All Forum Posts by: Lynn McGeein

@Michael S. Other reasons: works on a team where lead agent gets the stats, not them. Very knowledgeable but focus is their own business, client referrals or helping family. Some don't report their off-market business like FSBO sales for MLS stats as it's not required and many don't care about stats. Plus those numbers probably include licensed property managers who don't focus on sales. For those that are just doing it part-time or the occasional family member/friend, they likely don't want to handle investors, anyway.

@Bryce Henson my understanding after dealing with reverse mortgages is that the reason it’s listed too high is likely there are rules in place for selling them, there’s a determination of list price from the lender,must be listed at that level for a certain time, then they’ll re-analyze and potentially drop it if it doesn’t sell in that time frame. I think family could have purchased for a small percentage under appraisal, even if balance owed was higher, if they wanted to keep it then sell it themselves. Either way, may not be much wiggle room, or may take a while to get down to reasonable price.

Yes, you can use an attorney to close without using a real estate agent, and they can usually hold the earnest money deposit and distribute funds after closing.  Be careful if the actual contract has any terms about assignment or allows their private access to the home before closing, as many "cash" buyers out there try to tie up your house for a low figure, then sell it higher to someone else before they decide to close it with you.  Some even just walk away if they can't find a higher buyer, so get a large non-refundable earnest money deposit. There are also many cash buyers who will try to use an inspection period to drop the price, so make sure if they do ask for inspection contingency, it's a very short period, so they're not wasting your time. Likely worth it to ask your attorney to review any contract before you sign anything to make sure it's solid all the way through.  Unless it's in really bad shape, it's usually worth it to get 2-3 real estate agents to give you a market analysis with estimated seller net (even if you're out of state, they can email it to you) so you can compare before you agree to sell.  You might be surprised at how much more it can be.  Or at least then you can make a more informed decision.  

@Ciera Yorty most standard agent contracts state only assignment with seller permission, where you would need it to close. Wholesalers usually use their own contract or change terms saying assignment without seller permission and seller approval for their access during contract term so they can show it to others on their own. Virginia just passed a law where if you do this more than once a year, you must also be licensed.

@Kevin Zhang it took us forever to find good management because so many sounded great when discussing with them but actual contracts were full of ridiculous terms we wouldn’t agree to and they wouldn’t change. Once you’re finished with these guys, please leave honest google, yelp, other reviews warning others of those practices as many don’t read the whole contract, like you, apparently. The yearly renewals are actually pretty common but charging even when vacant seems wrong, should be incentivized to keep units occupied.

@Prasanna K. You’d require a license for both of those. If you do enough business then it’s worth it. Agents are not allowed to give you access without being present, even if it’s on a regular contractor box. And some mls fields are private, cannot share with unlicensed people.

If this thread is about to be relevant again, I'd like to point out that buyers who believe listing agents are unethically not submitting offers are likely wrong 99% of the time. As a listing agent who has helped many investors sell off their inventory, I waste a lot of time weeding out "buyers" who really think I must submit any tentative offer they put in a text, email, verbal, or using non-binding letters of intent. Listing agents are required to submit complete, signed written purchase offers, real ones that are ratified if seller accepts, and seller can limit that even further if they state it to me in writing. For properties that I know will attract many investors, I explain wholesaling to seller at listing, that they are likely to be inundated if they don't limit it, and then have seller state in writing, up front, that I should not send them anything under a certain price or with certain terms like fully assignable. For buyers who think they can demand to see/speak to seller directly, I explain seller has no interest and hired me to avoid that scenario. I'm not sure why so many buyers still think that their ultra-low offer is so special, even after my explaining that seller isn't receiving offers in that range at this time and will not allow assignment.  They must realize listing agent would advise seller that if they're willing to entertain offers that much lower than list, we can just drop list price and start a bidding war. 

Mine emails me monthly statements if no work done but also snail mails me the ones that have had any maintenance or repair along with copies of paid contractor receipts for my files.  They do charge a small yearly admin fee, like $200 inclusive of up to 10 properties.  Seems a very efficient way to handle it.  

@Judson Heess if you live in connected spaces, get used to forgiving and ignoring some noise. She makes a good point about worrying how you’re going to handle a wailing infant in the middle of the night if a radio at noon causes you to text a complaint. Close spaces mean hearing others’ arguments, infants crying, doors slamming, bad music playing, occasional loud birthday parties, cookouts, etc. Sounds like she was putting up with your noise and door slamming without complaint even though it caused damage to their personal property, until you accidentally picked a very stressful time to complain about a radio at a decent hour — which should not have been a complaint unless it was louder than noise ordinances, quiet hours, or there’s a weird lease term about playing music. Pregnancy complications are very scary and stressful, but I don’t think her response was overly severe, explaining what they’ve put up with and their alarm that it seems you’re going to be difficult. If you are going to be upset about the occasional loud radio, baby crying, gathering like baby shower or birthday, then contact the person she asked you to deal with and figure out a solution or, even better, learn to deal with the fact that you live in close quarters and other people will be annoyingly loud sometimes when you don’t want them to. Maybe going forward, don’t complain unless it rises to the level of an actual lease violation or police call, even if it annoys you. It’s why I live far away from neighbors.

Sounds like a consult with a real estate attorney or perhaps start with a call to city permits/zoning.  If the dumpster and parking have been there a long time, could it be something like adverse possession where you retain the right to keep them in place?  Can you appeal your assessment and lower your insurance on that acre now that you think it's worthless?  Even if you have no plans to fill in the gulley, knowing if you're allowed to fill it in and what you are allowed to build there may help your cause.  You may be able to market the whole package to someone who may want to wipe out the 3-unit and build a large apartment building with storage units across the road where the gulley is now, where you make a nice profit on the sale plus ruin this guy's green-space entrance to his neighborhood.  If you find out you really can't do anything with it, then you have a stronger argument with the city and insurance about lowering costs there.