for a new AC unit!  I would say it was worth the investment, as well as the extra time for them to trouble-shoot.  It IS easy to feel the frustration during this period, but again, put it into perspective for what you just avoided paying that the home warranty is picking up for you.

Also, what alot of people don't know about some of these warranties, is that if you don't like their decision to repair, or whatever the recommended course of action is, you can opt to take a cash settlement for the cost of the repairs they are proposing, and then go do whatever course of action you want to do.  We did use this option for a pool repair once.  The warranty suggested replacement of some parts in the filter, which also required it to be emptied and refilled with sand (which is expensive to do).  We opted to take the money and replace the filter because the expense to do so was only a couple hundred dollars more than they were going to pay for all the repair work and sand replacement on the old filter system.

As an added bonus, a home warranty sets you up with contractors for various repairs, which is also a great tool for you as an investor as you get to build your contact list of credible contractors to refer back to when it comes time for a rehab.

All that being said....Home Warranty companies are not all alike!  Shop around.  Read their brochures to see what EXACTLY they cover.  I have found that Old Republic Home Protection is a good one.  Check to see if they are offered in the area that the property is located.  They replaced 2 AC units in our properties this year alone!  Not bad for a $500 investment per property.  That would have been $7K out of my pocket within a 45 day span of time.  No thanks!

I hope this helps.  Best of luck to you!!

I am a Realtor in AZ.  This market is solid right now with very few pockets that aren't moving.  Unless this property is in one of those slow moving pockets (if it is, why do you want it?), then the Seller will likely be able to get retail if that is where he is stuck.  If there is no further motivator (default, money issues, reason for moving), then he may run you around the block a few times before you realize that he doesn't want to sell within the range you are willing to buy.

I agree with the others....get to the root of his motivation.  If he doesn't have any reason to sell, why would he sell at a deep discount?

This is a good question, and one that many agents don't stop to ask, so I applaud your inquiry.  It is actually a little bit more complicated for your situation than everyone is letting on.

Your broker will be able to confirm specifics of what you can do as you practice real estate at the privilege of his/her brokerage, and many options that MAY be legal to do, may come with risks that your Broker is not willing to take on.  However, I can give you some options and things to think about with each option.

First let me say that LDAs (Limited Dual Agency) are awesome when used appropriately.  It is great to "double dip" on a transaction.

However, I think you will find that you will not be able to represent the Buyer and yourself in the transaction as you are not able to provide the same level of service to each party since you have an ownership interest on the seller side.  Let me explain....

In a regular LDA (Limited Dual Agency), either 1 agent represents both parties, or 2 different agents from the same brokerage represent 1 of the two parties (1 for the Buyer, 1 for the Seller).  Remember, it's all about the Broker.  With LDAs, your representation is limited because there are certain things you have to protect from one to the other.....for instance......Let's say the Buyer tells you that they would be willing to pay closing costs if the Seller counters with that.  IF you go and tell the Seller that they can counter on closing costs because you know the Buyer will pay them, you have just violated your duty to the Buyer.  In a NORMAL representation, if you would have heard something like that, you would run to the Seller and tell them because you only represent the Seller and their interests.  However, in an LDA, you have a responsibility to both and cannot disclose certain things about either party.

So, do you see now why YOU being the Seller representing themselves AND representing the Buyer wouldn't work?  Because obviously anything the Buyer would tell you would provide you an advantage.

You still have options....again please counsel with your Broker to see what he/she allows.

The safest option is to allow the Buyer to obtain their own agent, and not make any suggestions.  That way, any advice the agent gives them is not related to you in any way, and you limit your liability.

Another option would be to suggest another agent within your office.  You would then be in an LDA, but it would be ok because the Buyer had a representative that wasn't the Seller himself.

You could suggest another agent from a different brokerage as well.  You wouldn't be in an LDA at that point, and you could ask for a referral fee.

You could be the sole agent in the transaction and treat it like a FSBO in reverse (where the Buyer doesn't have representation) and you represent yourself (a written disclosure will be required where the Buyer acknowledges that you represent yourself and not them).

Lastly, you will have to ask your broker if you can even represent yourself. Many agents don't realize this, but when you represent yourself, you do not have the protection of E&O insurance as any error or omission is considered fraud on your part. Many brokers will be your agent on paper as a professional courtesy to avoid the E&O issue. Just another thing to consider.

I hope that helps clarify things.  Best practice is to consult with your Broker for his/her policy on Dual Agency.  Best of Luck to you!!