All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Talcott

Welcome Krista!  Hope you find much success in your investing career!

Not sure about GA, but in FL the only downside to getting pre-approved is that your credit score will reflect the fact that you had a mortgage company check your credit score.

Other that that, there really is no downside to getting pre-approved that I know of.  It usually takes less than an hour and can be done over the phone.  

Another thing - most listing agents and sellers would completely disregard a letter of intent.  It means absolutely nothing to someone who wants to sell their house because there is no commitment behind it.  An executable contract is the only thing that most realtors I know would take seriously.

So, I guess I don't understand your hesitation.  If you are serious about buying the house and you're planning to use a conventional loan, why not just get the pre-approval letter and make the offer?

Disclaimer:  I am not an attorney, and anything I share on this forum is strictly my personal opinion, and is NOT intended to be legal advice of any kind.

Just about every time I click on a discussion, or anything else, I get logged out of BP.  This just started in the last day or so.  Is there something I need to do to keep from getting logged out?

Check your contract and discuss with a real estate attorney.  Your inspection period may allow you to back out for any reason, OR it may contain restrictions.  

Just make sure that you are accurate on the dates.  If you miss your inspection period by even one day, you will probably obligated to go ahead with the purchase.

Disclaimer:  I am not an attorney, and these are strictly my personal opinions and are NOT intended to be legal advice.  I recommend that you seek the advice of an attorney regarding any legal matter.

I am not an attorney, and anything I write on this forum is strictly my own opinion, or an account of my own personal experiences.  I recommend consulting your attorney in all matters related to the law.

Ok, I assume that every state has its own laws governing real estate but, I believe that in some states a listing agent is not required to present certain offers if the seller signs an agreement to that effect.  However, I think most standard listing agreements usually require the listing agent to present all formal/written offers to the seller.

Have your agent check with her broker first (brokers are supposed to know the real estate laws), but she could maybe present the written offer directly to the seller if the listing agent refuses to. Truth is, if you get a paper copy of the offer, you might be able to take the offer directly to the seller yourself (depends on the laws in your area). However, if your agent's broker talks to the listing agent's broker, it's quite possible that the issue could be resolved that way, and nobody would need to circumvent the listing agent.    

Depending on the listing agreement, it's likely that even if you or your agent circumvents the listing agent in presenting the offer, the seller will probably still wind up having to pay her listing agent's commission in the end.  She would need to check her listing agreement to find out. 

Last time we applied for a mortgage, I think they said that they do not consider 100% of a self-employed person's income.  However, it may have been that they meant that they account for income tax, SS tax, etc. (It's been a while.)

Basically, they said we had to have at least two years income tax returns to prove how much we earn.  Other than that it seemed pretty much the same as W2 earnings.

Your best bet might be to get with a mortgage loan originator and just ask them what you'd need to qualify for a mortgage if you were self-employed.  The ones I've talked to were always happy to talk to a potential customer:)

I'm a fairly new flipper, so take what I say with a grain of salt.  That said, I'd want an address and the price you're asking.  If it wasn't listed on the mls, I'd also want to know how many bedrooms, baths and sq. ft.  And I'd want to know what rehab it needed and if you had any legitimate quotes.

I've met several wholesalers thus far, and have yet to find one who has a good grasp on both ARV and rehab. Heck, I'd be happy if I could just find one that was knowledgable about ARV. But if I found one who had properties at 60-65% of TRUE ARV, then I'd definitely be interested in working with them. On the other hand, if they just spent a lot of time trying to "blow my socks off", I'd scratch them off MY list, and move on.

I agree with @Rob Beland. Spend less time worrying about finding buyers, and more time finding true deals. If you had TRUE deals, then one trip to an REI meeting would probably sell everything you had under contract. Plus, you'd probably be able to keep your "buyers list" full all the time without any marketing. Investors are always looking for good deals. Bring it to them, and you'll be on their list instead of the other way around.

A little upset right now so this is a little bit of a rant and (another) warning to investors to do your due diligence on properties before you buy them.

Just got the lien search from the seller's title company today on a the property is supposed to close tomorrow. The lien search showed a $15k+ code violation, but no lien against the property. So, I called the county and discovered that not only was the code violation a lien against the property, but that the full amount was actually over $42,000! because of daily penalties accrued since 2011! (This is an REO.)

Sooo, I have a call in to my mentor to get her advice on whether to cancel, or see if my buyer can get the $42k reduced to a much lower amount, or see if the bank wants to get it paid off before he buys the place.

Anybody have any ideas?

I've moved to different states and taken my time on changing my license.  California was a pain because they required a copy of your birth certificate.  I lived there over a year with an old license and I paid my rent on time and in full every single month.

Just saying' the license thing wouldn't bother me because it's not alway top priority for people and doesn't have much to do with whether or not someone pays their bills...  However, if something else was telling your gut that they'll be a pain, then definitely don't rent to them.

Sent the request.  Would love to see the spreadsheet