All Forum Posts by: Douglas Snook

On other thought, get something in writing that she wants to terminate early and is voluntarily leaving etc etc. With such a wild story you don't need her coming back with kind of claim YOU told her to get out and broke the lease, now she has no where to live etc etc. Maybe even video her saying she wants out.

Sef - feel free to contact me off this post if you like more info. A lot of the questions you asked  would take more then this space to answer.

For example: MA does not generally use a "title company" to do the closing. Usually it is done by an attorney. If you want title insurance then use an attorney who is a title agent. They would review the title and let you know if there are any defects, liens etc.

Since you are intending to wholesale the property, the buyer would normally have an attorney, especially if the buyer is a cash buyer/investor.

What licensing courses are you taking? To become a real estate agent? Then you have an other set of issues of whether you represent the seller as the agent or as a wholesaler. This issue has been discussed previously on BP so search the posts.

Good luck and welcome to BP!

I understand the idea of hoarding the unemployment because it may run out before you get a job and definitely before you start school. 14 weeks is about three months. So perhaps plan on paying the credit cards for two months with the unemployment while looking for work. Then revisit the situation. If you have found work then the unemployment would stop and you can continue to pay for the remaining time before you go back to school. If you have been unable to find work then you can revisit the situation about filing bankruptcy. I would not do it as my first option.

I don't understand the rush to go back to school. Yes I know you have put it off a couple of times but whats wrong with postponing it again if necessary? My mother was married for 25 years and had seven kids when she went back to college. What if you found a fantastic high paying dream job in the next month or two? Would you give that up in seven months to go back to school?

Hi Anthony

Not sure about CA but in MA it is all a public record. Start at City Hall assessor's office as to the current owner, they usually have the book and page reference. Go to the Registry of Deeds for the county and look at that book and page. There is usually a clause at the end of the deed that references where the person selling got it from. Go to that book and page and so on. That gives you a list of names going back however far you go back. Then you need to take each name and run it in an index for the years covering ownership. That will give any papers filed against that owner/property (like a mortgage) Anything that has been discharged (like a mortgage) should also be recorded. You bring each name forward to today.

In Mass a lot of this is on line at least going back 20-30 years. You can go to the registry in person and look at the early books. In MA many go back to the early 1800's.

As I said, not sure how it works in CA but I think that is an overview of what you want to accomplish.

One can also hire a title examiner/title chaser/title company to do this work for you.

Yeah you need to know how this partnership is going to work and PUT IT IN WRITING!

What is he bringing to the table? Is it going to be 50/50? Is he going to make money as the buyers broker and then when it gets listed as well or is that partnership property?

OK I will throw in my two cents. I am an attorney and have both helped consumers file chapter 7 and Chapter 13 AND done collection work for creditors.

Since you just got laid off I would call all the credit card companies and see if they will freeze the accounts and hold any interest and costs as well as reduce the minimum amount due. I would polish up the resume and look for any kind of job (or two) to cover the minimum when the unemployment runs out and try to pay down as much as I could before school starts.

I would talk to my parents and see if there is anyway you could borrow the balance from them or have them make the minimum payments while in school. I know this does not get rid of the debt but would keep up your credit score.

Bankruptcy can be helpful in the right situation. For example I did a bankruptcy for an individual in his forties who became disabled. His only income became SSDI and bankruptcy was the best course of action for him. 

I am not sure you are in that situation yet. Maybe if the unemployment ran out and you are unable to find a job that would at least cover the minimum payments and even then I don't know. Whats the worse that would happen if you don't pay? Eventually you may get sued and your credit ruined. But then when you graduate and start making money and paying them back, even at a discounted rate your credit would improve.

Good idea about moving Dominic. I should have suggested the same thing. Is there a reason you can't move closer to your job? Do you currently rent or own where you live? That could play into this discussion as well.

If you are renting perhaps you could use a first time buyer program to get into a multi at a lower down payment. get some experience and then leverage it later.

A couple of questions. The car that was totaled, did that have a loan on it and if so was the loan paid off with insurance or did you need to buy a new(er) car and take out a loan? How much is the loan on the car every month? What is the balance? How much longer do you need to pay on it? It might be better to keep the loan then you have a fixed monthly payment to budget with, like your rent or mortgage. I would put some in the College Fund so if you can't put any more in for a while at least that would be growing. As for the credit cards, how many are we talking about and what are the balances and what are the interest rates? Mine range from 4.9 to 25.99% so I am working on paying the highest interest ones first.

Partnering with someone, especially if it is your first deal might be a way to go the first few times out especially if you are working a full time job and have a child.

Just some thoughts

Leo and Rick have set you on the right path. In Mass at least, real estate is considered to pass at the moment of death even without a will or probate and would go to the heirs at law unless a will changes that. I have seen real state passed two or three generations with no probate and no deeds filed. When the current generation wants to sell, a lot of stuff has to be recorded to show those selling are the ones who own it and have the right to sell.

One title that I have worked shows a man and woman taking title in the 1950. Man is unrelated to the woman and no one in the family has seen him since the 1960's. Woman's grandkids and great grandkids live in the house, pay the real estate taxes, make repairs etc. They wanted to refinance to take some cash out but can't until they can track down all of his heirs and buy them out. They decided not to do that at this time.

A cousin of this issue has come up with regards to wholesaling in Massachusetts. In this case you are not listing the property but selling a lead. Are you selling these leads to other brokers or is this the brokers website/program type arrangement?

It may come down to how you represent yourself on the website and whether your name (or company name) appears on the site. Is it just "answer this ad if you are looking for an apartment" with no name or would it say "contact John Smith (broker) for an apartment"