All Forum Posts by: Karin Crompton

With a smile, @Bill Gulley? You are pushing it today. ;-)

Ok, I get it - they want to prevent fraud, they want to make sure good work was done. And this - "...they want to know the seller didn't land a naïve buyer who overpaid in a property with an inflated sale price."

If the sales price was inflated, wouldn't the appraisers tell them so? If there are no comps, there are no comps. And if there ARE comps - well then, it doesn't matter whether I replaced a light bulb or gutted the place during a rehab, my property is still comparable to these others.

And thanks, @Joe Gore - I can see that angle as well.

I don't know if you meant me, specifically, with this comment: "I see you have a problem providing the info to the bank and the bank should not loan to you because it does raise a red flag."

I'm not the one getting the loan. And yes, I do have a philosophical problem w/providing the info to the bank in the manner it was asked for, for the reason you state here: "Remember the bank will send out a 3rd party to verify that a license GC did the work and the price was not jack up." So they sent out 3 experts to inspect the property - do they trust the experts or not?

And finally - my contractor gives me good prices (and we use good materials). So if my spread is more than the next guy b/c I found a contractor who does a good job for less money, is the appraisal suddenly in jeopardy?

Speaking of which, the profit is more like 23% or so, Bill G. I hope that's acceptable to the lender.

Thanks, @Bill Gulley

@Bill GulleyGood thread here as well: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/84092-buyers-bank-asking-for-my-purchase-price-plus-rehab-costs

If the underwriter wants a sense of the profit - and how incredibly subjective is that, btw? - to determine what's "reasonable" - then do I also submit a summary of materials purchased, holding costs, everything?

And any idea why this would have come up at the 11th hour?

@Jeremy Davis 26th but something has hung it up for another week or so. And now they're asking for that info.

I think @J Scott addressed this in a blog on his website, which I just found: http://www.123flip.com/education/fha-90-day-rule/

Regardless, I am still livid. And wondering whether I can redact the pricing info.

Hey all - I am livid today! Maybe you can either calm me down, or tell me I am rightfully enraged.

We have an FHA buyer for a rehab, and among the hoops we've jumped through so far are the requests from an inspection plus two FHA appraisers (actually not a big deal, just time-consuming). We took care of everything they wanted done. Last night, the buyers' agent forwards an email from the bank w/an update and summary (never mind that we were supposed to be closing yesterday and ran around getting our ducks in a row well ahead of time, but I digress).

The email included this line:

My immediate reaction has been that this info is none of their damn business. They've had an inspector and two FHA appraisers out to the property. The buyer has an experienced Realtor. Many sets of expert eyes have been out there and inspected every inch of the place. It obviously appraised, so why does the itemized list of improvements matter? Clearly, the house underwent an extensive renovation - and even if it hadn't, again, it freakin' appraised. Additionally, we've owned it since Nov. 14; this isn't a case of an investor buying a property, doing nothing to it, and sticking it back on the market in 2 weeks (although, once again - if it appraises, it appraises, imho).

I also feel that my contract and what I paid to my contractor is proprietary information. How is the price of the rehab relevant to anything? I'm happy to provide them with permits and the sign-off from the city inspector, which they also asked for. That is relevant.

I'm almost inclined to acquiesce in part and give them a list of what was done but no receipts. Or to provide the Scope of Work and, if I also submit the invoices, to redact the pricing info.

What say you, BP members?

@Dev Horn mailing or two (or three or four), but shouldn't you at least get more than 2 calls from 1,000 postcards? I'm a newbie to the whole marketing arena, but if I get that low a response rate, wouldn't I re-evaluate my materials? Seems like the number should at the very least be closer to 5-10 calls, which would still only be 1/2-1% response. Am I under the wrong impression?

Hey, @George P., I don't know how big the neighborhood is or how many properties are there, but you can also head to City Hall and look up owner info there. City and town clerks are usually very helpful at pointing you in the right direction, but you can basically just punch in the name of a street and and check out all of the owners on that street. If the owner's mailing address doesn't match the property address, there you go - absentee owner (this doesn't work 100% of the time, but can be a free way to get started on names).

You can often find this stuff online as well. Check Vision Appraisal or Google your city's appraiser's office and see what you find.

And you can of course purchase a list as Sharon pointed out. The cost is generally fairly low. And yeah, only way to tell whether they're burned out is to talk to them!

@Michelle Stanish

@Joe Kalis you're probably thinking of @Sharon Vornholt who is on Show 12 (biggerpockets.com/show12). She's great! I highly recommend that show as well as her blog. Very businesslike, informative and detailed, and not "salesmansy."

@Michelle Stanish

And eek, that is a terrible response rate! I'd message some wholesalers here on BP and ask whether anyone would take a look at your mailer and offer some suggestions. Even a measly 1/2 to 1% would have given you more calls! Kudos for giving it a go and getting started, though. And it sounds like you have a good attitude about it and are willing to learn. Good luck!

(P.S. My partner lives in Harwinton, so if you find any properties in the vicinity, keep us in mind! Terryville and surrounds would work for us.)

Hey, @Michelle Stanish - what do you mean by "not great?" Are you referring to the response rate, or the calls themselves, i.e. unmotivated sellers?