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All Forum Posts by: Tom Carroll

Tom Carroll has started 1 posts and replied 10 times.

Post: Tools use to analyze a property

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

Did you see the post Amanda just had about an opportunity in Washington. Might be something interesting to explore. 
https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Post: How avoid reporting sales price in MLS?

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

Might not be anything you can do on this one but in the next one can you make that stipulation part of your offer. "Seller and Seller's Broker agree to withhold entering sales price into MLS. Buyer will pay $XXX at closing to the Seller's Broker to cover the withholding fee"

Post: U guys r a bunch of powerless landlords.

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

There is a line between compassion and business. The hard part is fair housing laws come into play and you must treat everyone the same. I'm a big believer in doing the right thing and sometimes that means doing the right thing for your tenant and sometimes that means doing the right thing for you and your family. Only you know best.

There is also a level of tradeoffs that come with decisions you make. For example, I have landscaping a tenant responsibility in my lease. I have had tenants not take care of the place and have seen weeds take over and the town issue fines. I have also been sued for keeping money from a security deposit and was brought to small claims court where I represented myself and won. While those aren't fun experiences the positives, over my 6 years as a landlord, have far surpassed the negatives. Learn and grow from each experience :-) 

Post: Approximate costs small duplex

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

I may be able to help. Local realtor here in Hartford County with connections to a number of builders. Feel free to reach out directly and we can chat. 

Post: Sale of home - owners deceased

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

I'm not sure if PA is an escrow sate or an attorney state but you should contact a real estate attorney. It will depend on the terms of your listing agreement that was signed and what the verbiage is. 

Post: Should I rehab one of the duplex’s even if it cash flowing now?

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

Few thoughts on this.

1) If your home is not up to code now and there is an issue, would insurance cover it or would they deny the claim? I would think you would be fine but not often thought about. 
2) On the surface spending $250k for a renovation to make $500/mo wouldn't be smart as your payback period is 41 year, 8 months assuming your rent doesn't increase which we know it will
3) If doing the $250k investment increases your property value can you refinance? If you do, how much will your cashflow be at that point (answer: less than $500/mo)

Overall thought: only do it if it keeps the place habitable and rentable. Otherwise your $250k is probably best deployed elsewhere. Can you build relationships with other contractors that could do that work for less? 

Post: Need some input from other sellers

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9
Quote from @Abdul Azeez:
Quote from @Sergey A. Petrov:

They are stringing you along. Has anyone called the buyer’s agent’s managing broker? Can’t believe nobody can get a definitive decision in four days unless there are very very extenuating circumstances 

Yes the managing broker on my side said in Friday he is waiting on a call back. He said today that he spoke to buyers broker and they are going to see if they can find the difference in price to bring to the table but zilch after that. These updates are now reaching a point where they are not very helpful unless something really happens .

 Is NJ an attorney state or an escrow state? I would flip it over to our attorney in this situation and let them handle it. 

Post: Need some input from other sellers

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

As an agent in CT I can only speak to what we do here. If the language in the contract was "In the event that the homes does not appraise at the purchase price, Buyer will pay upto $5,000 over appraised value not to exceed the purchase price"

In the event that you are talking about, you as the seller accepted the potential that it may not appraise and even with the gap you may not get the agreed upon contract price. You would be out of luck and the buyers would have the right to sue you for specific performance in my market of CT based on what I read. 

Post: West Hartford Buy and Hold

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

@Brent Kane This was purchased in 2013. Was young and new to the area so made a call to a local real estate office and used the agent that picked up the phone. It was an easy deal for them, one showing and an offer.

In regards to what could have been done better: 
1) I felt like I was the only one watching the extension dates and wanted to protect my deposit. I would have to reach out to my agent and attorney on our deadlines, they should have been all over those dates. 
2) The inspector that my agent recommended got the house done in 45 minutes and didn't go on the roof. I didn't know this wasn't normal until I found a great inspector that is extremely thorough. 

Fun fact - this house was on house hunters. 

Post: West Hartford Buy and Hold

Tom Carroll
Pro Member
Posted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Avon, CT
  • Posts 11
  • Votes 9

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $146,000
Cash invested: $15,000

Buy and hold 4 bed, 2 full bath home in West Hartford, CT

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Was going to buy this at 23 years old and rent rooms out to friends.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

On the MLS - did inspections and renegotiated after that.

How did you finance this deal?

Conventional first time homebuyer with 10% down.

How did you add value to the deal?

Lived there for a few years, updated the bedrooms, cleaned up the yard, didn't have to do much. It will need a new kitchen one day.

What was the outcome?

Buy and hold

Lessons learned? Challenges?

1 - Before you move from your primary residence, look to refinance and see if you can get a better interest rate because after you move that is no longer your primary residence.

2 - If you have a conventional mortgage with PMI - you can get your PMI to drop off early with an updated appraisal. The mortgage servicer will order a brokers price opinion and that could provide you a new value that might increase your equity in the deal.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Unfortunately not. This deal made me want to get into real estate to provide better service to others buying their first home.