All Forum Posts by: Richard C.

I must be tired.  I read the thread title as asking about real estate agents not wearing any clothes.

 There is a 2 year redemption period after the tax certificate sale.  There is no redemption period after the Tax resale.  There is not enough information in the original post for you to give the advice you just did.  Except the advice to contact a lawyer, which is very good advice.

 Get a lawyer.  Right now.  You are about to get yourself in big trouble.

Also, you know that Oklahoma has a 2 year redemption period on tax sales, right?

 You were taken, by a guru-type who told you that this was easy, and that any business will be viewed as a legit business.  I really hope you are not paying that "veteran" anything. 

Just learn from it, and you'll be fine.

The purpose of an inspection contingency is to allow the buyer to complete an inspection, looking for hidden defects in the property.  It is not to allow a wholesaler to run around trying to sell the house, while having a way out of the contract if he fails to do so.

In my area, 7 days is a pretty standard length of time for an inspection contingency.

I strongly suggest getting a license.  There is very little reason not to, and many reasons to do so.

Actually I was using realtor (no listings were in Antrim).  I was intrigued by the lack of low priced small town and rural props so I just checked the NNEREN.  There are 200+ listings for SFHs under $55K.  And 200 sold comps under $55K.  They include some MHs.  

Do you think any of those houses might qualify as B?  I'm not familiar with Eastern seaboard rural, only desert rural which is a totally different thing.  

 Would ANY qualify as B?  I suppose it is possible.  Certainly, the vast majority would not.

I expect where you are seeing SFHs under $55k, you are looking at some of the very poor rural villages, and probably mostly in the far North of the state.

New England really is very picture-postcard-like.  Tiny little villages surrounding a town common, with a white-steepled church and maybe a meeting house.  It's a cliche for a reason.

And those towns, which look superficially similar, can have demographics and property values that vary a great amount.  Often a significant driver is the quality of the local school district.  Another driver is transportation.  New England's highways are really pretty dreadful.  They are based on traffic patterns from 200 years ago, and are almost always undersized.  The entire state of NH has three limited access highways.  So 40 miles is a LONG way here.

I also don't really think A/B/C/D can be classifications of houses, without context.  They are a classification of the building AND the neighborhood.

I would consider this an A house.  Not a luxury property (that is a whole separate classification as far as I am concerned) but a solid A:  http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2...

Bedford is a town populated largely by professionals, college-educated, with an excellent school system and low poverty.

I would consider this a B house:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4...

I actually own a house in this town. Peterborough is a small town, median family income somewhere in the 50-60k range.  

I would consider this a C house:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1...

I own a house in this town as well, we already discussed the demographics.  Adults without a college education outnumber those with college 2-1.  Nearly half of students getting free and reduced lunch.

This is D:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2...

Rural poverty.  Lousy school system.  In all seriousness, I suspect there are more people in Hinsdale who could tell you how to cook meth than could get admitted to college.  And that is not a slam on my part.  Many of these poor rural towns are tough, striving communities.  But they're gritty.

War zones are trailers, rotting away in the woods, and some houses like the D example above, only split into a couple substandard apartments.

I'm going to stand by my statement.  You're not finding B properties (except maybe on a lucky long-shot) in New Hampshire for $55k.

There are 10 houses priced at or under $100K on your MLS. Most come with 1+ acre. There is even one under $50K. I'm sure that most have issues but none of them are junkers. There is no shortage of vacant lots in the $50K range. Does Keene have a war zone?

My experience in most areas is that for every listed prop there is a comparable sold off market for less.  Don't make me check the comps to prove it. :)

 I'm assuming you ran that for Antrim, the town in my profile.  I would consider that entire town a "C" neighborhood.  Per capita income about $17k a year.  Almost 50% of school children getting free and reduced lunch.

What Demographics would you consider B versus C?

The "We Buy Houses" guy is a wholesaler, and trying to limit his competition.

He is also telling the truth about how wholesalers are perceived.

You have already failed.  You tied up someone's home in a contract, without the ability to perform.  All that is left is mitigating the damage.  Perhaps you will sell and everything will turn out OK this time, but you will have still failed and been rescued by nothing more than luck.

When you place someone's home under contract, they believe that their house will be sold and act in reliance on that fact.  They sign a contract on their new house, or put down a deposit on a rental.  They sign their kids up at a new school.  They may give notice at their job.

To mess with peoples' lives in this manner without being sure of your ability to perform is dishonorable.  I would hope a retired military man would understand that.

My advice is that you go to the sellers, apologize for having wasted their time, and ask to be released from the contract.

2% is very much a standard EMD. I wouldn't ever take less.

I know that there are people online who talk about things like $10 deposits.  Those are people who are dealing with ignorant or desperate sellers.

In your case, it sounds like you are dealing with a seller who knows a thing or two.  Which means you will probably NOT be able to convince him to accept anything less.

So you need to come up with the money somehow, or move on.

One last thing to consider.  This is a seller who knows his stuff.  And he is willing to sell at the amount you offered.  It is very possible that that is because the amount you offered is close to market value, and that no one will be interested in buying that contract at a higher price.  Do you have a seller in mind?  What do they think?