All Forum Posts by: John Clark

I understand your concept, but I would refuse your offer precisely because it can be 100% withdrawn, so you might as well be a wholesaler with no skin in the game. Kant and sophistry and all that

1 Vote

Cleveland, Ohio

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

1. Surprised you get sellers to agree to that.

2. if sold, the holder of the earnest money should give the money back without hesitation. The contract is now impossible to perform and by honoring a different contract that excludes your contract, the seller has cancelled your contract by his acts. No writing needed.

0 Votes

Cleveland, Ohio

Quote from @Joseph Kirk:

Quote from @John Clark:

Quote from @Joseph Kirk:

That's not what I asked. I asked when the lawsuit UNDERLYING the lis Pendens was filed. Lawsuits are filed with the court, lis pendens are recorded with the recorder of deeds. The lis pendens should state when the lawsuit was filed.

As for your closing they will probable get a payoff letter, and your title company (NOT the seller or wholesaler) will pay off the mortgage.

oh i see now. It was filed feb 11th. the county clerk received & stamped it on feb 24th.

So why are you blaming the title company for not picking up on something that had not been filed?

Look through your documents. There should be something about needing a payoff letter. If there was a closing date set, it was probably contingent on receiving a payoff letter. If it was, you have no complaint -- they didn't receive the payoff letter. If it was set without expectation of a payoff letter being timely sent, then someon screwed up.

0 Votes

Jersey City, New Jersey

Quote from @Joseph Kirk:

1 Vote

Jersey City, New Jersey

Quote from @Joseph Kirk:

Hey everyone,

I’m dealing with a frustrating situation and wanted to see if anyone else has experienced something similar.

I was set to close on an off market purchase in two days, but I just found out that the mortgage company filed a Lis Pendens, meaning the foreclosure process has started because the seller hasn’t been paying their mortgage. The title agent has now reahced out to their attorney who will reach out to the foreclosure attorney to get a payoff amount and approval for the sale, but this "could take up to 10 days."

What I don’t understand is how something like this happens so late in the process. I thought everything was clear, and I was under the impression that title searches should uncover any issues like this well in advance. I asked the title agent, and they just said, “Unfortunately, it can happen.”

Has anyone had a deal get delayed like this? Shouldn’t the title company have caught this earlier? Was there a lack of due diligence on their part, or is this just an unavoidable situation? Will it actually only take 10 days, or potentially month(s)?

Appreciate any insight!

I read your posts, and you fail to disclose the most important fact; when was the foreclosure lawsuit filed? The lis pendens is filed after the suit is filed, not before.

The mortgage was recorded. Therefore you (which includes yourself, your lawyer, and possibly the title company) surely demanded a payoff letter from the bank before a closing date could be set. It would be needed to generate a preliminary HUD statement so you would know how much cash to bring to the closing table. Then a closing date would be set.

So answer the question: When was the foreclosure suit filed?

1 Vote

Jersey City, New Jersey

Quote from @Rachel Weiss:

I don't want to sell without representation. I'm happy to pay a reasonable fee. Am I the only one thinking 60k is unreasonable????

What makes you think $60K is/is not reasonable?

Make a list of EVERYTHING you want the broker to do or not do: MLS, staging, photos, web site, preparing teaser descriptions, selecting comps., giving you market guidance, open houses, vetting potential buyers who don't have and don't want representation, contract negotiation, managing/scheduling/attending inspections and surveys, fielding bank requests for information, making sure government paperwork is done, you imagine and write it down and you'll still miss some stuff, but that's okay. Then you allocate those things out and estimate the hours to be spent on each item. For those things that can have a flat fee, ask the broker to give you a flat fee for that item. For those things that require time, ask for amount of time they'll need for an average house in the area given the sales environment you describe for each activity, and agree to a minimum and maximum reimbursement for each item.

They'll push for their (ludicrous) 6 percent, and you'll remind them that in Scotland it's done for 1 percent, and that the market in your area is super hot so the house will sell itself with little work.

Either you will persuade them, or they will persuade you.

You are wrong to think, however, that your preconception of what is involved is relevant to the question of what is "reasonable." We, and you, have no idea that your conceptions are accurate.

That said, try FISBO and get a real look at your market's situation, then plan accordingly. I am no friend of real estate agents.

0 Votes

Quote from @Jonathan Rieder:

It was specifically stated in the add that there was an ADU, which I assumed needs to be truthful and that an illegal ADU would not be considered an ADU, am I incorrect on this? Realtor and Title company were very aware there was an ADU.

thank you so much.

Neither one of whom (realtor, title company), pass judgement on the legality or code compliance of an ADU.

Always INDEPENDENTLY check:

zoning

code compliance

building classification

local rules re Airbnb etc and whether you can assume those statuses

title

inspection of building conditions

environmental conditions

schools

everything else — this is not a complete list.

Never trust/assume. I have said it before and I will say it again, my wife’s friend said it best when she said “The last time I trusted someone, I had twins.”

0 Votes

1. As others have said, you can have low risk. You can have high yield. You cannot have both.

2. I have to ask: How can you think that anybody could possibly guarantee you minimal tenant headaches?

0 Votes

Quote from @Jonathan Rieder:

Hi all,

Looking for some guidance. We just bough out 2nd property (single family with a 2br ADU in basement) with the intention of renting out the ADU. Unfortunately someone from the town had to come out due to an unexpected boiler replacement a week into owning. This resulted in them noticing that there appears to be an ADU so he look through the records and I guess had never been permitted. Any advice on this? Do I need to go through the whole process of getting this permitted now or can I just pull out the kitchen and say its another room ('ve been told that's a thing)? Also is there anyway to turn this back on the seller (who it turns out lied about quite a few other things), we were under the impression it was a legal ADU. I assume a lot of people will say this was due to lack of due-diligence and in that case I supposed I've learned a lesson here.

1. You should have done due diligence, yes.

2. Your lawyer should have told you what the building was zoned/rated for. Did you tell his there was an ADU so that he would know to check?

3. See about getting the ADU legalized. Sit down with the zoning people and alderman and see if that's possible.

4. You may be barred by the doctrine of merger, but depending on what representations were made, you may have a case against the seller. Probably not, though, since ADU status could be checked independently by you. Ask your lawyer.

1 Vote

1. Your inspector should have flagged the issue, even without turning the furnace on. His first question should have been: "Where's the heat pump?"

2. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just add the heat pump and not replace the furnace?

0 Votes

Kansas City, Missouri

All Forum Posts by: John Clark

John Clark has started 5 posts and replied 1292 times.

Post: Appraisal comes back lower than asking, seller is not willing to return deposit

Post: Appraisal comes back lower than asking, seller is not willing to return deposit

Post: Lis Pendens Filed Two Days Before Closing – Lack of Due Diligence by Title Company?

Post: Lis Pendens Filed Two Days Before Closing – Lack of Due Diligence by Title Company?

Post: Lis Pendens Filed Two Days Before Closing – Lack of Due Diligence by Title Company?

Post: High Realtor Fees, Can someone explain?

Post: Just bought a single family with basement ADU that turned out to be illegal.

Post: High-yield, “low-risk” M/F submarkets with double-digit cash-on-cash %

Post: Just bought a single family with basement ADU that turned out to be illegal.

Post: Tenant wants LL pay for high electric bill due to high cost electric furnace