All Forum Posts by: Julie O.

One thing to consider when deciding between a HELOC and refi is cost. As mentioned above, it costs very little up front to set up a HELOC. But getting a whole new mortgage to take cash out of a property costs thousands of dollars. The HELOC will have a higher interest rate, and the tax laws on how you can spend HELOC money and still get a tax write-off have changed recently, a refi has a lower rate. Just a few more things to think about.

@Account Closed Yes, Anthony, the numbers I posted are out-the-door numbers.  I would basically net much less than the house is worth but close very quickly.  I should also note that their offer was quite a bit less than what their "Zestimate" price was on their website, so you can't use that as a benchmark if you're thinking of giving them a try.

Let's try the image again...  Sorry!

If anyone is interested in some real numbers, I actually asked Zillow for an offer on one of my homes.  I live in Denver metro, so I've been getting lots of emails from them about this, thought I'd see what it's all about.  First, I got market value on my house from my usual Realtor.  Zillow's offer was REALLY lowball, I thought.  Also, though the process all begins on-line,but they really really want to get you on the phone to give you the offer. So I scheduled the phone call, and the woman I was dealing with was pretty uninformed and VERY pushy.  

In all, not a great experience.  When they gave me my verbal offer (pending inspection by a local Realtor), the Zillow person was unable to explain to me all of their fees, and I thought they were pretty steep. I finally got what I've pasted below as explanation.  Also, my house is not a fixer, truly only needs a little bit of paint and about 1500 sqft of carpet, the rest is hardwoods.

My agent said my house was worth $500k-$530k, here's from the email Zillow sent:

Hi Jeff

I think your place is in the same area that I have most of my rentals.  Tell me exactly where your condo is.  It might be worth more rent than you think, I've been surprised at the rents I've gotten for my two bedroom places in Westminster and Thornton lately.  If yours is close to mine, I'll be happy to share.

This is from HUD's website:

2. Exclusions Because of Prior Conviction

In most instances, a record of conviction (as opposed to an arrest) will serve as sufficient evidence to prove that an individual engaged in criminal conduct.29 But housing providers that apply a policy or practice that excludes persons with prior convictions must still be able to prove that such policy or practice is necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. A housing provider that imposes a blanket prohibition on any person with any conviction record – no matter when the conviction occurred, what the underlying conduct entailed, or what the convicted person has done since then – will be unable to meet this burden.

Read the whole LONG thing here:

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

I have taken this to mean that I can no longer have a blanket rule that says "no felonies."  In your case, do you know if he'll be going to jail?  If so, might want to talk to him about moving out and storing his stuff himself before he goes.  

I sure wouldn't mind seeing what some of you are using for a "pest clause" in your leases that would take care of a problem like this.  After seeing this, I reread my lease and decided my language wouldn't be strong enough if this situation happened to me with one of my tenants.

The Murpyh's Law house!  Great "after" pics.  I would love to see your GC contract and SOW paperwork if you feel like sharing?  I've been lucky so far, and I bet there are holes in my contracts that I don't know about because they haven't been negatively tested yet.  I share your pain regarding the cost of contractors.  I don't think we've gone up quite as quickly here in Denver, but I do know I'm paying some subs 3x what I did three years ago.  And I feel special when some of these guys even take my calls!

I have found that the origination cost for a HELOC is much lower than for a cash-out refinance. This can save several thousand dollars just in transaction fees. Only issue I've run into is finding someone to do a HELOC on a rental property. So far, only had luck with Wells Fargo, but still a good deal in for the long term. You're looking at a similar $$ in equity that I was for my last deal, seemed a shame to spend $3-$4k on origination fees, closing costs, appraisal, etc. HELOC was only about $100, they even pay for the appraisal. LTV can be a little lower than a refi, though, and many HELOCs seem to have a variable rate, so that's something to look into as well. Good luck!

I had this come up last year, caused me to call my attorney and do quite a bit of reading.  First thing I learned, there are "Service Animals" and there are "Emotional Support Animals."  The rules are different for the two distinctions.  And while I've found quite a few people have anything from a pit bull to a duck for emotional support, I've haven't had this happen for actual service animals yet.

Here in Colorado, you can't register to vote if you don't own a dog.  Just kidding.  :-)  But seems like EVERYONE has one, this comes up every time I list a place for rent.  I'm not an attorney, this is not legal advice!  But I found that while you have to make reasonable accommodation for either of these distinctions, changing insurance companies is deemed to be unreasonable.  I was quite pleased to discover that my insurer forbids certain breeds, including pit bulls.  In my written rental requirements, I state no animals not covered by my insurance.  These requirements are only given out at a showing after an applicant has passed my phone screening, or if they request it sooner, but I don't offer a copy immediately.  I've also changed my phone screening question to "Do you have any animals?" instead of "Do you have any pets?", this lets me know what I'm in for right away.

It's odd, but you can ask what a service animal has been trained to do with regards to a disability, you can't ask ANYTHING about an emotional support animal except to confirm that this is the animal's role.  

@Brian Simmons I really like how you've handled this with regard to verifying certification of the animal.  I have managed not to have it go this far yet, but will use your method if it ever does.