All Forum Posts by: Roy Mitle

for owner occupied conforming loans it seems the rate difference between 5/1 and 30 yr fixed is ~.75% -1% ( I am talking about no-point no fee)

I was thinking the same differential will apply for non-owner occupied. I am looking at a townhome as investment property.

My broker says for no-point, no-fee the and non-owner occupied the price difference is only .25%. Reason: fannie mae charges much more points for 5/1 non-owner so the rate difference doesn't remain the same.

IS that right?

... over 5/1 ARM for investment property

Right now the 5/1 ARM seems to be 1% below 30 year fixed (lets say 3% and 4% for argument sake)

For the first 5 years I am saving a large amount of cash. After 5 years 2 scenarios

a) Rates are higher because the economy is on fire => I can get higher rents to offset the burden. Note my break-even point is 5% so rates have to be higher than 5% for me to loose money with ARM over 30 year fixed. Simplisticly speaking my rate has to be 5% for the next 5 years for it to be a wash (I saved 1% for 5 years with ARM and lost 1% with ARM over next 5 years). Is this right?

b) Rates are lower or same so I am anyway better of in the adjustment period.

Is there any benefit of doing a home inspection for a buyer. The seller already got a home inspection done. It seems like a waste of time and money. What will a buyer's home inspector do that a seller's home inspector hasn't

Likewise for termite inspector.

Looking to buy an investment town house. The HOA is under litigation. I heard that can cause financing problems.

In digging further the litigation is from a single person complaining about not being treated well by HOA regarding roof leakage repairs.

Should I still be worried about financing issues? I read that if there are litigation due to structural issues in townhome then thats serious and lenders may not finance. However this seem harmless so won't cause problems.

this is a newbie question

how do you put someone's name in mention

eg. people's post shows @someone's name nd that person gets notified that he was mentioned in a post.

If i just put @someone's name it doesn't show up as highlighted. i think u need to link something somehow?

@craig wilcox

what is the difference between LOI and offer. Is there a template for LOI.

Thank you all for the fair warning.

What is the harm in signing the contract and then seeing the property immediately. One still has 3 biz days before sending in the deposit check (I think). 

If I don't like it I don't have to send the deposit check and I easily back out. Can the seller come after you in this case? 

An agent brought an offmarket deal to me. He says the process is that we first agree on sale price with seller. Then we sign contract with all contigencies. AFter that he will share address with me for me to go and inspect etc. 

Is that true. What are the things you need to be careful about.

An agent contacted me (via a friend) stating that he has an off market listing. The numbers look good but he wants to be a dual agent. 

What are the pitfalls for such a thing - I mean I can find out the price through comps. The disclosures will give me idea on the repairs and I'll hire my own inspector. 

Typically I have seen that my friends have more difficulty renting their property if they buy in winters than summer. There are more people willing to move in summer because of schools etc. so the rent is much higher. However prices are higher in summer from what I can see.

What strategies do people employ if they buy in winter and have to rent out for less. Typically you will have a yearly lease so it'll be more difficult to raise rents or get a new tenant in summer.