All Forum Posts by: Lynn Z

bummer...when someone knows a CPA who REALLY knows this stuff...please highlight their name and number. There's a lot of smoke and mirrors on this issue.

there's no question about my closing costs. It's the buyer's where they are borrowing enough in the loan to cover (eg. up to 3% of their closing costs)\
The sales price is increased on the contract to allow this but then when you balance out those extra (buyers) closing costs may not fit the allowed transaction. Why should the seller have to increase his replacement property
FMV with these buyer's closing costs? I probably wouldn't have agreed to do this had I thought I'd have to increase my replacement purchase FMV by the amount of the buyers' closing costs. None of this makes any practical sense to me. I held the relinquished property for 7 years and gum it up at the end.

wexeter...in a 1031 exchange if you pay closing costs and the sales price is bumped to reflect that can those costs be considered '"exchange expenses" ?
Otherwise, you wind up increasing the price you have to pay for the replacement property to balance out the values, right?

Also, have you seen 1031 replacement properties transactions that move the equity into other 1031 exchanges in less than a year and a day? I've got a CPA and an accountant that state their clients do this as long as the equity is rolled into a qualified property in another exchange. Are people doing this in other states? There's so little information out there on 1031's.

that's having to frame one in and start from scratch. I agree you ought to be able to do replacement with materials you list for that. In a master everyone here wants tile or cultured marble sides. Surrounds were good for awhile but you definitely see less of them.

thanks for taking time to read my post. The BOA website used to be easy to use. Plug in value of the house, amount to finance. fill in home purchase, investment, etc. and a table of options appeared. Now, when you hit "mortgage" a pop up appears that asks for purchase price of home and downpayment which makes it confusing at best.

I was curious that BOA changed their website when Countrywide changed theirs. Less open to inquiry in my opinion. I do use BOA and made both residential and investment loans and was happy with the service.

They did sent out a non certified junior appraiser to do an investment property which is a pet peeve of mine but we lived through that as well. You have to furnish the newbie appraisers a lot more information and usually the underwriters here will make the supervisor go back out and review the house and not permit juniors to do the investment appraisal portion. I never have figured out who screws up when that happens but you wind up disturbing tenants twice and looking stupid to boot. Thanks for you input.

This 2% cap on seller covering closing costs must be new because we were sellers last summer and up to 3% was the deal with one lender (bank groups).

Three investment properties refied with stated income loans (rate and term) for 6% rate closed the first week in January. I know rates have been up but they must be shopped. Top credit scores. The underwriter required at the last moment that they have a letter from attorney stipulating that the business was in fact a business for years.....must be getting paranoid. It's alot to ask a closing attorney to do unless you use the same one over and over. Stated incomes may become impossible for investors in near future. Always have been in the past. Just possible recently. Small window of opportunity I suppose.

Also, Fannie Mae Desktop Underwriter used to lay out all of the ltv's etc. and what the parameters are for buying loans from lenders. Isn't that what they all go by? Isn't it just easier to read that website? Lenders are not reinventing the wheel are they?

Why are Countrywide, Bank of America etc. no longer posting rates on their websites....all together at once? What gives? It's on bankrate.com so why not post as they have been in the past. $$$ drying up?

The last three houses I sold that were rehabbed didn't have enough margin in them to pay 6% to a realtor. You can send them "broker protected" language all day long for 3% and because they split with their broker they are not going to bite....unless things get much worse.....which might happen. MLS is glutted right now with product which is what you get when you list.

If you're holding an open house and a realtor's client is in their car and says "Can we see that one" they might make a call and see if the FSBO is paying 3%. I make it my personal bottom line to make more than a realtor on my houses. Most of the time that let's them out.

If you've got product and you can hold open houses/make flyers/be customer oriented...and it's spring/summer market...you don't need a realtor..... really. Who knows the most about the product? You or a realtor?

One called me the other day and asked to walk through my current project. New kitchen cabinets/wonderful tile/labradorite big blue granite countertops. What did she say "I like the color of the walls" and ...."How much do you want for it?' GOT NO CLIENTS.. waste of my time.

Buyers want information.

I remember a woman selling a duplex about six years ago making the statement that although she'd owned rental property for 30 years she felt she didn't really make a lot of profit --- but it did help her out on taxes. Others in the business 30 years really do live on borrowed money and buy and sell single family property to come out better just to pay those enormous property taxes and insurance which can run $30,000-$40,000 if you have enough property.

I don't personally know a lot of people living on their rentals--they have inherited property or have another job or other means. It costs alot of money to upgrade apartments from window units to central heat and air and
put storms on windows to conserve energy so that tenants can afford to rent from you. Painting and roofing a few buildings in a year can make you humble as well.

Just ask regular realtors at open houses what agents are known to work with investors. In my town where there are hundreds of realtors really only a handful are "known" to court and deal with investors. They have to know numbers from the business standpoint. Some big time realtors call these particular realtors and ask their opinion about a price on a piece of investment property because they know that they are so much more knowledgeable than they are. Everyone knows who they are. They're the "numbers guys and gals".

do you have any cash flow on your rental are you just breaking even after considering property taxes and insurance? I worked and raised a child and bought two triplexes in a year --- I thought it was going to kill me. Just the financing. Just curious. Also, you're in CT, which is a very expensive state.