All Forum Posts by: Jessie Huffey

Renters Insurance may cover it but usually only applies to the tenant's personal possessions. Your insurance policy on the property will probably cover vandalism but it may not be worth it to file a claim as the damage will likely not exceed the deductible.

Thanks all for the feedback. Yes, the property is in a trust and her real estate lawyer said something along the lines of it had to stay in the trust in order to maintain the lower property tax rate. The property is in California and I know she looked into just doing a cash out refi but for some reason that was not going to work. She also looked into a hard money loan, but with 50 pages of paperwork and the lender having the power to default the loan and seize the property for a myriad of reasons beyond that which conventional loans have, she just didn't feel comfortable doing it. She is a person who reads every line of a contract and will not sign if she feels uncomfortable with anything (which is good but makes this sort of process slow).

Hi All,

I am asking this question on behalf of my Mom. Last Year my grandma died and left her home (worth 2 million) as an inheritance in a trust for my mom and her brother. My mother personally took care of my grandmother for the past 10 years so her brother agreed in writing (lawyers wrote everything up) to take $600k in exchange for my mom getting the property exclusively. Now my mom needs to figure out how to get him the 600k without selling the home (she wants to keep it as an investment and not sell because my grandma bought in 1916 and the taxes are only $1000 per year compared to similar properties which have taxes of 30k per year). Is there a way for her to access the equity in her current portion of the property to pay him off without having to do a hard money loan? Her personal residence does not have enough equity in order to pull out 600k. Thanks in advance for your advice.

-Jessie

Thanks Colin and Robert. Yes, I decided before I listed the house on Zillow that if I am unable to get a good offer on my own I would list with a specific real estate agent I know that has an excellent track record in August. The truth is, however, I would rather have the buyer pocket some savings than pay a $25,000 commission which I believe is too high for the amount of work involved. I think it is totally fair to pay a 5% commission on a 100k home but don't think a 500k home is 5 times more work to sell and if I can avoid paying a $25,000 commission, I will.

Hi All, Although I eventually plan to be much more involved as a real estate investor, my immediate need is for some advice on selling my home quickly FSBO and maximizing profit without paying a 5% commission (amounts to about $25,000 in my case). I have recently listed my home on Zillow for 510k (about 5k below market value) in Prunedale, Ca. (about 1 hour south of San Jose, Ca). I have had a lot of interest from buyers and real estate agents (who balk at my offer to give a 2% commission if they bring in buyer and handle closing process) who are planning to attend the showing, and I believe the level of interest is due to the fact that it is the lowest priced home in the area on the market now given the square footage and lot size. Because I am out of state, I am doing one showing next weekend and am betting this will generate at least one offer. If it does, what should be my next steps? Thanks!

 The fact that he does not want to disclose the pricing is a red flag to me and a sign that he may want to manipulate the situation to purchase less quality materials or pocket a significant amount of money that should have been used for materials purchase. I do not know whether or not this is common practice in other states but my husband always provides receipts to customers on materials he bought or gives them the option to buy. I think it is fair for contractors to add a 10% overhead to this but they should disclose the details of all materials purchased IMO.

My husband is a contractor in North Idaho and formerly a contractor in California. He was somewhat flexible on payment terms but either required the customer to purchase the materials directly and pay him 10% up front or he requires 25% up front. That being said, I can not over emphasize the importance of finding contractors that you can trust and sticking with them. If you are concerned that they will take advantage of you- do not work with them. My husband does not advertise his business and has more work than he can handle. 95% of his jobs are either from past clients or from referrals from past clients. Thankfully, he has never had a problem getting paid.