All Forum Posts by: Jason V.

A bank near me gave HELOCs with 90% LTV & ZERO fees whatsoever, plus could be converted to mortgage for ZERO fees, also. They even offered a special of only 1.99% interest for the first year.

Something like this might be ideal, even if they'd only provide 50% LTV for someone with no credit, employment history.... because that's exactly what you're looking for. Not even 50%, actually. Worth calling every loan officer tomorrow and asking about such programs, they're minimum qualifications, & perhaps if those qualifications are somewhat negotiable.

Save the 3% you'd give a listing agent/broker and use a Flat Fee MLS broker. $150 ONLY... you fill out all the info about the house, all the disclosures that the Flat Fee MLS broker provides (all of which you'd be filling out *anyway*), and you take some pics (ideally within an hour after sunrise, or an hour before sunset)..... and you save yourself THOUSANDS of $$.

No agent is going to help you get a better price or negotiate better, because ultimately they're only going to do what YOU tell them to do.  You'll say, I don't know what to do, and they're gonna say, it's a tough choice YOU have to make, which is the truth. Only thing they can offer is to provide you with comps, which may or may not be accurate today.  Things move quickly when interest rates rise the way they have been.  I simply took the values offered @ Zillow && realtor.com/soldhomes , and averaged them together.  Got a cash offer slightly above the lower valuation, which is better than I could've ever asked for, honestly.  No agent necessary.  Or perhaps I am the agent, for my own property, using a $150 listing broker.  Helps you know EVERYTHING that's happening, both before and after the sale.  Tough to beat that type of service, IMHO.

All cash offers... Or very high down payments...

Or more likely, the prices will have to drop to affordable prices with these interest rates.  The Fed is *intending* to crash the market.  That's exactly WHY they would raise the interest rates like they have and why they'll continue raising them for the foreseeable future.

Not sure how I could lose the sale, tho....

I've already got a contract with the 2 local guys.  There's NOTHING that allows them to cancel the contract, short of foundation, roofing or other "system" problems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc.).   But the concrete slab is great, there's a new roof, a new HVAC system, new electrical, newish water heater, & there's nothing wrong with the plumbing.  Their contract specifically precludes then from cancelling due to cosmetic issues, which there are many.

So the way I see it.... There's ZERO benefit for me to amend the contract to other buyers. If they want to amend, then there should be something in it for me, no? Wholesalers mean they've likely already found another buyer, the LLP, to pay them $10k to $20k on top of what they originally offered me. Accepting their buyer amendment only makes sense to me if I'm getting something extra, because I'm ALREADY getting the original contract price. No way they're getting out of it. So yeah... No benefit for me to accept buyer reassignment.

Buyer (2 local individuals) & I have a purchase agreement.  Home inspection finished last week, presumably looking acceptable to buyer(s).  Termite inspection passed.

BUT... the buyer's agent has now sent an amendment to the contract. The ONLY change is the buyer's name will no longer be the two local individuals, but a foreign company from another state, "Something Properties LLP".

The original contract didn't mention reassigning the contract to another buyer's name, so I didn't think I was dealing with wholesalers, just a couple of guys that wanted to purchase some good cash flowing rental property.  But now I'm thinking they *are* wholesalers.

My ultimate question is... WIIFM?!  Or, "What's in it for me?!"

I am under no obligation to allow such a contract amendment.  So perhaps I could use it as leverage??  I'll only sign it for an additional $3,000 purchase price, for example??  Makes sense to me, no?

The proper answer is that you should sell your house *and* mortgage with the assumption of said mortgage & pre-2022 interest rates..

Make a deal @ whatever home value makes sense.  If your mortgage allows someone to assume the existing terms, then the home value IS likely what you are asking, but not at the otherwise currently available rates, nearly DOUBLE the interest rate.  You follow?

Perhaps this person would need a large discouragement to pay you off before assuming the pre-existing mortgage.  Not really sure any other way to do it.... But that pre-existing mortgage has some value in itself to people that are being priced out of similar properties.  Leverage your unique selling points!

Also, I'm not 100% sure on YOUR specifics, but if that was your primary residence for 2 years, that makes it tax exempt from capital gains.  See IRS "Section 121"-- 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/us...

This mindset is based on old systems, ways of thinking.  For example -- tax preparation.  H&R Block was lobbying to keep free tax prep services out of the DIRECT hands of taxpayers.  Now, you can e-file both federal and state tax returns online with multiple places for a flat rate fee of ZERO DOLLARS!

I think the well is gonna dry up for more and more realtors in the long term. Of course there will be creative ways for hustlers to "skim" a little off the top, or even a lot off the top of their braindead clients... but things are moving more toward direct communication. The buyers agent fee is "upfront" with the listing broker, but not the buyer him/herself. The seller's phone number is not upfront with the buyer when listing on the MLS, etc. There will be platforms which remedy this problem of a buyer being able to communicate directly with the seller. Zillow/Trulia are one such example, which doesn't really with, atm, because most buyers agents don't want to negotiate their commission directly with a FSBO seller *and* their own client. I actually had ONE buyer's agent contact me before *and* after losing on MLS, wanting to negotiate toward 6% commission, because he's wasted 4 months with his clients looking for a sub-$100k home just like the one I was selling. Instead of just take his clients there, he spent half an hour chit chatting, texting, etc.... time that he'll never get back.

And for the record, I used to do REAL work (HVAC change outs, installs) for the cheapest price, compared to anyone else in the country.  Still made enough after marketing, sales, contact negotiations, prep, etc. for like $2,000 profit shared between partner and myself.  All for 8 hrs of work, half of it dripping sweat in an attic.  Using real tools, not just words that can be automated or tweaked in an "ad lib contract".

