All Forum Posts by: Mindy Jensen

@Brad Thomas, It sounds like you removed the listing before you received the deposit check? And after a period of time you relisted, then the deposit check arrived. Have you cashed the deposit check? Do you have any signed contracts with this person?

@Chad Carson had a great podcast a couple of weeks ago on 7 ways to find deals.

Thanks for the heads-up @JD Martin. I'm sharing this with the developers.

O&E is Ownership and Encumbrances. It is a down and dirty, quick search of the property to see who owns it and what liens are against it now. It is a nice way of spending very little to get an idea of what is going on with the property. You can call up a title company and ask them to run one for you. Double check the cost, everyone I have talked to says $5.

A full title search should bring up everything, and will let you know if there is something they aren't going to cover - like a lien.

Anything you don't understand, ask until you DO understand. Have them keep explaining until you are comfortable with it. 

That said, I have never purchased in NY, but I have purchased quite a few properties. Here's my take.

No idea about the attorney. There should be an NY person who can shed light on that.

Appraisal is reasonable.

Title Insurance is one of those things that you just have to pay for. Your lender will make you buy a lender's policy, which covers their interest in the property should a cloud appear on title down the road. A cloud is something that can cost you your house. I am not a fan of insurance, but unless you can afford to lose 100% of the property, buy it. You only need it when you need it, but you can't buy it when you need it...

Recording fees mean the fee to record the deed. This should be the same or very similar across the board.

NYS mortgage tax is probably something that will be the same exact figure no matter who is quoting you.

You ARE getting multiple rate quotes right? Shop around within 30 days to get different quotes from different lending institutions - in a 30 day window, all inquiries are lumped together as one hard inquiry into your credit score. It looks like you are shopping around for the best rate and won't have a negative impact on your credit. 

The Specialty Warranty Deed guarantees that no liens or encumbrances have been filed during the time they have owned the property. Homepath homes are REO, and this is the most you will ever get from an REO. There are several liens that survive foreclosure, like tax liens and certain states' utility liens. Get title insurance on this property or have them run and O&E search for around $5 before you make the bid.

Title insurance companies are similar - as long as it's a large operation and not a mom and pop shop. Let them pay for your title work if they use a big title company.

Deed restriction clause - I thought that was only for 90 days after purchase?

@Jaroslav Hlinka, you may not have made a big mistake. Just because someone bought the property doesn't mean it was a good deal.

If it was in Robbins, IL, it may not have been in the best neighborhood. When you are investing out of state, I think it's better to partner with someone who can give you information about the area. Nothing beats boots on the ground. 

Hi @Stefan Glover. Are you talking about the Find Foreclosures link under Resources in the blue bar at the top of our site?

That is a separate service that is not included in any of the paid tier packages. I went to their page, and at the bottom it says that after the 7 day trial period, monthly subscriptions are $39.98.

Your inbox has a "sent" tab. You can also search by first name, but that may yield too many results if it is a popular name.

I agree with what everyone said, except I don't think you can salvage those tiles. This job is poor quality. If you are flipping this house, and don't fix this floor, the comment you get from buyers most often will be "the tile looks terrible." It will cost you far more in concessions and holding costs than to redo it now. 

It stinks that you have to redo it, but you do. I wouldn't try to get them to fix it, either. I'd take a load of pictures, and take them to court.

And absolutely do not let them grout this.