All Forum Posts by: Tom Gimer

Quote from @Mak K.:

Quote from @Tom Gimer:

Based upon the tax certificate issued and relied upon at settlement, I would be requesting that the taxing authority abate the liens against the property and pursue the seller directly for the amounts now claimed to be owed.

 I called the taxing authority and they said NO. Per them it is standard practice to be aware that exemptions would be removed at certain point and back taxes will be charged. They said current owner is responsible even though they were for previous owner

My suggestion was how things SHOULD work. Since the taxing authority isn't cooperating, file the title claim and have the insurer pursue the prior owner. Ultimately it's the seller's responsibility.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the issue of the valid tax certificate comes up again. Should the title company have ignored the cert and collected $12k more than shown? That's a fun conversation to have with a seller at the settlement table.

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Tom Gimer:

Quote from @Account Closed:

Great advise, thank you @Tom Gimer 

I spoke with some wholesalers who were able to get good properties under contract, but couldn't find serious cash buyer. It certainly makes sense to CLOSE on those and keep (to resell, rehab and etc.). 

Do you know what worked best for them when they just started? There are so many different options and big guys will advise to spend $5000-$25000 per month on marketing to get a steady stream of leads that can close deals. But what you do when you just start out, with lots of options out there (that come with risks to burn a lot of cash really fast, when you shouldn't do it)? Being too cheap also may back fire if you end up making 10,000 calls by pulling a list from Propstreams and never closing a single deal in the end.

 Any advise on best marketing strategies for starters, on "starting lean and mean" under current market conditions in Maryland, would be greatly appreciated!

Cart before horse.

You need to network first, then get deals. Find out who buys in which neighborhoods and at what price points. Also the extent of rehab required. At first you will have to share/JV because the end buyer will be somebody else's contact. Before long you'll know a bunch of the local players and won't need to share unless you have trouble selling to your list... and then it will continue to grow.

Always happy to share and go JV if that's what gets deal done. I am networking too. I am curious though: if you locate a good property, and by good I mean (as an example) 3br 2 ba SFH, in a hot zip code, with plenty of comps to figure ARV, at 70% of ARV minus well estimated repair costs and reasonable assignment fee, and then offer it as is to investors in current market, how difficult would it be to sell it if your trusted/connected buyers didn't want to buy it? It's possible to find a great deal, but not where my buyer wants specifically wants to buy, not matching no. of br and ba he wants to have and etc.? Should I avoid getting such property under contract, even if it's a great investment opportunity that HML would be willing to finance if I wanted to rehab it? Are buyers/investors picky and particular about what exact parameters house falls under, regardless of how good of an investment it is based on verifiable (not inflated) numbers and metrics from data sources?

If it’s truly a good deal just send it to me. I can connect you with clients who have buyers lists the likes of which you wouldn’t believe. (You may however quickly find out that your numbers/analysis need tweaking.)

But if it does work out all I require for making the connection is that WE close the deal.

As to your question, do you want to be a fix and flip investor or a wholesaler? 

Quote from @Account Closed:

Great advise, thank you @Tom Gimer 

I spoke with some wholesalers who were able to get good properties under contract, but couldn't find serious cash buyer. It certainly makes sense to CLOSE on those and keep (to resell, rehab and etc.). 

Do you know what worked best for them when they just started? There are so many different options and big guys will advise to spend $5000-$25000 per month on marketing to get a steady stream of leads that can close deals. But what you do when you just start out, with lots of options out there (that come with risks to burn a lot of cash really fast, when you shouldn't do it)? Being too cheap also may back fire if you end up making 10,000 calls by pulling a list from Propstreams and never closing a single deal in the end.

 Any advise on best marketing strategies for starters, on "starting lean and mean" under current market conditions in Maryland, would be greatly appreciated!

Cart before horse.

You need to network first, then get deals. Find out who buys in which neighborhoods and at what price points. Also the extent of rehab required. At first you will have to share/JV because the end buyer will be somebody else's contact. That's actually a good thing because you'll be expanding your buyers list. Before long you'll know a bunch of the local players and won't need to share unless you have trouble selling to your list... and then team up again, meet some more investors, list will continue to grow.

