All Forum Posts by: Darrin Wesenberg

Hi @Branden Kenton. I am licensed in Ohio and live in Columbus close to Victorian Village/Short North/OSU. You're lucky to find a single family property under $300k in Vic Village.  You just named all the "hot spots" in Columbus. :)  But please let me know if I can help in any way!  -Darrin

again thanks for the responses guys.  @Bill Gulley he is not headed to a nursing home anytime soon--I was just saying if we set up a life estate, he could end up in one in 10 or 20 years and that would definitely complicate matters.  I would like to pay the tax bill for him as the "down payment" or "option fee" in order to not only secure the property but ensure that they can still live there without threat of being foreclosed on.  Ideally I want to make it so he does not have to pay anything back to me.

I like the Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship idea!  So he & I would be 50/50 owners, and I would own the property free and clear whenever he passes away?  Or if he decides to move out he could quitclaim the deed over to me?  I would still need to compensate him for obtaining my "half" of the property.  Perhaps I could offer to A. pay off the tax bill, B. pay for all repairs, and C. send him something like $100/month for 5 years so the poor guy had a little extra disposable income.  You think that would make sense??

Awesome, thanks for the feedback guys!

@Brian Gibbons @Account Closed the option idea sounds intriguing. Let's say agreed upon purchase price is $25,000 and unpaid taxes are $2,500.  So my "option cost" is $2,500 and goes directly to the city for taxes? Let's say option is "exercised" January 1, 2020--would that $2,500 come off of the $25,000 so I would then owe $22,500 on Jan 1, 2020?  I just would like to not owe a balloon payment of $20k+ in 5 years.  I would also like to pay for some repairs on the property up front, which the current owner/caretaker cannot afford.  Would it be OK paying for these repairs now, knowing that I will be buying it in the future? 

I'm trying to figure out a way to do this where:

- I obtain ownership within ~5 years by only paying off the property taxes
- Owner can stay in the house at least another ~5 years and doesn't have to pay rent
- I pay for much needed repairs up front that they can't afford

Maybe we need a combination of life estates, lease options, and land contracts?!?

Hey all, I thought I'd seek the advice of people much smarter than me regarding this potential scenario...

I recently came across a property in an up-and-coming area, where the current owner is a mentally handicapped older gentleman who inherited the property from his father and is tended to by a live-in caretaker.  The house needs some TLC and they cannot really afford to pay for upkeep or repairs.  He is about 8 years behind in property taxes and neither the owner nor caretaker are in any financial situation to pay them off.  He has been taken advantage of his entire life by other family members so he has nobody to turn to for help.  If someone doesn't clear that tax balance soon the county is going to foreclose on his property and he will be kicked to the curb (I don't know how it hasn't happened already, frankly).  I really want to buy the property, but have no desire to move into it, and would prefer to let him continue living in the house he has called home for years.  I was trying to come up with a creative way in which I buy the property but let them continue to live there without having to charge them rent.

I realize that in a typical Land Contract, the buyer makes a down payment to the seller, occupies the property, makes monthly payments to the seller, and obtains ownership after say 5 years.  In this situation, could we set up a Land Contract such that my down payment would be used strictly to pay off the property taxes, and my monthly payments to the seller would essentially be equivalent to what I would charge a tenant to rent?  So basically my monthly payment to the seller would be offset by his monthly rent to me, so no money would ever be exchanged.  I would take care of property taxes and insurance, make repairs, and after 5 years obtain ownership of the property, without actually paying the seller, and without the seller paying me rent.  

Benefits for me: I own the property in 5 years, free and clear, only having to pay off property taxes and making some repairs--by that time I'm predicting the neighborhood will have appreciated quite a bit

Benefits for the seller & caretaker: outstanding tax debt is washed away, a huge weight is lifted off their shoulders, and they can continue living in the house for another minimum 5 years without having to pay a dime

I'm still quite the noob at the whole REI game, and it sounds really weird but it seems like a win-win for both of us. But I still feel like I'm missing something. Has anyone ever been in a situation like this? Would I be the landlord to the seller while we are in the land contract, and be responsible for example if the furnace breaks. Would I be crazy to fix this place up for them without even living in the property, and not owning it for another 5 years?

And obviously I would seek legal assistance with all of this, I just wanted to get some feedback from BP first before presenting my proposal to the property owner or consulting an attorney.  Thanks and look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts...

Hey guys, I was going to sign up for Buildium and see that they have a referral program: $50 for both of us.  I was wondering if anyone would like to refer me? Pretty please? ;) http://www.buildium.com/buildium-referral-2

I'm looking for a referral as well!  Thanks!

Hey BP, I'm looking for someone who can help me do an FHA Streamline on my current FHA loan. I know there are Streamline programs that require no income verification. I have excellent credit but my current only income is rental income, and my 2012 and 2013 tax returns show negative. My primary source of rental income is considered "boarder" income and unable to count toward my totals. Anybody have any recommendations? I know if I can refinance this darn loan I can save $100-$200/month. I live in Ohio in case the programs are state-specific. Thanks!!

@Tracey Marzich did you end up finding a good local real estate CPA?  looking for one myself to help with taxes this year.

Well it seems as though I've annoyed the fiduciary attorney with my inquiries. Whereas a month ago she said she'd give me the courtesy of right of first refusal (since I was the first interested buyer to contacted her), and was even going to have me meet her at the property, here is her latest response:

"I can't meet with you--please understand the obligations of the administrator are to be neutral. Numerous other people have contacted me. Everyone deserves a fair chance -- it would not be fair to have someone bid privately if someone else would have also bid or bid more."

I was simply trying to see what I could do to secure the property and avoid dragging this out until scheduled for Sheriff Auction in July. I even reached out to the foreclosure attorney representing the bank and he said "I can assure you that if someone offers (bankname) a full payoff of their lien, it will be released." I told the fiduciary this.

What did I do wrong here? Did she only suddenly change her stance because there are more interested buyers besides me? Is her promise of giving me right of first refusal no longer applicable?  I just don't understand her sudden change of demeanor.  How would the BP experts proceed with their next step(s)?  I still really want to pursue this one!

Thanks! Darrin

@Rick H. thanks so much for the response!  I actually signed up for your newsletter in the wee hours last night as I was browsing probate stuff in the BP forums!

I left out that if I did acquire this triplex, I would be living in one of the units and renting out the other 2.  That's assuming the place is livable after purging all this guy's junk (I'm just assuming the producers of "Hoarders" would gladly film an episode here).

Now who is the seller in this case--the fiduciary attorney, i.e. who was appointed by the Probate Court to represent the estate of the deceased?  Would she be considered the "seller"?  If that's the case, then we're on good terms.  I was the first person to reach out to her, and she basically said I could have 1st priority to the property (apparently others have contacted her since, realizing the potential).  That being said, we have quite a long email string going, and despite my inexperience with this I don't want her to think I'm not taking this very seriously or acting too casual or unprofessional.

The fiduciary's assistant told me they thought the property's value was close to the 2013 tax value of $137,000 (for 2014 it increased to $150,700).  I naively assumed that if I paid off the outstanding mortgage to the bank that everyone would be happy and I could get the property at a bargain--not factoring in whatever equity was in the property.  

Rick, would you suggest making an offer then to the fiduciary?  How would you structure such an offer?  Would you recommend using my own attorney to deal with the other attorneys, or am I OK handling this on my own?  i.e. would they take me more seriously if I was represented by someone?  I really have no idea of the condition of the inside--it could need a lot of work.  However a price of $137,000 could still be quite a deal on this place!

Thanks again for reading my post!

-Darrin