All Forum Posts by: J Zhang

Quote from @Tim Baldwin:

You need to screen using professional standards for several reasons. 

I have no doubt as to the value of tenant screening. I have since check with two insurance carriers in Colorado and they don't require tenant screening. The catch is they also don't cover intentional damage by tenant to the property. 

I'm in the process of getting a landlord insurance policy quote. The rep on the phone says their landlord policy doesn't require a landlord to screen tenants. I'm a bit surprised - if I were the underwriter I would see both the landlord and tenants as a higher risk if there's no screening. I come from a jurisdiction where you claim can be declined if you fail to show proof of tenant screening documentation especially for property damage by the tenant. In your experience, is it common that tenant screening is not required by a landlord policy offered in the US/Colorado?  

 

Apologies I published this post by mistake. There doesn't seem to be a way for me to delete it. Any tips on how to delete it is appreciated! 

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

A properties type of ownership generally falls into 3 types of ownership. Condos, coop, and fee simple. All of these describe a type of ownership, and not a building style. A property that looks like a townhouse coupe be any of these 3. I live in a property thst looks like a tow house, but it is a condo.

I'm pretty confused on this topic. I thought fee-simple, lease hold and life estate etc. as types of ownership, and condo and co-op are created using other legal instruments. But my knowledge is sketchy in this area anyway. Interestingly, when I searched "condominium in fee simple", there are several discussions on the topic, including this one on "Appraisersforum.com". 

https://appraisersforum.com/forums/threads/how-is-a-condo-fee-simple.163799/

Quote from @AJ Wong:

HI Jin, what are you attempting to determine? Whether a condo is warrantable or down payment requirements and terms structuring? 

For conventional financing, condos need to be 'warrantable' if the condo or HOA doesn't meet those guidelines it is 'non-warrantable' and there are alternative or Non-QM (non conventional) lenders that offer financing. Usually slightly more down payment but possible. Check in with @Joseph Chiofalo for lender questions, he's a condo guru based in SoFLA. Good luck. 

Thank you AJ. I am just trying to determine if the townhouse I have would be considered a condo by Fannie Mae. We bought it because it has a fee simple title with its own lot boundary. I just want to make sure this is not considered a condo and subject to the warrantable rules when I want to sell. 

Hi, I've seen several posts on how FM condo rules potentially affect the selling of condo units. I've checked FM website and read the rules however I am unable to find the exact definition of Condo by FM. I saw a lot of conflicting information on the Internet about whether condo is a type of RE ownership or just a bunch of units sharing walls. I have a fee simple townhouse (with defined property boundary of my unit), it shares walls on both sides and has a HOA. Can it be regarded as a condo in FM's book?