All Forum Posts by: John Curseaden

Federal law allows relatives to assume an existing mortgage after the death of a borrower; bank cannot object so this is not a "subject to" issue. Has anyone had experience with doing such a transaction,including what paperwork needs to get done.

I am an attorney in MA and just from a legal perspective you are playing with fire if you do anything but return the security deposit, less the cost any legitimate and documented damage repair.  Breaching a lease is a legal, not a moral, issue and your lease language did nothing to protect you, irrespective of why the tenant is moving.

tom, are you only looking for real estate agents?

Has anyone dealt with this lender. Contact name is Blane Hendrickson. Based in Coral Gables, FL. Any feedback much appreciated.

Definitely do your due diligence on anyone who contacts you from this site. I got a response a private lender, J. Nicole Foster, at [email protected]. She has both California and Georgia phone numbers and claims to have made her money from oil and gas investments. I tried asking on BP to see if anyone had heard of her; no one had. She could not furnish a bank statement showing she had any funds; she did provide a statement with no name that showed a balance of -880,000! Anyway, she wants a documentation fee upfront, as well as proof of your identity. DO NOT DO IT.

Has anyone dealt with Nicole Mc Funding Inc. in GA?

Yes, before anyone does this they should discuss it with an attorney in her state. I do agree that holding a DIL in escrow would be treated much less favorably should you go to court than such a provision in the loan document as one among a variety of remedies. Again, it's about creating an expectation of the remedy should the buyer default.

Now, in other contexts I've had to pick up the pieces where someone didn't get a document signed up front for later use if certain conditions of the transaction weren't met. It's easier to walk away from the promise if it isn't set forth in black and white with the buyer's signature on it.

David, This is generalized legal advice, but it seems that you should include both provisions in the loan documents at the time of the loan's origination and funding. If your borrower refuses to tender a DIL, for whatever reason, you can simply foreclose, but you give yourself the option.

Hi All,

After reading all of the various e-mails I remember again why I want to pursue real estate full-time instead of the law! I think the lesson we all take away is that no one wins when the rehab borrower defaults. That said, there's no reason that you cannot include in your contracts a DIL provision as well as a foreclosure provision, making them both options to pursue as a remedy. If your contract has a severability clause, as every contract should have, even if the DIL falls you can enforce the foreclosure provision. I merely broached the DIL because, even though my company is in the borrowers' side, it always makes sense to try to minimize costs and delays in any transaction, including unwinding a deal (that's the attorney speaking). Lots of intelligent and thoughtful people on BP!

Not for nothing Ann, but I am amazed an attorney said you could lose 100% of your investment. There is an ancient and often used legal doctrine called quantum meruit that effectively means the borrower owes you back the money he borrowed to put you both back to the status quo. You likely lose any interest due but not the principal. I cannot believe any judge would invalidate a transaction and hold that the borrower walks away free and clear, unless you have done something else so patently offensive in structuring the deal that a judicial "penalty" is necessary to discourage that practice. Otherwise, the borrower gets a huge windfall. Of course, you need to allege the quantum meruit claim in any legal proceeding.