All Forum Posts by: Nghi Le

@Zach Sikes

When you say "Executed Contract", do you mean signed by both parties?

@David Hunter

I see. I thought "Contingent" only referred to the contingency where the buyer has to sell their home first. I didn't know it included all types of contingencies. Or maybe things are different on the MLS in Washington?

Ahhh, I edited my post, and I guess it doesn't allow me to do the tagging in an edit.

When does a property normally get to "Pending status"?  Is it mutual acceptance and both parties sign the contract?  Or is it when the Inspection, Financing, and/or other contingencies are waived?  I'm not sure if there is a recognized standard for this, or if it's simply up to the realtor's/seller's discretion.  What are the advantages/disadvantages of either strategies?

Welcome to BP, @Eric B. !

I'm from Burien myself.  Investing in the Tacoma area and renting out to college students has always interested me; it's nice to see someone doing it.  You also have a very unique story; I love it!

@Paul Ewing @Brandon Hall 

You guys are extremely awesome and helpful!  Thank you so much!

The mortgage on the house is $90k, and the house is valued somewhere between $180k and $200k.  Her parents also fall in between the low and middle income bracket.  From what it sounds like, both my friend and her parents won't have to worry about being taxed because of their lifetime exclusion, so she can go ahead and make the purchase?

Also, is this the same for non-family purchases?  Since investors buy houses at a discount, the homeowner doesn't get charged on that "gift", right?

My friend and her parents want to create new living space in their huge detached garage (i.e. turn it into a 3/1.5 house), move into it, rehab their house, and then rent it out.

They were considering between taking a HELOC or refinancing with cash out. But today a new idea came up. Her parents have been stressed over the mortgage, even though they have over 50% equity in the home. So we thought perhaps a straight purchase of the home might be the best option.

She wants to purchase the house (through conventional financing) at the price of her parents' mortgage, then get extra cash out to do the construction/rehab work.  But I just heard today that this might be considered a gift, and that she might be heavily taxed on it.  Is this true?

Have you guys gone to the tax auctions and had success with it?  I've heard that not that many deals exist; they're usually picked up by investors before the properties go to the auction, and whatever is left is either land or are just not worth it.

I also heard that the redemption period is 3 years in Washington state, so even if you did steal a deal at the auction, you're at risk of losing it back to the homeowner in 3 years?

Huh, I had never heard of a drop bid before.  I've only heard of step bids (where the bank raises the price substantially at the auction).  I'll keep an eye out for this!

I don't know if this happens in other states, but in Washington state there are some auction bidding service companies like Vestus, Caliber, etc.  When I've gone to the auctions, I rarely see people bidding on properties themselves; they usually bid through these companies.  Since they have an advantage over us with their manpower and resources, will individual investors ever be able to do well on these auctions on their own?

@Kevin C. 

Wow, you sparked my alerts for Burien, Seattle, Tacoma, AND Washington!  It's always nice to welcome another investor from Burien :-)

I haven't heard of someone wanting to be a wholesaler and a realtor at the same time.  Both take up a lot of time, and both are essentially paid on commission.  I personally think you should just focus on one, but would love to hear what others think about it.

And if you happen to come across any good deals, you can wholesale them to me :-)

Never thought I'd see someone from BP go to a SQL Pass Summit in my hometown :-)

We've just entered the wet season, so things are getting a little dull around here.  Is it your first time in Seattle?  There's always the regular tourist attractions, like the Pike Place Market.

@Samantha Lotti 

I've actually changed my strategy away from Pre-Foreclosures (especially after learning about the Distressed Homeowner Act in Washington state), so I didn't get a chance to use propertyradar.  I'm also a little wary of any automated comping engine and just use Redfin and my realtor now for comps.