All Forum Posts by: Ke Nan Wang

I had a couple home warranty claim experiences from my past real estate clients and the short answer is: If the seller throw it in, why not take it. If you have to get one yourself, definitely not worth it and here is why:

1. Ask them about deductibles. Most home warranties have a $700-1000 deductible and most minor house issues can be fixed less than that, so not worth it in minor issue case. 

2. Here is the big one, pre-existing condition, this is the insurance company's golden ticket for getting out of large ticket claims. Home warranty policy only covers something that was good and functioning when you started the policy and then break down during the coverage period. Most of the major items that exceeds $700-1000 repair cost don't just break down suddenly. And the insurance company is going to try their best to make an argument that it's a pre-existing condition occur prior to the coverage period started. 

Sure, once in a blue moon you get something broken down that fits their coverage (the one I can think of is major expensive appliances), but the combination of $500 premium for one year with the deductible and the mentality of getting out of claims as much as possible is not worth it to me. 

My accountant is outstanding and real estate investment is one of their specialties. 
DM me if you’d like their contact info. 

Is there a will from the deceased mother about this property?

I'd always say ask attorney's for legal advise. I've not done this personally but have many friends who have done this (All of them no written lease just a verbal) so people here in the forum can correct me if I'm wrong. 

Let's assume you want to go through the legal paper work because you are preparing for the worst. However, in the state of Florida, legally speaking, I think it's easier for the property owner to get rid of an unwelcome roommate if there is no written agreement. It's called unlawful detainer. It's a much faster way to get rid of someone off your property than if you have to go through the eviction process. 

You need the following to satisfy the definition of unlawful detainer:

• The guest is not paying rent or contributing financially to the dwelling situation.
  
• There is no rental agreement between the parties.
  
• There is no claim on the part of the guest of a legal right to stay.

Assuming you have similar state laws in WA, then you can easily setup a verbal agreement with your roommate. The roommate pays and stays. If you want to get rid of the roommate and the roommate refuse to leave, go the unlawful detainer route. 

If you setup a LL and tenant relationship, then when things get ugly, you have to deliver proper notice and go through the eviction process to remove the tenant. 

Just my two cents. 

In our area, the city actually has definition on the terminology. 

Transient: nightly to 30 days

Short term: 30 days to 6 month

Long term > 6 month. 

So I'm assuming when you said mid term you mean something like 30 days to 6 months. 

If you run it like long term rental then it's absolutely not worth it because higher turnover, more wear and tear, with not much benefit. But I do see a market for the mid term where you furnish the entire house and charge 50% more comparing to a long term rental rate and allow for less than 6 months lease. There are people who are in-between their houses (sold one and wait for the new one to complete) and might pay the extra because it's less hassle and cheaper than living in a hotel or vacation rental. I've never done one myself but as a realtor, I do see a demand from my clients and clients from my colleagues. 

We have been doing new construction in recent years. Good quality tract homes for LTR. Resale market has been so competitive. The land market is usually less competitive relatively speaking. Much easier to find the long day-on-market land and make a decent less than asking price offer on lands. So our MO has been acquiring land, and build an investment grade houses on them. Since construction cost is relatively stable after the recent spikes. Steeper learning curve this way for sure but once we got good at it, it gave us more flexibility. 

If the buyer is very credible man with solid income and security, the best way to go about it to minimize capital gain is to seller finance the deal. 

or 1031 exchange but finding the right properties within the timeline will be a challenge. 

Otherwise take the huge upside and pay taxes. 

I'd talk to a 1031 exchange attorney. You need them to facilitate the transfer anyway so why not seek professional advise? Our 1031 exchange attorney does free 1031 consultation all day. In the end, they get paid when they facilitate an exchange. 

But I don't see why couldn't your mom do a 1031 exchange based on the scenario you described so far. The trick is to find and close on the property within the timeline. 

Hi @Nathaniel Winkel,

Nice to meet you. We do 100% capital operation in NE Florida. Basically once you know the market and the numbers, you just put your money at work. Happy to discuss details with you in our market and you can see if our model works for you in your area. 

IMHO, the answer is depend on do you want to own a piece of real estate in that area or not? Nobody can give you any advise on sell vs rent because nobody knows the future. You could sell for 460k now and what if something crazy happened next year and your house double the value? In that scenario, renting would obviously be a superior decision but do you know that? Of course no. 

If I was in your shoes, the first question I'd ask myself is that, do I like the area? Does the area have potential? population growth? job opportunities? When you drive around the neighborhood, do you like to live in that area? If the answer is yes, and I can afford to hold the property, I'd hold it. Historically, holding onto a piece of real estate in a good area for the long run always has the most upside. 

If I think the area is stagnant or going downhill, and I either have an opportunity or I'm planning on looking for a bigger/better opportunity in the near future, then I'll sell this piece of real estate. 

Once the decision is made to sell, I'd hire the best realtor in town to market the property to the best way possible and get the best dollar out of it and move on and don't look back. In my experience as an investor and real estate agent who helps other investors, this mindset works the best. The one always suffer is the one who's on the fence, wants to half *** the listing and see if the property can net them top dollars. This type of mentality always produce a bad experience for both the owner and the agent. The market is always changing and it's the market that sells real restate. And most of the cases, the first offer is the best offer. 

So in summary, if you are on the fence, make your decision first then execute the decision. Doing things on both sides of the fence usually doesn't work out in your favor.