Based upon the tax certificate issued and relied upon at settlement, I would be requesting that the taxing authority abate the liens against the property and pursue the seller directly for the amounts now claimed to be owed.

We deal with some of the best "we buy" folks on the east coast.

When the property condition is unexpected, they terminate during the study period... as they have reserved the right to do. But for good properties at the right price, when they can't find an investor to assign to for a decent profit, they CLOSE (either with cash or private, great terms) and resell when a proper buyer comes along.

Pretty simple really.

People who do this right are seriously networked.

Can't do sub2 on FHA with a title company that knows the repercussions. They can get blackballed forever from closing FHA. I've posted about this previously and provided copy of the guidance.

From OP @Victor Valencia

Hi Tom.

It seems I need 10 votes to reply to the discussion, which feels like a significant barrier. BP should consider improving this policy to encourage more inclusive participation. I appreciate everyone's valuable feedback. Peter, I apologize for missing a setting when I started this post. Here's some context: The access to our properties used to be the main road until the 1970s when the city rerouted it to build a highway around our homes, giving this access to the landowner at that time. In our historical town, agreements were often informal and not well-documented until the county began proper recording in the 1980s.
Despite extensive record searches, we haven't found a defined easement. Local input and city planning suggest this access has been in use since the highway was built, potentially supporting a claim for a prescriptive easement.
While this access previously held little value, recent developments have increased its significance. Negotiating with the current landowner is possible, but the terms and potential costs are critical considerations. Our concern is that fencing off property lines could restrict our access.
Based on feedback from Tom and Peter, it seems prudent to involve Title Insurance to negotiate on our behalf for a favorable resolution.

So I got a private message from @Peter Walther to the effect that he was not allowed to comment on this thread.

Do you really need to be a Pro/Premium member to comment on posts? If so that is complete bullsh*t and BP may have officially jumped the shark.

Here was his message:

Apparantly I'm not allowed to comment on the question unless I upgrade to Pro. If I could, I'd first write that I don't have a disagreement with anything you wrote. I would add the OP shouldn't do anything to prejudice the insurer's ability to resolve the claim, like negotiating with the neighbor. Let the insurer take whatever steps it finds are necessary up to and including payment for the loss which may or may not be as much as or more than the amount of insurance. I would also include a link to this access story that's still playing out.

Lac du Flambeau tribe won't lower payments for residents to access reservation properties (msn.com)

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I agree with Peter that once the claim is allowed you let the attorneys retained by the title insurer take over fully... getting yourself or your own attorney involved just increases the risk of screwing things up. If the insurer denies the claim that's another story... in that case only hire an attorney experienced with title insurance claims.

If the neighbor(s) will not execute an agreement allowing access, a lawsuit would be necessary. And it's definitely NOT a given that the court would award the relief sought. All of the elements of an easement by necessity (or prescriptive easement, depending upon the facts) would need to be satisfied... read SD case law to find out what would need to be proven. At some point that land was subdivided -- how, when and by who is crucial. Also the nature of the current "access" -- whether it has been hostile or permissive.

The good news is the title insurance carrier has allowed the claim and will likely pursue an agreement with the necessary property owners OR fight the legal battle if necessary. And it could cost many, many thousands of dollars in legal to eventually win or lose. The fact that title insurance includes defense expense is a great lesson in why chosing NOT to purchase owners coverage is stupid.

Of course if the court doesn't award the easement, the title insurer would likely pay out on the title claim based upon the lack of access. I would say that's not a total failure of title so not a full policy payout. It would be a good time for @Peter Walther to chime in on this. He'll probably correct some of my analysis as well!

@Chris Kitchens You need to pull the docket for the lawsuit referenced in the notice of lis pendens. It’s not necessarily a foreclosure case.

Including as a defendant in the lawsuit someone who would likely be a superior lien holder suggests to me there is more going on than a straightforward foreclosure.

Or it could be something simple like an unreleased lien and the court is being asked to quiet title or otherwise weigh in on lien priority.

Let us know how it shakes out.