All Forum Posts by: Joe Norman

Licensed professionals have to follow ethics rules about advising other licensees' clients, however is 100% okay for the consumer to talk to multiple professionals. And, as Drew points out, you probably should be in order to get multiple opinions.

You probably don't need a Realtor for this, so long as you and the seller are on the same page as far as the terms of the deal. You absolutely will need a title lawyer/escrow company (not sure what they're called in your area) to handle the complex (at least to this layman) paperwork and make sure everything is properly recorded.

Sounds like a great situation for both of you - congratulations!

RentSpree is another good place for background checks that is publicly available.

Something important to consider is this is a family member and it will be hard to keep this transaction arms-length. If they feel that they gave you a discount (whether real or based on false assumptions of market value) then that could damage the relationship.

There are definitely benefits to both buyer and seller in doing an off market sale like this, just make sure they have all the information you have so that it stays above board.

Good luck!

If your PM is licensed in their state then start by going to their regulatory board (e.g., The Colorado Real Estate Commission) to file a complaint. If you hired an unlicensed PM then good luck ever getting that money back.

This isn't a "cash out refi" because you don't currently have a loan on the subject property (the loans are on your primary residence, so you're not "refinancing" the subject property). In my experience most lenders will only let you cash out what you've put into the property in this case, as opposed to letting you cash out up to a % of the value.

Thats not to say that you can't do it, just don't stop at the first "no". Keeping calling around and ask other investors in your area what local banks they use in this particular situation. Good luck!

This sounds just like what happens when a house has a mortgage lien on it. (1) the title company gets a payoff statement from the lender, (2) settlement occurs, and THEN (3) title pays off the lien.

I don't understand why your title company won't do this for a tax lien, unless there is something you are missing or that you left out of your OP. I suggest talking to a couple other title companies and getting their opinion - PM me if you'd like a few referrals in the Baltimore area.

There are deals to be had in Baltimore, but not like it was 5 years ago. the. most important thing is to know the neighborhood! Values can very dramatically of the distance of just a few blocks, so be sure to have someone with local knowledge double check your ARV estimate. Good luck!

Can you market yourself as a part-time real estate agent? Sure...plenty of people do it.

Should you? IMO absolutely not. The time and effort required to always be looking out for your clients best interests, as well as to be a high quality co-op agent, is not something that can be done on just nights and weekends. The only way I would suggest doing this is if you joined a team that did provide full time, business hours support.

For sure get a new PM, and in addition to that you should file a complaint with the local licensing board (assuming you are in one of the 44 states that require PMs to be licensed). Its a shame how many real estate "professionals" are out there running around doing a half assed job.