All Forum Posts by: Adrian Tilley

@John Voirol I would try very hard to find comps with a similar issue - that's about the only way you could get close to an accurate value.

@Jose Ceja I think with excel you can have the program recognize where there are first and last names in the same field and separate them. For how to do that you'll have to ask a computer whiz or google/youtube.

@Adam B. I don't have any experience with mobile homes, but generally with regard to entities/transfers of title, I wrote a blog post about entity protection and some drawbacks here.

Also, you can transfer to an entity any time you want. You can use a warranty deed (the normal deed used for sales), but you could also use a quitclaim deed, which doesn't make any assertions regarding whether title is good, but just gives any interest you may have to the grantee. Generally this should be sufficient for your purposes, but talk to a qualified attorney and account and don't rely on this because it's for informational purposes only and not legal advice. I hate having to say that all the time, but CYA...

There is NOTHING practically or legally preventing you from changing title to a property, even if your lender doesn't want you to, but as @John Fedro said, the lender may have the right pursuant to a due on sale clause to "call the loan", which means you have to pay it off within a specified time or risk the bank foreclosing. As John pointed out, it's rare if the loan is current and being paid regularly, but it is still a risk.

Also, talk to a CPA to see what the best solution is. Instead of transferring title, you can rent the property to the entity, which doesn't transfer title, so the lender shouldn't get upset, but will accomplish many of the same objectives.

Good luck!

@Adam B. I did mine online through creschool.com

I thought it was fine - nothing to compare it to though.

@Tyler Perleberg Your tenant is probably liable for all the damage, which would include your deductible. To find out for sure talk to an attorney. Before you go that route, I would recommend trying to work it out with the tenant. Always cheaper that way, and you can maintain the relationship. With regard to your neighbor breaking through the wall, the rights and restrictions on owners are controlled by the governing documents for the building. There's probably some provision in there that allows owners to remediate damage, although it sounds like that part might be under HOA control.

@Sharlisa Elzy Interest is probably accruing. That generally starts to happen as soon as the lien is in place.

@Lynn Potter It sounds like the property actually IS unencumbered. What you're doing (if I understand correctly) is voluntarily securing the loan with the property. That might work, if I was on the other side I would argue that there was no consideration for doing so. If you record it as a 0% loan, you might run into IRS problems as you indicated. This might be a situation where you want to talk to a laywer for an hour or two.

Shocking that there's no follow up from the OP. Looks like he works for some land trust company.

@Elizabeth Joiner Read @Bill Gulley 's post. That's a much more entertaining explanation than I would have written, and basically correct. If you have insufficient capital/insurance/etc, the Court may decide that the entity is basically a farce, a way to deprive creditors of the money they are owed, and will allow the creditors to pursue you personally.

The only point on which I disagree with Bill is that I think instead of reading a textbook, the better avenue would be to spend a couple hundred with an attorney to set up your business and get some basic advice. If for no other reason, then because the law is different in every state, and a textbook is written for a national audience.

@Chris Holston Talk to a mortgage broker to get specifics, but for my personal residence we put 3.5% down, then refinanced a couple years later when our equity reached 20%. My understanding is that you have to wait 6 months after purchase, and can then refi and they will use a new appraisal for "value" in determining whether the property will be less than 78% LTV. Rising rates does create a problem, but they would have to rise quite a bit to make a huge difference.