All Forum Posts by: Kay March

My son was not represented by a buyer's agent when he offered to buy a house, The listing agent told him to hire her, the listing agent, as his (buyer's) agent and agree to a 2.5% commission, so that the listing agent could then keep "both" commissions, just as she would have in the past before the new NAR rules. Presumably any potential buyer who refused to do this would not fare well in the bidding. My concern is that under the new NAR rules the agreement to hire a buyer's agent obligates the buyer to pay the buyer's agents's commission if the seller refuses to do so, and since the buyer's agent's agreement must be signed before the buyer can view a property or make an offer, the buyer has no guarantee that the seller will agree to pay that commission. So how should a buyer then structure his offer to stipulate that the seller must reimburse the buyer for that commission? I seem to remember that in the offer or purchase agreement the seller's reimbursement cannot be explicitly labeled as reimbursement for the buyer's commission. Should it be labeled as "2.5% of the purchase price toward closing costs"?

Is an interest in a DST (Delaware Statutory Trust) considered real estate ownership or a security in Florida? If it is considered real estate ownership in Florida, I am told that it must pass through probate unless it is held in a living trust. If it is considered a security in Florida, I'm told that a Transfer on Death document can be recorded in the land records of the jurisdiction where the DST property is located to ensure that the interest will not pass through probate even if it is not held in a living trust.

My credit union account shows the following entry:: "Withdrawal RT # NOT DEFINED [TENANT'S NAME HERE] 6060, -$1950.00." indicating that the deposit of the tenant's rent check #6060 in the amount of $1950.00 was reversed, resulting in a debit to my account of that amount. This means, in effect, that he has not paid his rent for this month, July 2024.

How can this happen? Has his check simply bounced? He has been a tenant for six years and none of his checks have bounced. I verified the check with his bank before depositing it. This tenant, by the way, is moving out at the end of August. He received his 60 day notice at the end of June and then delivered his rent check on July 1. 

One advantage to DSTs is that they don't go through probate when the owner dies. The trustee distributes the owner's interest according to the owner's instructions, as I understand it. The owners of TICs receive deeds, though, and I'm wondering whether those can be "lady bird" deeds with a beneficiary, which would also eliminate probate.

Consider that the 10% to 18% cost of the DST would be applied to the entire amount of the investment, whereas the capital gains tax would be applied only to the gain. The 10% to 18% cost of the DST would be repeated every time the DST terminates and a new 1031 exchange must be made into a new DST, maybe every 5 to 8 years, whereas the capital gains tax would be a one time cost.

It seems like every time I advertise a house for rent, I get an inquiry from someone representing a client who is seeking to use it as a furnished short-term or corporate rental. They want it for 12-24 months with an option to renew and are willing to pay $100 additional rent. The person inquiring gives only her first name and last name's initial, she does not tell what company she works for or who the "client" is, and if I Google her first name and phone number nothing comes up. The proposal is unattractive to me not only because I know nothing about this sort of thing but also because I like to have a direct contractual relationship with the tenant. Is anyone familiar with this type of situation. Is it legit?

 I have learned after about 10 years of landlording that sometimes the worst tenants are the ones who never complain or ask for anything. They either ignore problems, or they use some stopgap measure to deal with problems, or they fix them themselves with mixed results, or they cause problems and are reluctant to tell the landlord. Sometimes it's laziness, or shame, or pride, but it amazes me that even when a solution to a problem is available at no cost to them, they will not report a problem to the landlord. I assure you that I am patient, fair, and sometimes even indulgent with my tenants and I give them no reason to fear dealing with me, but I'm about to terminate someone's lease because he did not report a problem to me and flooding was the result. Regular inspections are a good idea, but they don't turn up everything, so is there any other way to deal with the quiet troublemakers? Ah yes, and then there are the tenants who are needy and picky and who complain about every little thing -- don't get me started on them . . .

A pipe broke in the wall of a rental house. The water went into the wall and into the carpeting in a bedroom. There doesn't seem to be any significant damage at this point, although mold could be a concern later on. Should I file a claim with the insurance company so that they can inspect the situation?