All Forum Posts by: Patrick H.

As a seller, is it good to use a title company suggested by the buyer's bank?

It seems like some collusion would occur.

I might sell my home to my sister, and thus once the purchase contract is completed, the title company can handle the close.

I could use the bank's suggestion or just use the title company I used when I bought the house.

Thanks for the feedback.

I read that there are some buyers or renters that complained about pet smells even though the seller or landlord cleaned the house thoroughly. But it sounds like it's a rare issue when buying investment property.

Is there any issues with investing in a home that had pets living in it?

I would prefer not to invest in a home that had pets living in it (dogs or cats), but do future renters or future buyers really care?

I don't know how often a buyer or renter will ask whether a house had pets or not. Of course there is additional cost of replacing the carpet and pad.

Thanks for the comment.

Yes, she is looking for a good price on a property, but if she determines that my house is a better deal, she will buy it.

I don't think she needs to sign a buyer broker agreement. But can inform the agent about potentially buying my house (and thus avoid any commission issues).

I don't think this would cause any concern with the agent since if she buys a house an agent shows her, a commission will be paid.

My sister might buy a house I own. But she wants to check a few other properties. If she uses a real estate agent to check a few other properties, can I still do a 'For Sale by Owner' if she wants to purchase my property?

Thanks for the comments. I will test drive Realtytrac.com to see what information it provides. If someone has an example of the output, please inform me. I think the test drive is limited, so I would like to wait until I read more topics on BP and better educated.

I am trying to do some of my initial accessment online before I need to travel to the recorders office. If I see a property 30% below market price I would like to do some online work if possible.

I assume if it is heavily discounted, like $50 per sq foot it probably means one of two things. 1) Major repairs are needed. 2) It is the junior lien listed.

California is offering $10k for buyers of new homes (first purchase or not). The US government is offering $8k for first time buyers.

I have some friends asking if it is worth buying a new home in California if they can get the $18k in credits.

Since new home prices continue to drop in California, is the credit really worth anything? One option is to wait until November to make a purchase.

It sounds like getting the loan is the main roadblock for wholesaling to be beneficial to the general public.

In some cases where the house requires no fixes, there's the possibility to wholesale to the general public, but those deal are probably hard to find, since the owner or bank can just sell it, or there might not be enough built in profit to wholesale it.

The fixer-uppers seem to be the main market for wholesaling since there is enough built in profit for the wholesaler and real estate investor to benefit.

Thanks for the comments. I am getting a better understanding of the differences.

One other option would be to sell the current rental and buy another rental that I would want to live in. I can use the 1031 exchange to delay the capital gains. I can rent out the new rental and at some point move into it as a primary residence.

Is there a time limit that I need to rent it out for before I move in?

If I sell a house that was a rental for 2 years, can I use the profits to purchase a personal residence (without a capital gains tax)?

Rental House: sell for $200k (gain = $50k)
Sell through a 1031 exchange?
Purchase new house for $225k