All Forum Posts by: Ken Sanders

I just received an offer on my current fix & flip and I thought I'd run it by the BP crowd. Here's the scoop:

1. House has been on the market for three days and has received one lowball offer in addition to the one discussed here

2. Offer is for full asking price with 3% seller assist

3. Buyer will make an initial deposit of $5,000 to be held in escrow

4. Mortgage Contingency:

     Loan Amount: full asking price (100% financing)

     Minimum Term: 30 years

Type of Mortgage: VA

LTV Rate not to Exceed: 45%

     Interest not to Exceed 4.5%

They are pre-approved for 100% VA for $40k over sale price (no mention of interest rate)

5. Mortgage Commitment Date: 7/14/2015

6. Closing Date: 7/28/2015

7. Seller purchases home warranty

8. Home, termite, & radon inspection contingencies

9. Current home sale contigency -- Their current home is under contract and enters inspection period on Monday

I'm worried mainly about two things:

First up is the appraisal. As this house is now the best in the neighborhood and their offer states that they get their $5k returned to them if the property doesn't appraise per the VA/FHA language. I fear I won't be compensated for lost time if it doesn't appraise.

The second thing I'm wary of is the contingency on the sale of their current home. I've never dealt with this situation before (luckily!), and wonder how common it is for these deals to fall through. A million things can go wrong with one real estate transaction, let alone two back-to-back.

Anything else I need to freak out over?

I'm looking to put an offer in on a higher end flip house this week, but I need the advice of the BP veterans on this.

The list price is $250k , but I only have $205k. I'd really like to give a contingency-free cash offer to compete with the other cash offers that I know will be coming in. If I can get the house for, say, $235k, what would my best route be to come up with the additional $30k? I was thinking of taking a cash advance on two of my credit cards (I currently have $120k in total credit lines).

As soon as I take possession of the house, I'll be pulling the equity out through a HELOC. This is how I've been doing my deals in the past.

I suppose I could I offer full list price with a mortgage contingency, but I may be screwed if an inspection is required (inspection and in-person appraisal is not required for the HELOC).

I'll be talking to my bank later today, but I'd love to hear the opinion of BPers.

I have a pending house sale with a closing date of August 16th. The buyer's mortgage contingency mentions an interest rate of up to 4.5%, however their mortgage commitment states a rate of 4.6% (mortgage commitment date was yesterday).

Does this mean that they can still walk if they wanted to based on the mortgage contingency, or are they now bound since the contingency and commitment date have passed?

Thanks, Wayne!

I've found my next SFH rehab project, but before I call some random real estate agent I thought I'd run this by my fellow BPers.

My father is an attorney in PA (where the property is). Could I use him as my broker/buyer's agent so he can get the 3%? Just curious as to how this would work.

Very basic question for the vets. I have a buyer that just got their inspections back and sent me a "Reply to Inspections/Reports" form asking for repairs & money. I am wanting to agree to some repairs and less money. Is there an official form that I should use to reply? Or, do I fill out the same form that they used spelling out my terms?

There's some painful truth in this thread. And, in this particular case, 3% is $12k!

Jon- I think that's what happened last time. This one agent called me almost every day asking for 3% and I kept turning her down. She obviously had clients that were demanding to see the house and she finally caved. Her clients ended up buying it. Too bad I can't count on that happening every time.

I'm looking to sell my primary residence/long-term rehab, but I'm not sure what route to take.

My last home I sold via fla rate MLS listing service. I offered a 1% buyers' agent commission, got a lot of bitchy calls from agents asking for 3%, but I still ended up selling the house for close to the asking price. I basically wanted a FSBO with MLS exposure.

I'm thinking of going the same route this time, but I'm wondering if it makes sense to start off offering no commission and see what happens for the first few weeks. Would this be pointless though, being that non-represented buyers don't look at the MLS anyway. Just curious what other people who flip regularly would do.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I'm self-employed through a single-member LLC, so I don't get a W-2. All I have to demonstrate income or assets are tax returns and bank statements. I think I'm going to file an extension as I don't think it could hurt (unless someone here says otherwise). Worst case is I file if if the lender requires it.

I'm looking to purchase a home with a conventional mortgage in a few months. My income for 2010 and 2011 were very good and 2013 will be my best year yet, however 2012 wasn't good at all. I'm debating whether or not to file an extension for my 2012 taxes in the hope that a prospective lender will then ask to see my 2010 and/or 2011 tax returns instead. Is this realistic, or will they ask for something else?