All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Jordan: The Yoda-like attorney who advised my father and me for 40 years told me the most significant issue when buying or selling real estate is marketable title.  The ability to get title insurance is a major factor to me as a buyer, so I suggest you sell it with a warranty deed. BUT I haven't bought and sold a house at FL auction.

Can you call a local title company or your real estate attorney?  

Kristina: I had my insurance company, Cincinnati Financial, recently tell me I need a new roof on a rental property, but I felt like the roof still had 2-3 years left, so I said no, nope, ain't doing it. My insurance agent helped negotiated with the carrier, and they agreed to re-inspect in 2 years. 

You need to determine for yourself if you have a problem. Three estimates is a solid idea. I've used Engineered Solutions of Georgia to fix a half-dozen crawl space/foundation issues. 

Like my mom always said, nobody watches your money better than you. 

Jonathan: REI is all about ROI, meaning it's all about the numbers.

1. The location of the property will seriously hurt your ability to consistently keep it rented, which will negatively impact your cash flow and debt reduction from rental income. 

2. The market appreciation in that area is well below average, so there's little upside to sell it in 3-5 years for a gain. 

I'd estimate, if you drove from Tampa to Lumpkin, you'd ride past several better ROI opportunities. Good luck, Steve

I've driven through Lumpkin several times on the way to FL, and it is slap-dab in the middle of nowhere AND that's South Georgia nowhere. That's too small a tract for hunting, and it's not on a lake or river for fishing. It would only be an excellent vacation rental if you were on the lam from the cops. 

You're allowed to deduct depreciation of your rental properties on tax returns, which lowers your overall tax liability, increasing your return. 

One other point about "profits" on a rental. I measure my rentals based on my annual ROI.

annual net cash flow + market appreciation + tax depreciation + debt reduction (paid by the tenant) divide by my total investment

You answered your own question--shop around, especially if you're not on a deadline and you've got positive cash flow. 

$4k closing cost is about right for a hard-money loan, but if you can go with a conventional commercial lender, I think you should be able to beat that rate and find a deal closer to what you need. A commercial loan will be a basis point or two higher than a residential mortgage, will be amortized for 20-25 years, and will have a 5-7 year balloon or readjustment.

My # 1 rental tip: Commercial Grade tile floor wall-to-wall. 

Our attorney, a wise gentleman lawyer that counseled my father for 40 years, told me to never buy property without title insurance. 

You don't need the "original" deed. There should be a copy on record. 

It will need to go through probate, and you need to make sure you're getting a marketable title. 

Has the attorney run a title report? Can you buy title insurance? Do you know a good Real Estate attorney in GA?