All Forum Posts by: Mary Cronin

What kind of deal? Is property rented? If so, how much of the rents are you going to get at Close? How much in security deposits? Is it listed with realtor? Can you get realtor to take commission via a note? 

How short will you be? 

Need more info for more suggestions. 

Kind of an open-ended question. What do you think? 

Have you read Nothing Down by Robert Allen (original from the 1980s; not the revisions)? 

So what's your plan?

Do you want to give ownership to C'or? Sounds stupid to me. What happens when he doesn't perform and you want to fire/replace him? If you do this, at least get some kind of mandatory buyout agreement. 

Onassis started his shipping conglomerate on signed contracts. Can't you get a contract with builder instead? That should satisfy the lender. 

If attorney prepared power of attorney, try him/her. Or the notary. Neither is supposed to complete P/A if there are doubts about signer's competency (at the time of signing). Also check to see if it's a Durable P/A.

Go with the lawyer route, she will have to be force-ably removed and you'll need the sheriff/police to do that only per a court order. 

Police won't remove her as a squatter? Once you told her to get out, she didn't have permission to stay. 

Lawyer can do eviction (though there might be a question of whether she was ever a "tenant,") but might also consider trespass (a tort not criminal trespass) and ask for damages (though I doubt you'll ever get paid). 

In the future, hiring a security company to secure property and check on it might be less problematic.

As a child, I lived in a 4b 1b 900 sf house in HI, so the square footage might not be a problem. I don't remember it being that small, but then I was only 7, so what did I know? 

Looking at pictures, you don't think the kitchen might be the problem? It looks like an afterthought. Storage? Appliances? etc. Do you have to upgrade the electric? (1950s houses here in CA only had 1 outlet in kitchen - fine for the toaster in the 1950s, not so fine for blender, food processor, can opener, toaster, microwave, breadmaker, coffee maker ad infinitum ... )

Is there a garage? It's snow country. 

Those are also talking points with sellers to bring price down. What are the comps? And what amenities do the comps have?

I don't know about other states, but CA has a downloadable list of operating parks (Dept of Housing & Community Development) but CA requires a license any time there is more than 1 space on a property so list contains 2 spaces to ??? spaces (100s for sure). 

If you can get that list, look for mom & pop parks especially when the owners seem to be in their 70s or more. Of course if a child inherited it, I would guess there might be a 30 or 40 year old serious-don't-wanter, too. 

I looked at a property with a house, 3 cottages and 5 RV spaces (per realtor) and discovered that it wasn't licensed. HCD said they're on partial shutdown and couldn't give a timeframe to license the property (so 9 unit is now a 4 unit). Realtor didn't think it was a problem, go figure. 

I sometimes have a great ability to ask dumb questions, so here goes ... 

1 Why did you want it vacant?

2 Why did an escrow that should have taken 30 days (45 at most) take 5 months (so far)? 

3 Why did you pay the realtor anything? And if it was payable at close of escrow why did you pay it ahead and presumably outside of the escrow process?

4 Were the tenants on leases? Or were they month-to-month? 

5 Did the COVID situation play a role in delaying the Close? 

It would seem that if you had closed, you could have negotiated a buy out of the leases in far less time than 5 months (and maybe for less than $5k). Or if M-M, then even with a 60 day notice to quit, you would have been ahead of where you are now. 

If the sellers didn't have the security money, then you would have been out that amount - though you could have gotten a credit for the amount at close. 

Re the realtor - I can't even count the number of crimes she committed. The DRE at very least would pull her license (and they might well refer her to local District attorney), so I second someone else's comment - when she mentioned "cash for keys" - a term I've rarely seen used except for tenant holdovers after foreclosure of the property - you should have immediately gotten your own broker to represent you - who'd get paid from the CB agent's commission. 

I would also guess that any CB agents/brokers here on Bigger Pockets would pass the problem on to CB bigwigs.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth.

Do remember that it's not only distressed properties that you're looking for. It's also distressed owners - the property might not be distressed at all. 

Owners may be in hospital and gardeners (and/or relatives) may be maintaining yards and property. 

Owners may be dead and ditto re gardeners and/or relatives. But a caveat, I don't know about VA, but in CA if house has to go through probate, buying could take a while (up to a year or more) and allow for overbids in court. (So look for houses held in a trust for faster purchase.) If heirs have their own homes, they might be glad to be rid of it, especially if they're driving a distance to take care of the property.

Look for properties that have been owned for 30-40 years (or more) by same owner; owners > 70 years of age, etc. 

Hope this helps.