All Forum Posts by: Mary R.

where is the farm/agricultural section?
I must say that I am among those who prefer being able to see/read all the forums that are included in a section without having to click each one, looking, hoping to find it someplace.
Can THAT page be made available in this blue box to the right?

I'm still trying to find my way around the site.
Thanks.
M Read

Originally posted by Steve Babiak:

ow, here is where to go looking for the answer to the OP:
Google Search BP evict squatter

No, that's not it. The thread I'm referring to had specific instructions as to how to address the eviction notice, and becauseeven though the names of the people there are not known, since the letter is addressed in that way, they also don't have a leg to stand on, they are included. Seems there were several more responses than are in that thread.
Thanks, anyway.

Several months ago someone asked how to evict unknown tenants. I've been looking for that thread. One response was along the lines of treating them like owners and having the eviction notice read Mr/s owner and all tenants, that they could all be gotten out very quickly.
I've searched using every combination of words I can think of, and can't find that thread. Can anyone point me to it?
Thanks.

Originally posted by R Dhupar:

...looking at condos for a primary residence. Recently a new complex of condos has been listed that the condos will be auctioned off. 25 of 31 condos will be auctioned off, the other 6 have already sold. The complex has been completed for about 1.5 years ...

If they were completed 1.5 years ago, they are not really "new." They have been finished and vacant for that long. There's reasons for that, the "bad condo market" is only one. WHY is the condo market bad? One reason is that the expense of condos starts AFTER the papers are signed. The purchase cost is the first. Have you considered--do you KNOW what the monthly condo fee will be? Not saying it's so here, but many condo units are priced kind of low to get people in, and they often have the monthly fees listed at somewhat reasonable prices. Then a few months, possibly even twelve, the fees are raised way high because so many people who buy condos don't expect to die in them, so they don't pau their dues so standard maintenance can be done.

Originally posted by R Dhupar:

and the condo market in Boston has been pretty bad since mid 2008.

When is that going to change, WHO is your source of info on that, and why do you want to buy into a place the owners haven't been able to sell for over 18 months with all their marketing and expertise? I would bet those 1/2 off prices are still high all things considered. Those all things are not limited to insurances, ccrs (covenants, codes, restrictions) monthly dues and annual and special additional raises and assessments, what happens if only 7 lots are sold by the end of the auction? How are you and the other 6 owners going to keep the place up? Yoou KNOW the developer will have a way out. That MAY mean selling in 6 months for WAY less than YOU buy it for now. How are your neighbors going to feel about you buying for less than half of what they paid? How are you all going to feel about the new dudes when they buy for way less than you did?

Originally posted by R Dhupar:

The developer has listed the "minimum starting price" for each unit and has quoted them to be >50% off the "last asking price". Most of the last asking prices are ridiculous, close to 30% more than anything would even sell, they are just trying to market it as good deal.

Of course they're trying to market it as a good deal. I do not think it is. I woulnd never buy a condo. Too many problems eith them. Have you read the ccrs yet? Have you talked to any of the residents? What is the reputation of the builder?
You do know the boards are not interested in YOUR problems as an "owner" don't you? And if there is any kind of problem, they will do everything they can to make it yours, not theirs, and will go round'about to to that. Because that's what they do.

Originally posted by R Dhupar:

My main question is what can I expect units to be sold for compared to the starting bids? Will they get bid up to 80-90% of their accessed values thus not making these deals?

Who's doing the assessing here? Is that a city/county assessed amount, or is it the hoped for sale price, put on by the developer/marketer? I would be surprised if there were any bidders, at those prices, based on the facts that "its a bad condo market", 25 of 31 condos will be auctioned off, the other 6 have already sold. (That "already" should read "finally" ) and The complex has been completed for about 1.5 years, and the fees, the fees, the fees...

I am not a real estate professional, this is not a professional opinion, I am not from Boston, Mass, or even the northeast. I absolutely do not know what I'm talking about. Do your due diligence, then go back and check it twice, than ask here again...
Personally, I'd stay away from it.

Hi Emily,
You said, "And yeah, the floors are linoleum. For some reason that word was on the tip of my tongue last night haha."
Your present floor is not linoleum. It is what used to be called, and maybe still is, rolled vinyl. I had that same pattern laid in my kitchen in 1972.

