All Forum Posts by: Sonny Vu

Hi

Sounds like you are asking for legal advice so probably best to ask an attorney (estate/probate). Good luck!

-Sonny

@Alan Ouellette. CA is one of the states that allow dual agency. There are many others that do not. I am a realtor and personally, not a fan of dual agency. But if the agent stays professional and maintains their fiduciary responsibility to their client, it can be done ethically. But I agree, Joanne should have been able to get a discount, if she negotiated it in her listing agreement. Unfortunately, that is not her current situation and hopefully her agents can make her feel better by getting her the best offer out there.

@Joanne Green. I am sorry you went through this and I can feel the angst in your post. I am sure that all realtors strive to keep their clients happy and want to avoid anything that would cause what you are feeling now. All the responses posted previously are 100percent accurate, but it sounds like a failure on your agent’s part to explain the possibility of dual agency when they obtained the listing from you. That should have been made clear to you when you signed the listing agreement and a discussion regarding variable commission should have taken place during the listing presentation.

That being said, Will is right in that it’s irrelevant that the son gained a client from showing your home. That’s part of the real estate marketing process and many agents acquire new clients from open houses. There’s a lot of prep time and time behind the scenes that they put in to market your home. Hopefully you are happy with everything else that was done on your behalf in the process and I hope you end up happy at closing. Good luck and congratulations!

-Sonny

Hi Jon. Please consult a CPA and attorney. It sounds like you are concerned about structuring and taxes. As it has been explained to me, you should structure the entity in the state that the property is located. That being said, since you live in CA. the state wants their cut of your income regardless of which state you make it in. So you will be paying CA on your state returns. But once again, refer to your CPA advice, there may be some sort of reciprocation agreement where if OR collects taxes, you may be exempt from that portion for CA state income purposes. But you really should seek professional advice. Good luck on your venture!

-Sonny

Your observations on the silicon valley market is dead on. But I don't think it's a bubble. Entry level software engineer is 145K. So wages support the mortgage payments for housing. So as long as banks are willing to lend, the high incomes will support the price appreciation. The interest rates hikes will slow housing price appreciation though. Once the monthly mortgage payments get too high for current incomes, then people will stop over bidding and the market will make reasonable corrections. But that's far from being in a bubble. IMO.

Hi @Irving Franco. The term is RUBS. It's an alternative to sub-metering. I am pasting a link to a good Q&A on RUBS so you can familiarize yourself with the concept: https://aoausa.com/legal-q-a-u...

Good Luck!

-Sonny

I second what Dennis wrote. LLC will not provide you any tax advantage. You can still deduct business expenses as a Sole Proprietor. The savings is when you are making over a certain amount of money and split the revenue and save a little off the self-employment tax portion. That's structuring it through an S-Corp. LLC entity gives you limited liability protection and your tax savings will come in how you elect to be taxed. Please talk to a CPA. Good Luck!

@Yi Chung Chen wow. Impressive work from your carpenter/tradesman. There are many unlicensed tradespeople who are much more skilled and detailed than their licensed counterparts. Great work!

Hi Anurag. I agree with Greg. Go talk to an attorney and get your questions answered by the experts. There are several who specialize in RE investors. I personally use KKOS lawyers but there are others, Anderson Advisors, etc. Good Luck!