All Forum Posts by: Isaac Passmore

This would be our third. The other is a SFH in a different county.

Hi all,

So my wife and I own a condo that is apart of a 20-plex and the way the building is structured we only have 1 neighboring unit that shares our stairwell. We are on the ground floor and everything about this rental property is operating smoothly. I found out earlier this week that the neighboring unit we are sharing the stairwell with is up for sale. We like the condo building and wouldn't mind having a second unit. Since you rarely get to pick your neighbors in real estate this seems like an opportunity to reduce the chances of having a bad stairwell neighbor in the future that could upset our existing tenants. 

How much value would you all put on locking down that unit for more long term control? The current asking price does not make sense as a rental. However, the seller is an investor, albeit, this is their only rental and they have a paid off primary residential. I get the impression that they did not like being a landlord. The previous tenants had a kid and I'm hoping to view the property in the next couple of days. It is not priced to sell so I'm hoping the owner may be open to creative financing options such as subject to. I'm not going to get a bad deal, but I'm wondering if anyone would pay a bit of premium for this situation. Does this even have value or is it all in my head? How awful can a neighbor really be in a condo community? 

What are the buyer's options at closing if the title company is unable to produce the closing documents because the seller has not been communicative and the title company has discovered numerous liens against the property but does not know enough information to provide title insurance or provide an accurate payout?

 That is exactly what we ended up finding ourselves and the solution we are aiming for. The seller is no longer happy with the purchase  price and wishes to backout or renegotiate. They definitely want to sell the property

We have given them the a buyout option and informed them we intend to take legal action if they fail to perform. It has been radio silence. The reasons for adding the right of first refusal is 2-fold. 

1) I only want to use legal action as a last resort. It's crazy expensive, time consuming, and extremely high effort. 

2) If they have a genuinely human reason for no longer wishing to sell. If it's simply price (which everyone believe it is) then we want to be the buyers. However, in the off chance that the seller truly wants to stay in the house, then fine. I just want the right to purchase the property at this current contract's agreed upon price and terms if they want to sell it sometime in the future. 

I believe I have found a lender to help me with this specific situation. But my situation allows me to be flexible. Ideally, I would move in and begin the house hacking process, however, I can continue to occupy my current residence while I perform the necessary repairs from a far. 

Thanks Russell, I've reached out to Mike. In a previous suggestion he was unable to help due to not knowing the age of the roof and inspections saying it was near the end of its expected life. That was for an owner occupied policy. With this new lender we'll see if Mike can make something work for a vacant policy.

So I am in an incredibly unique situation where the seller doesn't want to sell after being under contract for several weeks. I do not want to force them to sell if they truly wish to stay in their home. However, the only indication I've gotten is that they are upset with the price and feel they can get a better deal. For context, they have been trying to sell this property for nearly a year. I'm very confident they are trying to sell. However, in the off chance there's a human reason they want to stay in their home I want to let them but I also want to protect myself and not be taken advantage of. I want to purchase this house and am prepared to move forward based on the existing contract. 

I am meeting with a lawyer on Monday to discuss various documents we need to have ready by closing in case this deal continues to go sideways. I want to discuss drafting up a Right of First Refusal agreement to cloud the title of the property. For those that are familiar with this option, what are some terms you look for or draft up in a Right of First Refusal? 

Has anyone made Right of First Refusal transferable? (meaning, if I don't have the funds when the seller is ready to sell, I can turn around and sell the rights to purchase first to someone else) Would this be done through something like "a person or entity to be named later"? 

If given the opportunity to purchase this property in the future, I would like to purchase this property through an LLC, however, the current purchase agreement contract is written in my personal name.

Creative ideas welcome!

(I got really lucky by stumbling across this option by going to a house showing today that has Right of First Refusal by the county. Wasn't even aware this was a thing...) 

My lender is requiring that I obtain Vacant insurance. Does anyone have any recommendations for where to find this for the greater Washington DC metro area? Specifically Prince George's County MD. 

I have never heard of this type of insurance before but is there anything unique about it other than no one can live in the property for coverage to be effective? Is there an area where I can read more about the various insurance products that may come up concerning real estate transactions? 

What happens in Maryland if the seller refuses to leave the property after selling? What actions can the new owner take if they are operating remotely? I am hoping to get this answered on Monday by speaking to an attorney but I would like to know going in what to expect.