All Forum Posts by: Luke Stone

I'm debating if I'm crazy for considering this. The owner of the second half of a duplex I recently purchased has asked me if would provide him with a letter stating how much I paid for my unit so he can appeal the property taxes. The recent tax assessment came in $20k higher than what I purchased my unit for in May. So I am considering doing the letter or even just giving him the contract minus some personal info. If he wins his appeal it will help me in mine. His appeal hearing date is way sooner than mine... Also I would like to eventually buy his unit and I got a really good deal on mine (seller was distressed and needed to sell quickly). I think this may set a good base price for negotiations. Are there any major pitfalls to disclosing a contract?

Does anybody have a very very rough estimate of the contractors discount from retail price at Daltile? Is it 25%, 50%, other? Just trying to get a general idea for estimating purposes. Thanks

Hello all, Was wondering if anybody had any recommendations for bathroom tile installers in the Richardson? I need two relatively basic rental quality shower and tub installed and the old fiberglass showers removed. I've been using Angieslist (overpriced) and Craigslist (quality is hit and miss), but wanted to see if there any recommendations out there. Thanks

Yea, I also just got a contact to a plumber who recently dealt with this exact same issue. He was able to pinpoint the like to within 6 inches without opening the walls.

So I think it could be a leak in the wall or something from the other unit. Another possibility is foundation leak. The problem is how do you pin point the cause?

Hello all, I'm considering purchasing a half duplex that appears to have water damage on the floor along/near the common wall between the two duplexes. The problem is I can't really get much info. The seller is a nephew of the previous resident who had a stroke, which affected his mental faculties. So the nephew doesn't know what caused it or how old it is. Can an inspection help here? Many inspections I review state what the problems are, but rarely what caused them. I.E the inspection will say "there appears to be water infiltration, there may be a plumbing leak somewhere." To which I reply, "no duh, I can see the water damage, but need to know what I should fix" My questions: - If this water damage caused by my unit how likely is it that it damaged the other unit (different owner) and if so, do I inherent liability as the new owner? - If the damage is from the other side, how do I insure it gets fixed? How do even determine if it's coming from the other side or not? - How do structure the contract to protect myself? - Is this a scenario I should even consider messing with? I have pictures but am not sure how to post them

The payoff amount is a exact calculate number, principal + interest. I don't see why anybody should be allowed to keep more than the amount stipulated in the note, which is how conventional mortgages work. 

With all that said, this is my first private mortgage. For most of you, if you payoff early or pay a couple extra days, do you not recover your per diem?

Hello,

I recently paid off a seller financed purchase note with a long term mortgage with a conventional lender. 

***Quick note: This is in Texas and the promissory note documents are very barebones***

So this was not the easiest refinance mostly because the seller was difficult to work with. I originally thought I was going to be able to complete the refinance prior to the note maturing and therefore did execute a one year option to extend. By the time I realized the loan was not going to close on time, the date required to execute the extension had past. The private lender agreed to a short extension for a $2,000 fee (very high in my opinion), but I made the mistake on not extending on time and realize he can to charge the fee. Nevertheless, this did not start this whole process off well and throughout the whole refinancing process the private lender was just generally difficult to work with. Slow to sign and provide documents...

Anyways, that's the background, I'm not sure it is necessary, because we did get through the refinance. 

My problem now, is that the private lender is refusing to refund payoff funds that were above the payoff amount based on the terms of the note. The title company incorrectly calculated the per diem payoff amount by about a week too much. They based their calculation on payoff document I had created but had expired in early March. Due to a math error they calculated a payoff based on 27 days of per diem, but on the document stated payoff amount was as of March 20. They then asked the private lender to sign this document. Now the private lender is saying I should pursue the title company because they made the mistake. My view the note terms are what they are and the payoff statement doesn't modify or supersede the note terms. If there is an error of this sort, the note terms would be the final say.

1. Am I correct in saying the note terms determine the payoff and errors such as miscalculations dont override.

2. If so, what channels do use to pursue recovering these funds? Small claims court? Any recommendations?

Does anybody know of any apartment (5+ units) lenders that do loans less than $500k in the DFW area? If not do hard money lenders do 2-5 year term loans? I think the property could support a loan greater than $500k once it is repositioned. I'm trying to purchase a small apartment building and just don't know of any lenders that will consider a loan this small. Most state of the loan is too small to be worth their time or the fees would be too high for it to work for me. Another issue I'm dealing with is property cash flow. The property's rents are below market but not terribly below market. The problem is the property's expenses are out control. Current annual NOI is only $2,000, which is mostly due to mismanagement. My hope is to get a loan that is more dependent on my personal income. Thank you all.

@Courtney King the 2.5-2.8% seems to be pretty accurate based on the few properties I tested it against. It does seem that the county appraisers are getting more aggressive. Thanks all