All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Frazier

I can recommend Property Services of Atlanta: http://www.psatlanta.com/

My attorney sets them up for $800 for me.  I would do it myself but I like the added privacy of having a registered agent.  If you do it yourself it shouldn't cost you more than $200.

Unless the legislature addresses the fact that the law is vague on tax deeds, then the answer will always be quiet title when the tax deed is defeasible.

I used them on a property and the work they did was acceptable.  However, I will not use them again and here's why.  

One of the things they didn't tell me until after the work was done was that the title insurance isn't like normal owner's title insurance where the premium is paid once and effective until the property is transferred.  The kind of title policy that they issue expires in 6 months and if you want an extension then the work has to be re-done for more $$$.  

The other issue is that most closing attorneys just don't seem to be familiar with this area of the law and have reservations about whether the title is actually good.  There's also a question when the new owner tries to get title insurance; will they be able to get a normal owner's title policy or will theirs expire in 6 months too?  All those flags are just deal killers. If the buyer's attorney has reservations about title, the buyer will back out and you've wasted your time and money.

I tried to save a little money with them and wound up filing a quiet title action any ways.  I found an attorney who would file for me at a reasonable cost and now I have a judgement from a superior court judge declaring me the owner against all claims.  For the next one, I will just file quiet title and be done. 

Mine are usually around $1500 but that's for a cash close.

I had this happen to one of my houses and it cost me about $6k to get everything re-wired.  I would think if you planned for $10k you would have it more than covered.  If you other numbers are on then I think it would be a good deal, but you should be able to get an electrical contractor to give you a quote during your due diligence for a more exact figure.

Kristen, you really need to dig into MLS and figure out how to do comps there. It has the most current and best data, plus you really need to understand the process so that you can have confidence in your comps. The websites with a value estimate can be very off sometimes so I wouldn't rely on them.

If you're a real estate agent, why aren't you using MLS?

What are you going to do with the property?

Just curious, why can't the investor come up with 35k?  Make sure you are partnering with someone who is legitimate.  I would talk to a lawyer about drawing up a Joint Venture agreement too.  You don't want this guy to walk with the money.  If I was putting a penny in a property, I would have some ownership.

If all that checks out, why don't you get a HELOC and use that to fund the repairs?