All Forum Posts by: Jon Haney

Hi everyone,

Currently I own two investment properties, and I'm considering taking a HELOC on my first property to cover a down payment for a third. This is my first time with any sort of creative financing, so I wanted to run some numbers by you all to see if this would make sense or not.

Property value of first property: $95,000

Amount owed on mortgage: $44,000

FYI: I’m cash flowing at around $500 between our first two properties, I’m able to set aside $1,000 a month in personal savings from my W-2, and I have around $13,000 in savings with no debt.

Does taking a HELOC work under these circumstances?

I’m sure that I’m missing some important information, so feel free to ask a follow-up question for more details! Thanks for the help everyone.

Jon

0 Votes

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out for help with squatters. I purchased a property back in August 2022 in St Louis that I planned to do some light renovations to (putting in around $10k) and then rent out. Unfortunately, before I could get a chance to do the renovations, squatters started occupying the property. I live out of town and I stay very busy with work, making travel to St Louis tricky on my end.

For the past several months I've hired a property service company to board up the place, call the police for me when they spot someone in the home, and even clean the place out. Unfortunately, none of these things have worked, and at least one of the squatters is still occupying the place.

The police have been agreed to make an arrest, but unfortunately it's difficult to catch the squatters since I live so far away and since the property service can only call the police during the day (which is often when the squatters are out).

Any advice would be incredibly appreciated . . . thank you!!

Jon

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Saint Louis, Missouri

Quote from @Troy DeLong:

@Jon Haney The 'Compensation' referred to in that screenshot you shared (Exclusive Buyer Agency agreement) is stating that your agent (Buyer's Agent) is entitled to the compensation offered by the SELLER in a property that is listed by a Listing Agent. You DO NOT pay that as a Buyer.

Now, if you purchase a property using your Buyer Agent and the Seller is NOT offering any compensation / commission, OR the compensation is under your agents minimum (2.7% or $1,000 stated in your Exclusive Agency agreement) then you are responsible, as the Buyer, to cover the difference.

As far as your agent's comments on the $2k, he's probably just saying that you are getting a deal, I guess, or something of that nature. But you're not obligated to pay the $2,000.

Hope this helps!

Thanks Troy and everyone! This was super helpful. Interestingly, I wrote the realtor asking for more details, and here’s what he said back:

What’s your take on this? Just the realtor trying to make his normal profit on this one? (FYI, Im not planning to send any money.)

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Saint Louis, Missouri

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Jon Haney:

Hi everyone,

Currently wrapping up my second SFR, this one located in St. Louis. My question is about realtor fees.

I signed a buyer’s purchase agreement with a realtor that I got to know through this deal (he was already working with the seller). The agreement stated that I should pay 2.7% or $1,000, whichever is greater, with the property coming in at $40,000.

However, I was just speaking again with the realtor, asking about wiring instructions, and he told me he “usually charges a flat fee of $2,000 on transactions under $50,000.”

My question is: Is this fair? I didn’t know anything about his rate before we started, but neither did I specifically ask, since I thought his rate was stated in the buyer’s agreement!

Thanks for the help!

You pay what is on the written agreement you signed. Any new transaction has a new negotiation.

Hi Mike, thanks for the help. I went back and reread the contract, and now I’m second-guessing myself here. Have I agreed to pay more than I initially realized, or do I just need to cover this $1,000? Thanks!