All Forum Posts by: Tristam Griffith

Hi Rob. Long time, no text...lol..

Here's the deal on owner financing to a LLC. It can be done, but must have personal guarantee rider on it. Why? Because you form a LLC to avoid liability. Any attorney is going to tell you not to lend to a LLC. There's no one to go after should the loan default. To avoid that, you personally guarantee the loan. That way, you can put the property in the LLC for title purposes (aka: still have the protection against litigation from tenants) but the lender can still come after you personally, should you default.

Good luck!

Tristam Griffith

Correct. Here's a video on the topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fi54S8nwUA

Good luck!

Hi Gerald. Welcome.

Buy now, work over winter, list April 1st. It's best for appraisal issues to hold 6 months when possible.

It depends on where you are. Every county in Ohio has it's own rules. First, call the county sheriff's sales department where you bought it, and ask them. They are probably going to say you are out of luck. Sheriff's sale are are "as is" and doing the due diligence is part of deal. 

I have, unfortunately have this happen before. I bought a nice looking house at sheriff's sale and after the sale, found out it was a 100% gut. The entire middle of the roof had collapsed and it was filled with mold. It was an expensive lesson to learn.

Call an attorney in that county after speaking to the sheriff's sale people. The rule is here that you lose your deposit and they re-sell it. I would rather lose $5k, than $50k. 

In the future, call a Realtor in the area and have them go look for you. Just pay them $150 to drive to the site and give you an opinion exterior condition.

Thank you Rudi and Patsy!

I really appreciate your kind words, and your loyalty. 

I know I'm not for everyone (blunt) but I hope that saves time in the long run. The goal is to enrich my clients' financial lives in a meaningful way and to minimize potential problems that would hinder your gains.

Now. If we could only get all the other Columbus Realtors on board with the "actually responding to phone calls/texts/e-mails" plan, it would make all of our buying/selling lives so much easier! 

You are both a pleasure to work with, and once again, THANK YOU for the compliments :-)

Grey's with white cabinets all day long in Columbus!

Hi Brandon.

Let me know if there's anything I can help you with, or if you want to meet for coffee sometime!

I use C& A Cleaning for mine. You need to be specific on fixtures, etc.. It's usually $200. You can PM me for a phone number if you want it!

Seller financing is a loan, just like a bank. That type of agreement will not hold up in court. You will require a regular foreclosure just like any bank loan. 

We require 25% down, and I have a list of required docs to approve you. PM me if you want a copy. We charge 6% interest. It's a great deal for my sellers who sell a few properties in one year. It spreads the tax burden out.

Our joke is always, with 25% down, they are not likely to default, but we can hope :-)

It is perfectly normal for the attorney to say that. It is unusual that the owner didn't check with the attorney before the day of closing!

I do seller financed transactions frequently. We don't allow them to go into an LLC unless the LLC owners agree to personally back the loan. Why? Because you (the buyer) form an LLC to protect your assets and limit liability. Why would a seller want to finance a property to an entity that gives them no recourse if they default.

Just tell them to re-write the agreement, and put you as a personal guarantor on the loan. Then you can put it in LLC to protect you against tenant lawsuits, and the seller's loan is protected because you are personally guaranteeing it.

One more tip. The insurance policy must also list the seller as a payee, just like a bank loan. Hope this helps!