All Forum Posts by: Karen Johnson

@Corey Dexter RUN, don’t walk away from this “lender”. Any money you’ve already paid is likely lost, but if you’re still in active communication with them it might be worth a visit to the police station to report that you’ve probably been scammed and see if they can work with you to get your money back.

Not sure if this is the right place to post this. Can anyone recommend a good Real Estate/Tax lawyer in Montgomery County, PA?

Ambler, Blue Bell, Plymouth Meeting area preferred but will go wherever.

Thank you very much, @Basit Siddiqi  very useful information!

Thank you so much @Account Closed I will be sure to ask about that. 

Hello,

My husband and I are planning on purchasing his parents' home and renting it out. The home in its current condition would sell for roughly $325K on the open market. His parents are planning to sell it to us for roughly $150K. To be clear, they are fully aware of the value of their home and have well defined reasons why they want to sell it to us instead, so we are not taking advantage of them. The sales price is based on the payoff amount for their existing HELOC. The house will also cash flow very well as a rental at this price point. Our plan is to get a conventional mortgage for the purchase with 20 to 25 percent down, since we don't have $150k cash on hand.

I think my question is, what is the best way to move forward given the parameters of the purchase? Should we be consulting a CPA or other professional with regard to any tax (or legal) ramifications for them and for us? It’s not our first deal so we are clear on the general requirements/process for purchasing a house in general, but it is our first purchase from family which requires us to get a mortgage. We just want to make sure we aren’t missing anything or making any missteps that will negatively affect them or us. Our plan had been to visit a CPA but we decided to also ask the community here first since there is a wealth of knowledge and experience here. Any advice on this is welcomed. 

Thanks. 

Congratulations! I’m sorry we didn’t get to connect so I could see it. Would still like to connect in the future. 

Two .5 acre lots as listed in tax map 15D-5-11 & 12 and deed book 120 page 363. More commonly known as Langford Highway, Nassawadox, VA 33413. Asking $30,000.

We had a couple of people ask if they could pay less on our last rental. Our response was, “the rent is the rent”. We try to price the rent competitively. If there was no interest in the property, we would consider lowering it because we may have misjudged the market. However, we would not do it based on an applicant’s request because (as others have said) we feel it sets a bad precedent for the future.

I’m sorry that you’re having so much trouble from the beginning. I don’t have a lot of advice to offer but I was wondering if your mother could live in the same unit as you do until she gets back on her feet. That way, you could still rent out the second unit, not lose any income and (if you choose) not charge your mother rent or utilities since you would have been paying for expenses in your unit anyway. Unless there are mitigating factors, I think this makes sense to me as one way to lessen the blow from everything you have going on.

Originally posted by @Justin Seng:

@Karen Johnson Thanks Karen. I actually did read that book and used the deposit to hold form from it.  I will have to add the renters insurance piece to the move in requirements.  Great place to put it, thanks for that!  I did speak to the tenant about it and sent her some articles on why it’s a good idea for her to have it. Seems like she is all for getting it. 

 Excellent. Glad it's all worked out!