All Forum Posts by: Jenna Y.

Hm, a realtor @ 3% commissions doesn't really give me attractive numbers for this situation. I'm interested in the spread between purchase price (only considering properties over 40% below market price) and ARV after a cosmetic fix up. Of course, subtracting closing costs, holding costs, rehab costs, taxes.

Would like to do this without tying up so much cash, and without the heavy taxes associated with a full-blown full-rehab flip. But I suppose that's everyone's dream. :)

Hi Lucas - We built in Portland Oregon, where zoning ordinances are more progressive. Denver I heard is tougher, although there is a growing community of tiny home enthusiasts -  it might be worth tapping into - as it is very region-specific.

Hi @Bill Coleman , we built a tiny house and  rent it out as a vacation rental, happy to answer any questions. :)

Hello - We are currently working on two home renovations, which we’ll be holding. Nearly every week we bump into someone new that is impressed with what we’re doing design-wise and looking to buy a property like ours for themselves as a weekend/vacation home.

We’ve discovered quite a few other off-market prospective properties in the area with that kind of potential.

In order for them to be appealing to this specific market (city dwellers, deeper pockets, a specific design aesthetic), we could put in about $1k in cosmetic design-related improvements and about a week of work.

We're trying to connect the dots. 

Are there alternatives to the traditional flipping route? Flipping seems like not the best fit because: 

• Would like to avoid needing to put all cash down.
• Doing two closings, with the associated paperwork and costs (and taxes!) seems a bit overkill for something like this - we want to get in and out quickly - $1k in improvements, one week of time.

Unless I’m mistaken, wholesaling seems to be more of an investor-to-investor transaction. Moreover, the value we’re trying to capture here is two-fold (a) finding under-market properties (b) our unique ability to spruce things up, design-wise, so it appeals to a specific target market.

Is there anything between flipping and wholesaling? Flipping-lite? Suggestions on how you'd approach?

Hello - I'd like to change ownership structure for a property (my first deal) from Joint Tenancy to Tenancy in Common. Same owners.

Looks like I'll have to do the following. Is this correct? 

• Grant Deed: Fill out, notarize, definitely file with County Recorder
• Tenancy in Common Agreement: Fill out, notarize, maybe file with County Recorder

It seems like I can fill most of this out on my own, but I sure could use an experienced second set of eyes. 

Who would be the appropriate person that could review these documents before I file them? Any recommendations? For context, this is for San Bernadino County, California. 

Thank you! 

Hi Kate - Lots to consider here, I'm new at real estate, but have been doing AirBNB. Regarding that side of things, what I tell people is that as an investor, the numbers need to stand on their own as a rental, without AirBNB income. Anything additional that AirBNB brings in - consider it gravy, but do NOT rely on it as the default income source, particularly in your first year.

Unless you have a  track record of successfully hitting vacation rental projections over the fence consistently - I would not recommend running your numbers assuming that you'll book out every single day in a month with the exception of 7 days vacancy. Moreover, hit that number consistently, month over month, with no last-minute cancellations, or accounting for seasonal variability. 

There are definitely other factors at play with your deal that I'm not experienced enough to comment on - but thought I'd chime in in the area I do know about. 

 I am currently in the process of acquiring two properties with septic systems, so for me - the answer is yes.

I'm learning as I go, it seems that the issue isn't so much the presence of the septic system per se, but how well that system has been maintained over the years. Needing to replace a septic system can be a huge hassle and expense. 

You'll really need a septic inspection to budget repair/ongoing maintenance costs, as it really depends on:

- up to now: how well it has been maintained, how full it is now. 

- in the future: how often it will be used, how many people, how it will be used (garage disposal, shower, toilet etc), size of the tank, and design of the leaching field. I'll need to do some tenant education/awareness.

If the inspection comes back with major issues/costs, then that just needs to be worked into the larger picture. 

Thank you all. I learned a lot from this. I thought title/escrow was a fairly straightforward offering - but realizing that pricing, quality and professionalism vary wildly, even from one regional office to the next. Also, I'm picking up that realtors usually act as the middleman and realtors have little/no incentive to question things as long as paperwork gets done - and the buyers trust that realtors are looking out for their best interest. As a result, there is little oversight/accountability in the title/escrow industry it seems. Interesting world. 

 An update: I contacted another regional office from the same parent company. They quoted $500 less and openly disclosed fee structure and schedule immediately over the phone (the office I worked with refuses to disclose a fee structure or schedule, and took nine days to provide an estimate). So for the office I'm working with, something is not right. I'm not sure if the lack of fee transparency  is intentional or simply due to mismanagement/incompetence. 

Unfortunately, too far into the closing process to do anything at this point, so I'm going to finish off it, report the incident with documentation to their corporate offices, and move on from this rabbit hole. Luckily, not too expensive of a mistake and in the process I found a much more reliable escrow company to do business with going forward. Onward upward.

I'm new at this, but this is what I've worked our so fat. If you have an iPhone, I just discovered that the Zillow app lets you locate "nearby" to you, allowing you to pull up the specific property you are standing in front of, even if it is off-market. This gives you instant great data (ignore that Zestimate, of course) like parcel number, tax info, link to County database, sale history, etc. I can favorite a listing and write private notes. When I go home, I pull up my favorites list from the Zillow website and compile onto a Google Doc (so I can access on my phone). I'd imagine it'd be even better on a tablet.

Nine days after opening escrow, I received an estimate (actually the Buyer's Estimated Closing Statement) from our title company yesterday. It was emailed to me same morning the fedex package to the Seller went out. I had been requesting an estimate since the day we opened escrow. 

This is for a 14k property, FSBO, all cash. No clouds on the title. I (the buyer) am paying all closing costs.

Owners Policy $605.00
Escrow Fee/ Title Services $1,075.00
Transfer Tax $15.40
Recording $93.00
Tax Proration: $9.70

------

TOTAL$1,798.10 (12.84% of the Purchase Price)

Based on subsequent estimates I received over the phone today (I didn't realize that you could get a rough estimate over the phone, as this title company took nine days to provide one), the combined owners policy and escrow fees are $500-$600 higher than other title companies. This is for me, the buyer, paying both sides of fees.  

I requested from my title company a fee schedule of the Owners Policy and a fee breakdown of Title Services, and the company has refused to provide. I don't even know what Owner's Policy I'm purchasing. There is a fee schedule posted online, but policy fee in the estimate is 50% higher than posted online.

The Seller has already fedex'ed his forms back. 

At this point, what recourse do I have? Are title companies not obligated to provide timely estimates and accurate fee schedules?