All Forum Posts by: Kim Knox

There is generally a provision in a repair addendum, giving you the ability to have your inspector re-inspect the fixes to your satisfaction.   For example, you give them a fix by deadline, then you have a few days to inspect repairs to make sure they were complete to your satisfaction.

As an agent, I usually utilize the Home Inspectors verbiage on his/her report to be specific about the repairs, and reference the problem on the inspection report within the repair addendum, to remove any ambiguity.  

Obviously, you provide the home inspection for the Seller's Agent to review and so that they can show the contractor they hire the inspection report.     

In a repair addendum, it needs to be specified if you require a licensed contractor to perform the work.  

If a licensed professional does the work, then they become liable for the work they have completed.  If you allow a homeowner or a non-licensed professional to complete the work, you are smart to have your inspector re-inspect (a fee is involved, check with your inspector).  You might have re-inspected regardless of who completed the work if you have any concerns.

If you wrote the certified check payable to the Real Estate Company as indicated in your post, that could be the problem. In my experience, HUD houses have always required the cert funds be payable to the title company they use, but that could vary by state. The breach could be as simple as the funds being directed to the wrong entity. I would read over your contract, it will spell out where the funds could have been mailed, and to whom they are to be made payable.

I overnight the docs and track it myself.  I send the confirmed tracking to my Client and the Listing Agent so their is no confusion.  I do this as a favor to my Client, but mostly to insure that it was done correctly and on time.  Being a control freak is an excellent quality in a Realtor.    

I don't think you have any remedy, to resurrect the contract or to sue the Realtor for these reasons.  First, Regardless of the reason, you didn't honor the terms of the contract, so they have no further obligation to you. Second, it would seem unlikely that your Agent would have absolutely any motivation to to screw up your sale on purpose. (no closing, no commission).  Third, you could have mailed the certified funds yourself at the instruction of the contract you signed. Do not misread my pointing these things out, I am mortified you lost your deal for this reason.......I just don't think there is any winning in pursuing this, your time is better spent on happy things, like making money!

It should come back on the market, so you could be the Buyer again. Your lucky because HUD will not hold it against you that you didn't meet your contract deadlines before, they will likely not even remember your name. Good luck. =)

If it is possible for you and your wife to move in, your gain could be tax free if you live their for 2 years.  Gain of up to $500K.  If you want to play it safe and gain as much as possible, that is my recommendation.  

If you sell your current residence, the tax free gain could be applicable for that residence as well.  Here are the rules directly from the IRS.  https://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Issues-Home-Sale-Exclu...

If you don't want to move into your investment, make it a 1031 exchange if you can, which is not nearly as attractive.    

For me, the only undesirable part of flipping homes is my tax bracket, so if you can take advantage of the GIFT from the government for primary residence, I would say, that is the way you can dramatically increase your profit without increasing your risk.

It sounds like it was a refinance in 2009 to me, what was done originally is no longer of concern.  At least, it would be surprising with the numbers you supplied.   

Take into account that if they are delinquent on their payments, and in route to foreclosure, they have late fees stacking up, and even other default fees.  Looks like they probably don't have a lot of room to negotiate, after considering closing costs.

Do you have your own Realtor, or are you working with the Listing Agent? 

My best advice is to call the tax assessor directly and let them help you with an expectation before you risk this deal.  Ask them also if the current owner is receiving any special tax exemptions that have lowered their tax amount due (Veterans exemption is an example).  Ask them if they have a cap on the increase on property taxes per year.

I have never heard an appraiser change a value on a property because of an anticipated tax bill, so although it is a very valid concern, it doesn't hold a lot of weight in your negotiation.  

You have indicated the numbers look great.  You can check public records to see what mortgage $$ the Seller has taken out, so you can see if they might need that $200K to sell and pay their closing costs.  For example, if they refinanced last year for $190K, they will not have any room to negotiate with you.  If they bought 5 years ago and only took a mortgage of $110K, they do have room to negotiate.       

