All Forum Posts by: Guy Gimenez

Bottom line is you need to retain an attorney.

 O.P.'s property is in Texas. 

Fear will ensure you never own a rental anywhere. I've owned rentals in Texas for the last 20 years, all of which I self managed. Taxes are high...but the tenant pays them. That's how rentals work. If you know how to find "off market" investments, appreciation is just icing on the cake...it's not the cake itself. If you're depending on projections of appreciation to make your purchase a good deal, you're a speculator, not an investor. Each area of the U.S. has it's own climate challenges...Texas is no different. Buy a rental in Colorado and see what challenges the weather provides you there. I lived there too so I know. Texas is certainly more landlord friendly that many states and that is more important to me than the weather. Learning how to overcome hurdles will help you tremendously as an investor. It's not what you see, it's what you don't see that is important. 

They'll be filed with the county clerk for the county in which the property is located. Most larger counties have these records available online. 

With no disrespect, if an investor has to create a "machine" to make it a deal, it's probably not a deal. Cost segregations are not cheap and while the unicorn investors you describe do exist, I think you'll find they are in much smaller numbers than you hope, more especially in uncertain economic times where proformas don't hold a lot of water. Still plenty of low hanging fruit to invest in rather than create a matrix to make a marginal deal look like a winner. 

You don't want to do L/O in Texas if they exceed 180 days (see "executory contract"). Few attorneys would encourage such here. L/O can be done up to 36 months but the penalties for improper management of a L/O for that term can be financially disastrous for a seller.

1.  Selling via a wrap mortgage is not uncommon...I've bought and sold this way, but never with a tenant in place. Your target market for such a sale is an end buyer who will occupy the property, not an investor. Investors buy properties subject to the existing mortgage (or on wraps) with very little out of pocket so coming out of pocket with 15%+ down at 7% would make little sense, more especially if the property is tenant occupied which leaves the wrap buyer with fewer exits. No, this does not automatically trigger the due on sale clause. 

2.  Your terms would be more appealing for an owner occupant rather than an investor. 

3.  Again, you "might" find an investor who is looking for a turnkey rental but that's a lot of capital tied up for the potential cash flow and it would greatly depend on the community and rental competition. 

4.  An attorney won't market the house for you, he/she will only assist you in the transaction documents and guidance. You'll need proper exposure to find a buyer, but again, if the property is already tenant occupied, your pool of potential buyers is significantly lower. 

You can best help a homeowner in preforeclosure by signing a purchase contract and closing on the purchase. In Texas, it's best to use the TREC contract form. If you're  attempting to assign a contract on a home in preforeclosure, you're not really helping the homeowner, you're hurting them if you're unable to unwilling to complete the purchase. 

Yes, anyone can fraudulently file a lien on real estate in Texas and it becomes your problem. The staff at the real property records section of the county clerk's office are not able to determine the validity of a lien. This is why construction contracts should be air tight and include binding arbitration and contractual POA authorization so you, as seller, can release the lien without the contractor's signature. And always get "progress" and "final" lien waivers that are in the statutory format. Attorney fees alone to file the suit and attend court will likely be $10K+...and possibly considerably more if the contractor shows up to court.

1.  Do you have a 1st lien mortgage on the house? 

2.  Any other liens outside the mechanic's lien?

3.  Any taxes owed from 2022?  

The OP is in Texas...quitclaims are not used here as title companies will refuse to ensure them. Transferring property from the titled owner to an LLC that is wholly owned by the same party isn't a nullifying action with most title underwriters. The only beneficiary of a GWD over a SWD is the title company. I never transfer by GWD because it can allow a title company, via it's subrogation clause, to sue me (as the seller) for a title issue that pre-dated my ownership. Why anyone would think this is a good idea is beyond me.