All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I think it will depend on who is paying your fee.  

If your fee is coming from the seller proceeds it should not be a problem. Just have the seller request that the fee be paid from their proceeds and list your name or business name in the 1300's on the HUD with the amount in the seller's column. This would be similar to paying miscellaneous costs the seller has to pay such as termite treatment or contractors.

If your fee is coming from the buyer and it is a cash closing with no lender involved you can probably do the same thing. Where it gets tricky is if the buyer is getting a loan. A lot of lenders have their own rules as to what they will allow to be paid from the loan proceeds. Some banks will allow outside charges to be listed on the HUD and some will only allow those amounts related to the financing of the loan to be listed.

The HUD-1 is simply a closing statement. In our jurisdiction we close many of our cash deals with a simple closing statement prepared by the attorneys unless there is a lender involved which then must be closed using a HUD-1 under the RESPA guidelines.

Different jurisdictions have different ways of doing these things, but this is how we handle them. I'm certainly not a lawyer or a HUD expert so take this as my two cents worth.

Hi Jason,

While I have not invested in the Virgin Islands, I am a legal assistant who lived and work for real estate attorneys on St. Croix for 18 years and still work as a virtual legal assistant for several attorneys on St. Croix. I'll be glad to share some of my experience.

The markets on St. Thomas and St. Croix are very different. St. Thomas is a more vibrant island with lots of tourism and the business that it generates while St. Croix is more laid back and quiet. St. Croix's economy has been depressed the past few years with the closing of the HOVENSA oil refinery which was the second largest employer on the island (second only to the government).

Closings must be handled by an attorney in the Territory. It is illegal for title companies to conduct closings there. My best advice is to seek out a good real estate attorney that can discuss the ends and outs of investing in the islands. Things that are common in the U.S. are difficult in the islands, such as U.S. corporations and LLCs are considered foreign entities for tax purposes in the Territory which can cause problems and delays when you go to sell. 

Title insurance and surveys are a must when buying. Nine out of ten closings we do have survey issues. Oh, and don't believe anyone that tells you that you can close in 30 days. While it can be done, it is the exception, not the rule. Besides survey issues you have to deal with HOA's, obtain tax clearance letters from the government and all deeds, except condos, must be attested by the public surveyor before closing (that in itself takes a week).

I don't want to discourage you because I think investing in the islands can be lucrative, I have just seen many people from the states go in thinking that because it is the U.S. that it works like it does in the states. Unfortunately, it doesn't. 

I've worked with Cynthia Taylor on several closings and I'm sure she can tell you these things and probably has certain attorneys that she works with.

If you like I could give you some recommendations of good real estate attorneys both that I have worked for and some I have not worked for.  

I have access to the Recorder of Deeds records and Tax Assessor's records and I would be glad to help if you need any information on individual properties.

Yes, if it fits in our budget. I'll send you a connect request.

Welcome to the site. Nice to see another East Tennessean here. I don't think I can be of much help as I'm pretty new to this and am buying properties to hold as long term rentals. Other than the Sentinel and the Mountain Press I haven't found many other options here as many of the records are not online and what are online are extremely difficult to search.

We have one property in Pigeon Forge and have been looking for more, but the good buys are usually gone by the time anything hits the MLS.

What will you be doing with the properties you find? Do you wholesale or fix and flip?  I'd be interested in connecting with you if have anything for sale in the future.

Good Hunting,

Mary Ann Olivent

I would call 911 and have an ambulance respond. You entered at the time on the notice and saw the tenant passed out, possible dead on the floor and were glad you were there when she obviously had a medical emergency (after all she just got out of the hospital, right?). Either they haul her off to the hospital or while she's arguing with the ambulance drivers maybe the plumber can go in and fix the pipe.

I hope I've posted this in the right place.

We are looking for SFH in Savannah, TN to use as a long term rental. I thought I'd send this out to the BP family to see if anyone is working this area.

Here's the long story: Our son is moving to Savannah, TN looking to rent for a while until they find the area and property they want to buy (probably a larger farm property). We've discussed that if we can find a good buy that we would purchase a house and they can rent from us until they buy something and then we will use the house as a long term rental property along with the one we already have in east Tennessee.

Look for anything from a 2/1 to 3/2 preferably in town so it will be easy to rent later. Nothing that needs to be gutted as they will need to move in soon, but doesn't mind minor repairs such as floors, appliances, paint, etc.

Contact me if you have anything in this area. 

Wes,

There are a lot of good forms here on the website if you look under Resources then File Place.

HUD actually has a lot of their forms online for free. Here's the address to their HUD-1 form. They also have instructions you can download.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/forms/hud1.cfm

@John M. Thanks John. A lot of information to figure out here. I too have been leaning toward putting everything in the lease with addendums for pets, etc. that may be specific to one particular property.

For good or bad I tend to write my documents. Working for attorneys for over 20 years, it has just become a habit. Of course, I also have a good base of forms available to me and I don't have to pay myself for all the time I put into it. I will need the advice of a Tennessee real estate attorney as none of the attorneys I work for are in Tennessee. Hopefully a review will be cheaper than asking an attorney to draw up all the documents.

I think Sevier county has good opportunities as it is constantly growing and new job opportunities are created. The lack of good jobs is the main reason we have not invested in Cocke county where we live (not to mention the number of rental houses here that have been turned into meth labs). That's not the way I want to start investing.

@Yiv L. @Account Closed Yiv and John, thanks for your input. Much food for thought here. I will look into an online doc service and also I'll see what kind of forms my realtor can provide me with from the Realtors Association.

@John K. Thanks for the great advice. I had not thought about adjusting the length of the lease so that it ends at a better time of the year.