Being my own listing agent, working director with the broker allowed me to see things that most gone seekers never will. How buyers agents want to negotiate upwards on their commission before even considering that they'll show a property to their current... How wholesalers operate (tricky, tricky skimmers, yet I can't deny the hustle!).... How the MLS works.... Laws and whatnot.... It's worth it for everyone to DIY. In this sale, I saved $2,775 by not working with a traditional listing agent... and perhaps more importantly was the more *fluid* communication I was able to have with the buyers agent. 1 agent's ok. But 2 agents in the middle is just too much for fill in the blank H&R Block work, guys. And delays actual negotiations and understanding. Don't threaten me with a good time working for peanuts, because I only do what I love. $$ is really inconsequential in what I do.

EDIT:  A lotta you guys remind me of the waiters, waitresses who complain that they aren't paid a minimum wage... but then a law is passed that forces restaurants to pay them a living wage, they FIGHT AGAINST IT!!  Why?  Because they make way more from the tips than half the jobs out there (at least when comparing after tax dollars, since most of them don't claim all their tips).  Very similar.

Netting 3% on one $1,000,000 home for example is the average yearly income in Mississippi.  If I sold one of those a year, or two $500k homes even.... Then I'd be able to show EVERY client EVERY home they were interested in, and in a tight contact negotiation, I promise you I wouldn't hesitate for long and offering to knock a whole 1% off just to make a deal and move on to the next cause.  Realtors who complain about potentially negotiating they're commission simply can't be worth a flip.  If you weren't KILLING it over the past couple years as a realtor, then I promise you... You're gonna need to find a new job, because with higher interest rates, more foreclosures, less buyers, the future is really gonna put a hurting on you.

Didn't use a realtor, per se, only a Flat Fee MLS listing broker. And I'm sure they'd LOVE to with with me again. Everything's all automated on their end. I fill out all the information about *my* property, which is what a typical listing agent would ask of me anyway.

The amount I'm willing to take has nothing to do with the agent's commission, of course.  But everything is negotiable and the Law of Increasing Opportunity Cost comes to mind.... it's in their benefit to make a sale, even if that is encouraging their buyer to buy, so that will free up time and resources for other clients, opportunities.

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This was the correct answer.  Buyer accepted the offer @ $97.5k w/ 3% commission.  I didn't expect the buyer's agent to discuss the possibility of negotiating the 3% commission, but I did want her to get the deal done and make sure her clients were seeing things from my point of view.  They offered $95k, and I don't know whether or not they understand the 3% is coming out of that or whether they think their 3% buyers agent fee is *on top* of the $95k price.

This is what I sent to the buyers agent after $95k offer:

"Alright... I will agree to $94,500 AFTER buyers agent commission is paid *and* I'll pay for the Wood Destroying Insect Report.

That's $97,500 total @ 3%.  Not sure how invested you are in these clients' time so far, but I'm wondering if you might consider a slight drop in commission rate if it came down to it in order to make a deal?  2.5%? 2.0? Or even 2.2%? Or 2.7%?  Just trying to make sure we're all being creative if your clients don't budge all the way, as this is definitely my best and final offer.  If you would be open to commission adjustment in order to make a deal work, let me know before submitting the offer so that I can readjust contract with listing broker."

Feel like this psychologically is letting them know that I am getting less than the buyer is offering.  That the buyers agent commission SHOULD be considered separately from what I, the seller, am receiving.  Just trying to paint a clear picture for ALL parties involved.

I will admit that I did NOT consider the buyers agent splitting the 3% commission with the broker.  So for this reason, I can see why 2.5% to 3.0% commission rates are preferred.

Other than that, I feel obligated to to respond to the idea that I don't respect EMTs, Realtors, & other professionals. It really has more to do with the systemic nature of these legalized RICO practices that I mentioned. These things are somewhat written in statutory law, in a way that I feel is essentially "protected fraud". That's neither here nor there, as the negotiations went well for what it is I'm selling, the condition it's in, the location, the nature of the market, etc. Being as how it's all cash, should close within a couple weeks, which also prevents me from having to deal with homeowners insurance renewal for my HELOC. All good in the hood.

And to answer #3 from JD Martin's post... *I* wouldn't have brought the baby to the hospital from head trauma, but that was my wife's idea, even tho there was no concussion and he was fine after a few minutes. Same as when our middle child stuck his hand on a hot stove and got burns. I said, let's just put some neosporin on it, because the hospital will just do the SAME exact thing. Sure enough, they did the same exact thing but charged a ridiculous amount of money, like $4,000. Doctors should have flat rate pricing across the board, visible for everyone to see, just like they're picking out a #4 Combo at McDondalds. It's happening with Flat Fee MLS listings. NFTs, Smart Contracts, DeFi, etc. are things that will also shake up the need for buyers agents, as well. Just saying, that things are changing. They always do. But buyers and sellers communicating directly isn't as bad as realtors make it out to be.

Rates could get up to 10% before starting to slow down.  If that happens, monthly payments will be higher... Meaning that home prices will likely need to drop as there will be less available markets.

The Fed is trying to crash the market, people... But you have to consider whether lower price and higher interest rate are actually better than what you can get now.  Everybody is regretting not buying [more?] when interest rates were below 3%.  I should've refinanced but was wanting to make another purchase and now refinancing is off the table at these rates.  You think long, you think wrong...