All Forum Posts by: Marc Freislinger

We've never put granite tile into a home before, but we left it in a home that already had it once. It was a major complaint for people in that home, through it was over half a million. We ended up replacing it after only a week or two on the market.

Personally, I don't really like the feel of it. I've seen many people walking through a home their looking to buy, and they often absent mindedly run their fingers along the counters. The counters should be clean and smooth.

As someone else may have pointed out, slab granite costs can be pretty comparable to other counter options. The cost of granite is almost entirely in the labor to have it cut, finished, and installed. Because of this, prices can range drastically depending on who you're getting estimates from. It also means they're negotiable.

Yes and no.

If you don't want a property, there are options for giving it back to the bank.

Cooperatively:
1) Deed in lieu - Bank takes the property back in lieu of pursuing a foreclosure.
2) Short sale - Bank allows you to sell the property for less than the loan value.

Uncooperatively:
3) Foreclosure - Stop paying and the bank will sue you to take ownership (this is much easier for the banks in trustee states vs judicial states)
4) Bankruptcy (Chapter 7) - Turn all your assets over to a trustee who then sells them all and divides the proceeds among all your debtors. Any debt is then wiped clean.

With the exception of number 4, the bank would still have the option to come after you for the remaining balance of the loan, unless otherwise negotiated. All of these will have an impact on your credit, some greater than others.

Can I ask why you don't use a buyer's agent? Most of the time, the commission the seller pays is the same either way, unless you're able to convince the listing agent to give up half their commission.

I'm an agent, so I'm not your target respondent, but I have closed well over 100 properties in the last couple years. I can count on one hand the number of listing agents I have met.

On the flip side, I've met a similar number of buyers. Most buyers would have their own agent, and so I wouldn't have any reason to meet them.

Did you have some reason that you wanted to meet with the agent?

The tax records should show the current owner. You can usually get that information from the tax assessor's office. If the property doesn't sell at trustee sale, it goes back to the bank. If it's a local bank, you could try calling and making an offer. If it's a large bank, you'll probably have to wait for it to come on the market as an REO.

On a $30k remodel, there's no way I would pay a contract $20k "when the job starts." If he quits, are you going to find someone to do your entire remodel for $10k?

As for the other issues, yes it can be a hassle to deal with warranty stuff, but that's rare. And material shortages are the fault of the contractor if the contractor is providing the material list.

You're not actually legally required to accept cash.

Source

It looks like you've got a much more in depth schedule above me, but we do windows during the Framing stage. We do exterior siding during the drywall stage, so that we have people working inside and outside.

This is a long video. I know that most people have never and never plan to commit a crime, but after seeing several of my friends go through the system, I also tell everyone I meet to watch this video. It is more true than you can imagine.