All Forum Posts by: John Clark

It may not be fraud by the buyer, but it may be fraud by the seller against the entity to whom the seller had a duty to disclose. Transferring title is a material change in condition, so why did the seller not disclose that fact to his mortgage holder?

Not a question of whether the bank had an obligation to foreclose. It's a question of violation of one's duty to disclose.

Quote from @Ishmael Johnson:

@Logan M. where does one find a constable?

The Sheriff keeps them in the back and trots them out for special occasions. 

Quote from @Mike Schorah:

According to one website, “it takes about 12 hours of calling and 208 cold calls to achieve one listing, appointment, or referral, according to a study by the Keller Center at Baylor University. So if an agent’s average commission is $4,641, you get a return on investment of $386.75 per hour!

Which you know cannot be right, so why did you stop your research, and your analysis? The problem is you didn't analyze the appropriateness of the research and conclusions you were making.

The factoid you looked at said "hours of calling." So your analysis is right only if you ignore time spent meeting the seller, meeting the buyer, holding the buyer's hand while he gets financing, holding the seller's hand while he negotiates the  contract, inspecting the house, finding comparable properties for prices, etc., etc.

Or did you think those things could be done instantaneously? Or perhaps that others would do them for you for free?

Factor in those hours and get back to us.

Quote from @Benjamin Cohen:

Hey Jeff, we wound up removing the Type M and replacing with Type L. We hit the plumber with a backcharge for this work which we pulled from their retention. Covered most of it and we were able to put the issue to bed. 

Living in Colorado now where Pex is allowed, complete game changer!
Let me know how it turns out with you

You will be much happier with L grade seamless copper pipe. Everyone who I have heard complain about leaking copper pipe had M grade pipe. It's too light, and fails after about 25 - 35 years. L grade is good for over 75 years in my book.

PEX is too new for me to consider. It dumps forever chemicals into the water, rats chew on them, and I find it difficult to believe that PEX will last more than 25 years.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

An above-ground swimming pool is not attached and usually not considered a 'permanent fixture/structure'. It may be perfectly allowable - unless the lease specifically prohibits it...

A pool is inherently dangerous. The tenant just spiked the owner's insurance. The owner must demand that the pool be removed immediately and not reinstalled. No "earliest convenience," no "please."

Why are you only looking at the northwest side? Follow the orange line towards midway airport. Archer heights, Brighton park, and west elsdon are solid neighborhoods with better value for the money. 

Quote from @Russell Sherman:

I would like to get opinions to help me determine my best financial options.

I am 59 and last year was forced into retirement and also got divorced.  My settlement was a single family home I purchased for $295,000 in the 1990’s.  The last 8 months it has been rented for $4550.  I just received an out of the blue offer to sell for $1.5M, which is a reasonable offer for the neighborhood.

You need to make some value judgments. PERSONAL value judgments. Specifically, you're in a high-stress situation (for you -- living in Mexico, don't like being a landlord, too many investment options, etc.) and a lot of your indecision/stress is based on a desire to avoid taxes. Specifically, you want to avoid long-term capital gains taxes (15%) on $1.2 million ($1.5 million minus the $300k you bought for).

And it's actually less than that, because you can exclude $250k from the $1.2 million, so now you're down to 15% on 1 million, or $150,000.

For your peace of mind, is the payment of  $150,000 -- resulting in clear ready cash of $1,350,000 -- worth it? Only you can answer that question.

If it is, then pay the tax and knock off getting the vapors over "paying taxes." If it isn't, then do a Starker exchange (1031) and accept your lot in life.

Quote from @Art Maydan:

I'm managing a new construction in Woodlawn. I put in a request for trash bins with the city a month ago through 311.chicago.gov. They're still not out. This is all the website shows you. Does anyone know how to get the city to bring out trash bins?

Streets and Sanitation take months to complete. Call the Aderman's office.

Keep in mind that umbrella policies typically exclude business activities. Make sure your umbrella policy actually covers commercial/business efforts/activities. You might not have the protection you think you have in any event.

Quote from @Edwin Bethune:

I'm thinking I'll have to wait until I do the Quiet title lawsuit/get a clear and (an insurable title) title insurance.

Every state's law is different, but I think you are confused. In most states, you pay the delinquent taxes (and subsequent taxes) and receive a tax certificate. You wait the redemption period and its extensions (the three years, apparently, I dunno), and THEN you petition the court for a tax deed. Once granted, the tax deed wipes out everything except federal tax liens and any subsequent property taxes you didn't pay.

That's just about as good a title as you're ever going to get. It also, however, means that you cannot do anything with the property during the period of redemption, since the property title doesn't pass until the tax deed is issued.

Like I said, every state's law is different, but in most states you have no title during redemption. You never have "uninsurable title."

Check your statutes and with your lawyer.