All Forum Posts by: Cheryl H.

Escrow or Settlement $250

Owner Title Policy $138.87

Drawing Deed $65

Pest Control Report $95

Payoff Demand Statement $30

Title Exam $300

Fed Ex/Outside Courier $10

Transaction Fee $250

Transfer Tax $168

Is the seller still responsible for all of this stuff if he sells to me instead of listing with the agent?

I met with a seller tonight who has not listed yet with an agent, but he showed me the seller net sheet that he was given by one.  I am confused about all of the costs listed on it.  I know he can save the listing and selling agent commissions by signing a purchase agreement with me instead.  But what about all the other closing costs on it?  Will my cash buyer be responsible for additional closing costs as well?

Replacement cost in this neighborhood could easily come in between 160k and 185k.  The original builder who pretty much created this neighborhood is still the major developer in this itty bitty town of mine.  The minimum for a vacant unimproved lot in my town is around 30k.  Are you telling me that there is nobody to market  to for an improved lot in an established desirable neighborhood for around 13k to 15k?

If I follow through with this, it would be my very first deal.  Simply because it is literally in my backyard and in my face every single day.  A single family rental property burned in Feb. of this year.  It was declared a total loss by the insurance company.  The structure remained untouched for what seemed like forever.  In July, the house portion of the house was demolished and the foundation filled in.  The attached 2-car garage was left standing with a compromised firewall where the original house connected with it.  The garage is ok, but that firewall is scorched and has holes where animals (maybe coyotes?) go in and out in the evening.  This is a well-established young family and early-empty-nester neighborhood built in the late '70's with comps in the range of 125k to 200k.  NO VACANT LOTS to build upon.

I contacted the owner of the fire-damaged property and he is definitely a motivated seller.  He had the demo done, leaving the garage standing, because a neighbor had expressed interest in buying the property for the purpose of using the unscathed garage for storage and he could therefore give up his current storage units.  The owner had nothing in writing, but actually paid extra to have only the  house portion demolished and leaving the garage intact. 

Yes.  The owner got screwed.  The potential buyer avoided contact and finally said he couldn't get financed.  Enter ME. My conversation with the owner reveals his insurance has paid and he paid off the mortgage.  He is not hurting for money, but is tired of the complaints from neighbors about the aesthetics of the existing structure left behind after demo.  All taxes are paid to date.  He wants to sell for the county tax assessors' market value of $23,000 minus demo costs of the existing garage of $3500.

I ain't got no cash. lol    My offer is going to be a severely discounted one consisting of owner financing for kind of a long time without interest. lol  My question is:  What due diligence do I need to conduct for a buyer of vacant lots? I intend to market to developers in the area if he accepts my offer and I get the property under contract.  I have a choice of demo'ing the structure and leaving the existing garage concrete pad and existing concrete driveway or getting rid or them.  There is an existing well.  Gas and sewer lines have been capped appropriately.  Is this an attractive property for a developer? Or is it actually more costly for an architect to design AROUND the existing pad, driveway and capped utility lines?  Is there anything else I need to consider before marketing?  I also have NO IDEA how to comp it. :(

Have you contacted any wholesalers to see if they might be interested in the property?

I understand the value of everyone's time involved.  I truly get that.  My mentor had no idea he was only communicating with her and neither did  I.  I am working with someone else now, but I will not refuse working with him again in the future when I have more experience.  My two biggest peeves about my dealings with him were that he never sent me my copies of the paperwork and that I waited for half a day for confirmation of a property showing that he had no intention of showing me.  It was hard for me to not take his actions personally, but I now understand that it wasn't and he's trying to use his time effectively.  I am also trying to use my time effectively and that doesn't include waiting around for information to come to me secondhand.  While I rely heavily on advice from my mentor, she is not the decision maker by any means.  I am.

That's exactly what I needed to hear @Crystal Smith.  Thank you.

Thank you to all.  The entire situation was just striking me as WEIRD and I'm glad I've made the decision to work with other agents.

@Jason Campbell

I didn't even see him there this time.  He doesn't actually attend the meetings, just shows up afterwards if he has any properties close by to show the group.  I've decided I'm just going to work with another agent. If my mentor and lender have some kind of vested interest in me using that guy, then I guess I'll be looking for new ones as well. 

@Jason Campbell, thank you for your input.  I had already planned to have that talk with him tomorrow morning after the club breakfast.  It just seems really odd to me that he is so highly recommended and I'm still being advised to work with him anyway.  My mentor and private money lender seem to think he's the best and I'm uncomfortable ignoring their advice but still needing their help, know what I mean?

I have already reached out to the only other agent I have seen attending meetings, but alas I believe he is as much a newbie as I am.