All Forum Posts by: Samantha Magina

Don't forget to consult your CPA BEFORE you sell. They will be able to tell you what your tax consequences will be to sell. If you are thinking of using the cash from this sale as a downpayment on the next property then they can walk you through the concept of a 1031 Exchange, which will defer the tax consequences to a later sale. 

Hi All, 

Is it normal or appropriate for an investor to ask me, the seller's agent, what work needs to be done to a property and what the ARV would be? I'm happy to show them the property, discuss what improvements the sellers have made and age of any of the major components. Discussing the repairs and ARV is always something I've done as a buyer's agent if requested. Is this a new trend and expectation or are the buyers just trying to push some of the buyer agent research (or their own research) off on to the seller's agent? I'm only getting these requests via the marketing I'm doing on FB.

I've walked through a good amount of properties in the New Bedford/ Fall River markets in recent months, as I had a buyer in the area, though it's not my primary market. The properties aren't in great condition in the cheaper price points but If you are in a position to do a 203k loan on a 3 -4 unit property I believe you could make the necessary upgrades, house hack and live in your unit for pretty cheaply if not for free. This would lend itself well to ultimately move out after the time requirement for it to be owner occupied and invest in another multi closer to your work (I'm a believer in short commutes improving quality of life) . While I agree that the long term market for New Bedford isn't as good as Fall River, BOTH cities have a lack of nicer rentals at a reasonable price point, meaning with a dishwasher, on-site laundry and dare I say HVAC you could attract a higher quality tenant that needs to be in that area but would like a decent apartment.  

As far as the actual market, I've been focused primarily in the lower market 200k or less for the last 6 months and I can say that in the lowest price points there has been a jump in prices and a shorter time on market in both cities.

The driver's license isn't all that unusual, I am a new agent and the standard office policy is never meet a new client at a property, always meet at the real estate office, or a public place, get a copy or picture of the license so that there is a record of the meeting. It really is a safety issue. 

As far as buyer agent goes, perhaps figure out 2 or 3 prospective houses at a time, choose a day of the week where the agent has more availability (don't ask them to go to 3 100k houses on a Saturday afternoon for example, but maybe a Wednesday morning) to let them know you care about their time, show the agent you are serious, be it with your pre-approval letter or proof of downpayment funds. If they aren't interested in being your buyer agent, see if they can recommend a newer agent from their office that has more free time and could use the experience. Then you get the benefit of the agent you know being available for mentoring of the new agent so that key items aren't missed. If you are evaluating the property from an investor view point a buyer agent may not be valuing the property the same way your are so new or experienced doesn't matter much, your really just need someone willing to go to properties with you and put in offers. 

I listened to that podcast, he and his partner did 100 offers one day a week, over about 12 hours. They also did it during a time when their area was riddled with foreclosures and low ball cash offers (he funded the first 30 deals through family/friend investment) had a good shot at acceptance. Condos also wouldn’t need as thorough an inspection, and I doubt he paid for one on most properties.

I'm working my way back from the beginning, I'm also interested in the seller doing a carry back as a strategy, so hopefully I happen upon it soon. Post if you see a more detailed breakdown of the process, I know that several guests have discussed it as course of their business and I'd love to really work out the nuts and bolts. I myself just proposed a combo of taking over a seller's note and having the seller doing a carry back  note for the remainder of the sale price, I look forward to figuring out the structure rapidly if they get back to me with an interest to move forward with the unconventional financing. 

For Example: 

They are carrying about 300k of loans that they took out over the last few years, property is worth around 750k to me, so I proposed making their payments on their existing loans then making a separate loan payment to them for the difference at say 5.5% interest with the option for either party to request a balloon payoff at the 2 year mark (when I could reasonably expect to be able to qualify for a re-fi on the property as an established landlord), or we could continue on if all parties are happy with the arrangement.  

It's my first attempt at seller financing and I can't wait to get in contact with more landlords and homeowners. 

I’m trying to convince a landlord in a lower priced part of MA to part with their 10 unit for $600k, but they want 850-900k, with 7k of rent a month. Weird that MA has a slightly better opportunity then TX... My rents are pretty accurate for the area, do your rents have upward potential?

Wouldn’t the financing be similar to a multi family property, ie 2 units, 1 address? Or is it bc they have 2 separate addresses? Also I like your work around of a cash deal for 1, but will the other cabin appraise high enough to finance 87k by itself?

Karen Rittenhouse

Episode 2, I just re-listened.