If my Seller tells me to let a specific Buyer know they will come down to $200K, then that Buyer wants to further negotiate (when it appears to be a "great" deal), I move on to the next Buyer. I would suggest the Seller that they reduce the price to the open market to $200K and get a Buyer who is willing to pay it, and potentially start a bidding war.  

Good question @Joeny Ortiz!  

I think the commission structure is brilliant, if you really think about it. I believe the MLS is the largest bartering system in the US. A Listing Agent publicly offers information on a particular listing to ALL licensed Agents, offering a $$ fee to represent a Buyer, paid out of the Listing Agents total commission collected at close. The whole basis behind the MLS is creating cooperation between Buyer's Agents and Listing Agents.

Marketing homes for Sellers, and representing Buyers are two different specialties, that sometimes overlap. Many productive listing Agents focus their attention on marketing listings and have little interest in collecting Buyer "leads." I find myself in this category.    

A few things you might consider:   

You are overestimating the value of what you are calling Buyer leads, generated by a Listing.  Many capable Buyers that are inquiring about a listing are already represented by an Agent.          

A Brokerage and the Broker would need to be willing to take on the liability of a listing, even if they are not getting paid for representation, with the hope that another sale may result from a "lead."  No thank you.  

The cost and time of marketing a listing can be substantial.  

The cost and time of locating a purchase for a buyer can be substantial.

Some states do not allow dual agency, where you are representing both a Buyer and a Seller in a transaction.  

You are suggesting that an Agent take on twice the work, AND twice the liability, for HALF the pay.     

Most importantly, an Agent does not need a listing to generate Buyer Leads.  In fact, they will be much more successful locating Buyers that are not already represented by an Agent, by marketing themselves as a Buyer's Agent.  

when you are a new agent, you are vigorously shaking the tree.  The best thing you can do is get your license and help him by answering listing questions and picking up tasks that can be done by an assistant.  That is the best way to show your support, while freeing up some of his time.  My husband got his license to support me over 10 years ago.  He is so busy, he needs my support now.  It is a difficult business, but an awesome lifestyle for husband and wife teams.  We have a blast!  I wholeheartedly recommend it!

For several months, Zillow was cut off from automatic syndication, sometime during the merger of Zillow and Trulia. At that point, individual MLS boards negotiated contracts with Zillow.

If an MLS board allowed the syndication, It is then up to each individual Broker if they allow their Agents listings to be syndicated with Zillow, company wide. However, that Broker could disallow the syndication, but it does not mean that Agent could not manually input the listing into Zillow.

The only exception would be if the Brokers company policy does not allow listing entry in Zillow, and that would be surprising.  Agents do not like to be told they can't advertise their listing somewhere. =)

I have had success with purchasing on Hubzu a few times for myself (I am the Buyer's Agent and the Buyer). They relist and relist, sometimes increasing the price, sometimes decreasing the price.  I keep a record of all changes, high bids, and high bid initials (of the bidder, it lists first and last initial of the online username) so I can be aware of my competition and what their max has been in the past.  If possible, I recommend having a professional home inspection before you bid, they are sold as is, without an inspection contingency.

I have seen them list REO's that are still within the right of redemption period, so be careful on that front. The cool thing is they often have them listed as occupied when they are vacant, listing that it will be the burden of the purchaser to remove the occupant, scaring off the competition. They relist so many times that often the occupant moves, but they don't update. I don't think it is uncommon for them to have title issues, and they are slow to resolve. For investors, this ties up your money for longer than you would hope without any further benefit. They don't reduce the price or pay a per diem for the delay to offset your money being tied up.

I hate to tell you this, but most great real estate closings are a bit unremarkable, particularly to the Client.  It sounds like you want to hear tales of heroism and sacrifice from Buyers and Sellers about their Agents.       

I would say some of the most difficult and upsetting transactions I have had, my Client were none the wiser.  They thought it was just another easy breezy transaction, while I quietly handled one problem after the next.                 

Trust me, just showing up with a big smile is sometimes much harder than it looks.