All Forum Posts by: Alan Taylor
Alan Taylor has started 4 posts and replied 20 times.
Post: Questions on practices/protocol for closing in North Carolina
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Quote from @Ricky A.:
Not an attorney, but my experience (including both a sale and purchase in the past couple of months) is:
- NC is an attorney close state
- Buyer chooses closing attorney. Who chose the attorney for you closing? Were you using an agent? In almost all my purchases, my agent has asked me if I already had a closing attorney or if I wanted a recommendation. On my purchase last month, however, I unexpectedly received an engagement letter from a closing attorney. Turns out my buyers agent had just assumed I would use the one that most of their clients do, so he never asked me who I wanted to use.
- Seller usually uses same closing attorney but can use different attorney (for seller-side doc prep). Settlement statement separates out legal costs for each side, so you simply pay actual for whichever side of the deal you're sitting on. I did this on a sale back in Sept because I didn't want to travel one or two county over to sign docs. In my case, the two attorneys were charging similar amounts for the seller docs, but I ended up saving a few dollars because the closing attorney wanted to charge an extra fee for me to sign docs before closing!
- Technically, any NC-licensed attorney could probably close, but for practical purposes, it probably only makes sense to use one in the same or a nearby county. ... If there's not a big city in the same county, there's almost certainly one in an adjacent county, and they probably do closing in the smaller county.
- As for wiring instruction, yes it's scary that they expected another party to forward instructions to you...that's asking for fraud. However, I've definitely received wiring instructions in PDF via unsecured email. I always confirm phone number separately (i.e., definitely not via the same email) and then call to confirm the wiring instructions.
You tagged Western NC. Northwest or southwest? If you need someone in northwest (e.g., Watauga County, Avery County), I can connect you with the one I used. I ended up not having any issues with them.
Our agent has used a stellar closing attorney shop in the past, but they were doing more than 100 closings in December (folks trying to cash in on 100% bonus depreciation?), and had no room on the calendar to work us in -- so we ended up going with an attorney recommend by the listing agent. They had decent 'reviews' on Google -- but, that hasn't been reflected in the service we've seen from them.
We're buying in the Bryson City / Maggie Valley / Waynesville area -- so if you've got folks in Swain or Haywood counties in North Carolina that you would recommend, I'd definitely be happy to reach out to them for future transactions.
Post: Questions on practices/protocol for closing in North Carolina
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Quote from @Russell Brazil:
That is incorrect about Virginia. The Virginia Bureau of Insurance put an end to split settlements back in February. Virginia buyer now picks the title company, and is responsible for the fees.
Thanks for correcting me -- that's good information -- my last 'data point' for Virginia was when we closed on our primary residence in 2019!
Post: Questions on practices/protocol for closing in North Carolina
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
I'm closing on a property in North Carolina - and the attorney office that is conducting the closing has had some significant communication issues, and has done some odd things (sending wiring instructions to my lender, expecting them to pass it on to me -- then sending it to me in a PDF, via unsecured email). It's got me wondering whether I have the option of vetting my own closing attorney for future purchases within North Carolina.
These are some questions I have:
- Can any closing attorney in North Carolina conduct a closing on any property in North Carolina?
- Are both the seller and buyer required to use the same attorney for closing on a property? In Virginia, each party has the option of choosing their own closing service (either an attorney, or title company) -- what differences should a buyer be aware of when purchasing properties in North Carolina?
- As a buyer, are you able to stipulate that you will use a closing attorney of your choice? Is there a 'generally understood' practice in this regard? If you have separate representation, who typically covers any additional closing costs?
The place where I'm purchasing is a small(er) town, not as many law offices that offer closing services -- and I don't want to make myself unwelcome or 'blackballed' by any local attorneys, if I can avoid it -- ... I'm just not sure I'd feel comfortable using this particular law office again -- wanting to figure out what my options are in the future.
Post: PropStrean vs Deal Machine
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Quote from @Barry Pekin:
Hi @Joseph Price,
Batch GeoCode just helps me plan my route when driving to look at properties. I download a spreadsheet of the properties I want to go look at, and then import that into Batch GeoCode. It will plan my route to take the least amount of time. It's a bit manual, but it's definitely a time saver.
I'm in the GIS World -- 'Batch GeoCode' is the term I used to describe a process of deriving Lat/Long coordinates from a street address (or APN) -- but it sounds like there is an actual paid/web service you are using? Is that the case? If so, would you mind sharing the URL for that service?
Post: BP Podcast SO. MANY. EPISODES!!
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Be patient -- there is more than one right 'answer' here, and you'll probably have to narrow your options down to one or two that you'll actively pursue. As Brandon (former podcast host) would say, "Don't try to build too many bridges to 'wealth island'". It'll rob you of resources to complete any single one of them.
When you learn something, take action on it. And keep rolling that 'snowball of knowledge' over time -- and you'll be surprised how much knowledge, and experience through action, you accumulate along the way. And, never stop learning /investing in educating yourself.
Post: Conventional Financing on STR Property in North Carolina?
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Quote from @Stephanie Medellin:
@Alan Taylor This may not apply to you, but you mentioned "second home" which is a vacation home.
Lenders won't be able to use rental income to help you qualify for a vacation home.
If you're trying to use rental income to qualify, you would need to finance the property as an investment.
At the end of the day, if it pencils out (including the higher interest rate, and pre-payment penalties involved with most DCSR loans), I'm cool with using whatever works, and complies with relevant laws!
Post: Conventional Financing on STR Property in North Carolina?
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Quote from @Avery Heilbron:
Hey @Alan Taylor I have an NC contact for you. It would be 20% down and around 7.125 when I spoke to him a couple weeks ago
Thank you! What is their contact information?
Post: Conventional Financing on STR Property in North Carolina?
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Quote from @Dave Skow:
@Alan Taylor- let me know if you would like a referal to a NC colleague
Post: Conventional Financing on STR Property in North Carolina?
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
Hey folks -- I'm looking for a lender who has 'conventional' financing (income verified) products available in North Carolina. Most lenders/brokers I'm talking to only offer DSCR products -- and I'm hoping to get better terms.
Anyone have a lender/loan officer who has products in that vein and is able to underwrite properties in North Carolina? (Second home, income-verified, 30 year fixed rate 15%-20% down -- purchase price at $450k or below).
Post: Tips For Vetting Your Airbnb Guests Before Booking
- Real Estate Agent
- Manassas, VA
- Posts 20
- Votes 10
You left out 2 very important Qs!
4) what ages are the people in your group?
5) Approximately how many cars will you be bringing?
“We’re high schoolers coming in 11 cars” doesn’t fly 😉
Have you ever had guests try to misrepresent the number of people coming, or any other material facts about their stay?
What recourse does a host have if someone says "we're a quite retired couple looking for a peaceful weekend stay" but really, it's a college kid reserving space for a frat party?
What options does a host have if a guest does damage or makes a nuisance of themselves during their stay?