Here's a couple of links re linoleum flooring.
http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/products/linoleum
http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/floor-buying-guide/linoleum.html

That's quite a job you've taken on. Best wishes for continued success.

If you're talking about the ground termites similar to what we get in AZ, those guys that build "tunnels" to the walls, there is a much less expensive --read darn cheap--way to get rid of them. Go to Home Depot/Lowes/hardware store and buy a container of boric acid. (last time I looked, about $4.) Go to an animal feed store and buy a portion of a bag of FOOD GRADE DIATOMACEOUS EARTH. Go back to the "tunnels" with those two items and a small garden trowel. Use t he trowel to pull a bit of the earth away from the foundation at the place where the termites have the tunnel coming up from the ground, and about a foot on both sides of it. carefully lay out a line of boric acid and a line (on top of the BA) of the DE. Mix it up a little.
The DE is food grade, and won't hurt kids or pets, the boric acid is poisonous, and will injure them, and plants. Don't put Boric acid anyplace you want plants.

break the tunnel. The termites walk through the powders and take it back to the colony and they get it too. It may take several days, and a few applications, but it will (always has for me) killed the colony.

I use both for other insect control, too.
I use the FGDE both on and in my animal to control pests when necessary. Other people use the FGDE to spray on plants to eliminate unwanted critters. Google it to find the many uses.

Thanks. The county has this listed to both what appears to be a single man and to a couple.
The agent spoke of him and her having moved out of state, but not of the third person. The house is empty.

Would it be reasonable to write two of the same letter and address one each to the individual and to the couple?
Thanks
MR

Several months ago I looked at, and made an offer on a SFD through a seller agent. It was overpriced and it needed a lot of work. Two written offers reflected that. Even my third (verbal) offer was lower that what they felt they should get.
I don't know if the agent faxed my offers to them or not, if she gave my name or not.

The property was not sold, and listing expired a few weeks after my last offer. I'm still interested, and planned to write the owners to ask if they were interested in selling it. I hope the post office will forward their mail.

Any suggestions as to what to put into the letter-or what to not put into it?
Thanks,
M Read

"...a few lots ... are supposed to be free and clear of all liens, but in researching them, the HOA has told me there are 3 years of dues owed on the lots. The dues on the lots add up to more than the purchase price.

So my question is, how can the HOA still have a claim to the property, but the original lender's claim can be wiped?"
Here's a start:
The lender and the hoa are two different entities. The hoa is a corporation, licensed by state law, and supported and upheld by state law. When one buys into an how/coa/poa, s/he is NOT buying a home, S/he is buying a share of a corporation. S/he will NEVER own the property free and clear, because the corporation (hoa) almost always have a CONSTANT lien on the property for the amount of the dues.
Hoas rarely foreclose because the lender is likely to be in first position and get all the money. When the lender forecloses, the corporation (hoa) probably won't get any. BUT, they still are owed money. SOME states laws MAY wipe out hoa debt, too, but probably not, so be very careful.

You need to understand that if the members of the board of the corporation and management co say that debt is owed, you better believe they WILL collect it. Even if you could negotiate a "deal" with them so the you have it in writing that they would accept a percentage, do not depend on it. THey have deeper pockets than you do, and you would be paying them to prosecute you for the rest, as well as paying them to defend themselves from you.
There are other places. Walk away.

I'm not sure this is an actual HOA... They call it a country club, and charge annual dues on improved and unimproved lots. "
It may not be. Search your state corporation website. Use the name that you have, and any other that it was called previously. If it's registered as a corporation, it is. Read the ccrs, too. It should tell you in the first several pages.

Though most corporations (hoas/poas) are mandatory, meaning the buyers are required to belong, some are voluntary, buyers are asked to volunteer to belong.

It may be that either that hoa is a voluntary one, or that the lots you are interested in were by accident or mistake, not included in the hoa paperwork for some reason, and are not in the hoa. It is possible, but highly unlikely.
Either way, the hoa can and will make your life miserable until you cough up those dues they say they are owed.
And even if this board approves a reduction, the next board may not. The do have the attorneys to collect.

Have you ever bought property on the courthouse steps and found either "fees, charages, and expenses of the Trustee" and or that you could not get a clear title to the property?

MRead