All Forum Posts by: Diane S.

first its not overnight success and never as fast as you would like it, if you get your license you may go for months with out a sale, you need a back up income, plus sales require a decent reliable car, not always new, decent dress, gas and expenses to outlay, license and mls fees, phone and office expenses, I would suggest a night school re class so you know the local regs, and if you get licensed hang it as a referral agent, look at starting out with a 2 family(FHA loan) and live in half, cuts down on expenses and gets you started, pay bills and mortgage on time, save the extra difference, you are already behind so will take a little work to get momentum, watching pod casts dont do it, its the follow up, you will need to start a saving/cutting back habit, and there will be long nights and weekend work

I would recommend you be upfront with both agents as you would want them to be also, there would be no reason to hide the facts unless you are hoping listing agent would divulge something they wouldnt otherwise, they always represent the seller or duel, but does not give you any advantage to hide the facts

Never paint brick you dont need to, clean up bushes or remove near path, less maintenance, rake yard, colors work as is , just make sure in paint in good shape, maybe newer lighting say motion sensor, a nice kick plate to door would brighten up, and reduce wear, throw in some real cedar chips near door for cedar smell, house colors are fine and wont bring in more rent or faster, just make clean & inviting, put mat near door so stays clean for showings, and worry more about inside

every state will be different and laws change all the time, check with state and local regs, ccos etc, like in Phillys landlord has to be licensed, and give tenants copies of inspections etc, some areas its just a lead base paint brochure, many brochures you can download or buy cheap or free, make a master list of what should be in each packet to check off, be careful in changing wording legalize like may to must...., be do personalize to each situation as it applies, say sfh doesnt have common areas, most states offer landlord tenant laws and sample leases free, hud does, be careful about just downloading anywhere as may or maynot meet laws, or you could hire a local attorney to look over what you right up, either way be very careful what you ask on screenings, and keep all,ALL records even those turned down, make your data base and have a back up disk, I used to just print out a only few forms ahead because laws change and printed names in leases are easier to read, dont go by someones advise or their lease etc, make sure your is as legal as you can, it is a legal contract   dont ask questions like married?or children?, just keep things neutral, occupants, non smoking now has to specify tobacco or other old leases didnt, know service animal regs, and if not important now you will most likely be asked, best advice is document document, I like a short videoed walk through, esp if you can do with tenant, give them a copy so they remember condition too, make it sound like a ribbon cutting but really cwa and hand them everything there, some have forms for direct deposit from bank for rent checks, some have a few preaddressed envelopes, make copies of everything , keep backups, and originals, dedicate a file cabinet if you need too, yes even for disks in their own file, it wont take up that much space and you will be batter to have than not, sounds silly but document inquiries even, (wasnt John Doe asking about a rental last month?last month he made 40k now he says 65k?), each property should have own file folders, there are punches that you can use with fasteners to keep orderly, I prefer digital and paper copy, computers fail, hard drives crash, papers get lost, Wisconsin isnt as paperwork heavy as some, you will also want a rent log of each property you can make up a master for that, with security info with it too, when we went digital(ages ago) I was the one to first teach our realestate office computers, and still see them fail so keep meticulous notes, it will actually be easier not harder

first instinct was a rental area of 650-700 for homes would not sell for 90-100k, like new is not new, and if lots of homes in 46k bracket yous will have to appraise out, if you can rent for 700 each and total cost to re-fie and keep is 325 each I would re-fie both and do another, but get a bank appraisal first to make sure before even a tenant looks at it and look at some rentals on market, to make sure your rent figures are right, maybe able to rent for more or do sell option and hold 3-5, depending on supply / demand a particular area, next time try to buy with less out of your own pocket and be careful not to over improve by neighborhood, some price points sell quickly some take a while, say 45-50 might be hot but 90k might take 4 months on market or more depending on whats going on around you(job turnover,economy,relocations)

there are different items that people call in rent to own: 1) rent with option,  where you buy a home all at your costs then rent to him, the down payment is negotiable and works like any escrow deposit with terms you both agree to , both contract are separate(rent,sale option), basically locking in sale ahead of time, 2) rent to own is usually part of the rent gets credited to the sale, rent must be within a market value, say rent is $800 and 300 goes toward sale, both these require buyer to get their own mortgage within a time frame, say 5 years to perform 3) is owner seller financing which is what it sounds like they want, if you are specifically buying a home with them in mind to pay you back a set rate each month, not a home you already have for sale       each way has pluses and minuses,  dodd-frank depends on how many you do each year and how it is set up,  the first two you are their landlord(maintenance on you), the third you are their financier, decide which idea you like better and check with your attorney which puts you in less liability,    another option might be a loan for the deposit on his purchase as a lien on house, but be careful of money between friends or family, make sure no misunderstanding put it in writing

Forget reasons why, basically contract to purchase, did not meet mortgage clause, deposits, money for closing ect was not followed up on both sides or commitment letter waiving on your side, if you already have a buyer cut loses, and go forward, if you try to prove loss you may end up with more loss as a legal battle may prevent you closing with new buyer then any judge will say that is your fault, expect loss time and expenses next time as stuff happens, unless you can prove you turned down other contracts would be hard to prove, technically if appraisal short they could have outed then, so be glad if you get more than the appraised value and take that as a win while you still have a buyer     its worth more to you to let it go than to the buyer and keep your title clear , and escrow in n jersey often with attorney not title co as closings are typical conducted by attorney in north

Forget reasons why, basically contract to purchase, did not meet mortgage clause, deposits, money for closing ect was not followed up on both sides or commitment letter waiving on your side, if you already have a buyer cut loses, and go forward, if you try to prove loss you may end up with more loss as a legal battle may prevent you closing with new buyer then any judge will say that is your fault, expect loss time and expenses next time as stuff happens, unless you can prove you turned down other contracts would be hard to prove, technically if appraisal short they could have outed then, so be glad if you get more than the appraised value and take that as a win while you still have a buyer     its worth more to you to let it go than to the buyer and keep your title clear 

we when rented always left it better than we got it, but had a client that did get concrete in the plumbing and tried to show one house for sale that the tenant had dog(we hope) poop all over the house floors and walls, they said they didnt want it to sell and have to move

bet you are excited, first before you close make sure legal 2 family, and all permits were taken, could cost you alot if you cannot rent as it sounds like you want to, also make sure by your loan type you can rent not just owner occupy, and make sure egress meets code, then check with accountant about costs and deductions that may apply, you should know all your options before contracting though, if its a private lender what were their terms ideas?, money for equity? as in % or set amount know your terms well, investing or planning on living in?