All Forum Posts by: Lynn Harrison

Joel, Yes, I've been asking a lot of questions here. Some of that is very useful. Thank you.

Thanks Greg. Good idea. I did ask one agent if I could do that and she said no quickly so I assumed it wasn't ethical. Seems ethical to me as they'd be earning less for the same work without some change in contract or whatever. I'll look up California.

Thanks J Scott. I think finding a buyer's agent with the other company is a good idea at this point. I'll ask for recommendations locally.

I wanted to know if anyone had any ideas as to how to make a buyer's agent happier. I realize they are not going to be making much money on any property we buy.

Joel, again, I think you are assuming. OTOH maybe you have issues that don't have anything to do with me. If so please don't direct them at me.

Bienes Raices, thanks. Yes, that could be. She is not refusing to deal with us- she is polite and very professional and careful not to burn bridges. I get the impression she is hating her job right now. I believe she is a top agent in the area and I'm sure her commissions have gone down drastically. What she seems to be doing is working hard on the clients who need conventional loans and who are offering more. On the surface it looks like the bank is not accepting those offers but accepting lower cash offers. Several of those sales came after the bank sent the properties to another agent/company to sell. I'm sure she is not liking this- I don't blame her. And in fact I like that she is trying to get people conventional loans. It just wouldn't work for us.

We haven't made any formal offers yet- we need to wait a little longer. I'm just seriously checking out the market and figuring out how to do this and who best to work with.

We 've looked at many unoccupied properties. Most of them have the garage and outbuilding doors unlocked, gates unlocked and the access doors under the houses unlocked so that you can look underneath. I get the impression that the agents in the area leave it that way on purpose. That way they are not wasting their time showing the house and are also not liable for anyone falling through a rotted deck as they have not given permission.

We only went inside one of them. That one had windows busted out, graffitied walls and they had even stole the kitchen sink. There wasn't a sole thing LEFT in there to damage or steal so we didn't feel anyone would press any charges for B&E. Nor would the neighbors call the police. LOL. BUT- other than that one house we wouldn't think of it. I think unless half the neighborhood is going in and out of the house 24/7 you'd run the risk of it being considered trespassing.

That was a little assumptive and rude Joel. What we've "offered" (verbally testing the waters) is not far below what they have sold for.

It's easy in this case to find the listing agent. She is polite but basically didn't like us at first sight.

I think I need to check out the other REO listing office. They don't do as many REOs but what they do they sell. The first office has had a lot of the REOs go to another RE company after sitting on the market for a long time.

Thanks. Hmm... sounds familiar.

& thanks Mike. I'll check into it, but I think it'll be more like $150 minimum for a report around here. But... that little piece of paper may be worth it.

thanks Steve, good thread.

Thomas, we are looking at REOs and our plan is to inspect ourselves and waive inspection contingencies so as to get a better price. My boyfriend has construction experience. If we find something we could ask for price deduction. Possibly prove damage with a professional termite inspection. ...Better yet a good photo.

Looks like common sense and thoroughness as much as anything else.

Heh... Now to look up what carpenter ant poop looks like :) We see more of those than termites.

thanks Don :)

Whew. Good. Looks like you know what you are doing. The allowance form the park is excellent! I think an 89 wouldn't need an exhaustive inspection... Great deal.

We have been remodeling a trailer for the past year and living in it to save money. We bought it dirt cheap but it wasn't a bargain.... Had to completely tear out and rebuild.

A few things you may already know;
Don't use old paint which may have been frozen a few times. Recycle places often have free old paint that is perfectly good however. Just test it on something.
Don't use very old pvc cement on pipes.
We used cement floor leveler and ripped wood in patches before laying another layer of plywood- especially in the bathroom where the tub and toilet should be level. & There are such things as adjustment flanges for toilets- I don't remember the name for them.
Bondo works pretty good on metal siding. Great for sealing around windows. The pink bondo we used actually matched our awful pink tub. And the bondo patch on it is still holding...
If you use a sulfuric acid based rust stopper don't use a foam sponge to apply it- use a rag. Some foam melts a little and prevents primer from sticking.
Enzymes work well for smell. We replaced some bad spots, soaked the rest with enzymes, used a dehumidifier, then primed full strength with zimmer (?) primer- worked well.

thanks guys. I guess it wouldn't hurt to google them as well. I'm not even sure what kind of termites are in California. I THINK I've seen those mud tunnels. Just can't remember on which coast I've seen them.

Used the remnants of an old can of pvc pipe cement instead of buying a new can- had to redo some plumbing.

A few years ago I broke my own toilet by forgetting a hammer on the counter. When it fell it smashed out a very large section. Amazing how fragile porcelain can be :/ To make a long story short I attempted to replace the toilet on a damaged floor without knowing about adjusting flanges or whatever the heck they are called for 2 whole days... That was the project from h*ll.