All Forum Posts by: Crystal Smith

Hello BiggerPockets community! My name is DJ Shipley from Indiana, newly passionate about real estate investing for 4 months. I'm particularly passionate about the Indianapolis, Lafayette, and kokomo Indiana area. 

Outside of real estate, I enjoy traveling, hiking and camping.

Excited to learn and connect with you all!

Our Agent knew we were beat up buyers since we lost 3 homes prior and switched agents..The agent influenced us to go non contingent offer waiving everything… if we wanted to win the house. We went with highest offer got a counter asking $20k more and reluctantly signed. We really stretched ourselves thin. 

we did not perform our own inspections because we were busy raising finances .. and our agent insisted we use the same company who did the initial inspections to “get a report in our name” .. we went for visual inspection with our agent and found the master bathtub was  upside down — they said there was a chip and seller was fixing the tub. Our agent was rushing us because she said she had an appointment. But when we found the issues she decided to stay back. 
 

This raised some doubt and we communicated to our agent that we are not satisfied but she kept insisting “there’s nothing you can do” and “you went non contingent” 

Then later she sent an email saying we passed the 17 day inspection period which we didn’t know about.

I asked I want to arrange my own inspection and she said .. “what are you going to find?” And there’s “nothing you can do you went non contingent” .. and she veb said “you can do all the inspections you want after you close and move in” 

She insisted we either “get a report in our name” from the same inspection company or “call the plumber who fixed the leaks prior” 

Now 2 days prior to closing agent sent us a disclosure saying we waive all inspection rights - home inspection waiver , wood destroying pest waiver etc. 

we felt remorse of overpaying in first place and we are not sure if we are making a mistake closing this home with the whole inspection thing. The home has been sold 4 times prior built in 2003.

What should we do at this point? Earnest money is likely not going to be refunded if we back out now.

We are set to close on a property by the 31st of July per contract.   We found out the property was broke into at 4 am yesterday and the newer furnace/ac were stolen along with some damage to the hardwood floors and the front door where they pried it open with a crow bar.  We have ask for a mutual release and return of our $2,000 earnest money due to the fact we no longer feel it is a safe area because of the break in and there have been a few other red flags along the way.   The seller has agreed to let us out of the contract but does not agree that we should receive our earnest money back because he says he is able to bet everything damaged and stolen repaired and replaced before closing.   Any opinions out there on if I would have any legal right to get the earnest money returned to me or should I just be happy he is willing to let me out of the contract and consider the $2,000 em cost of doing business?

Hello i had a question about having a real estate license. so I have been searching for answers and I get many different ones, I have asked a few different people asking If I really do need a real estate license to start wholesale or if it is just a need if I want to be an agent. I am located in Oklahoma and I would very much appreciate it if anyone who is from here or has communications with someone from Oklahoma if they could help me out or give me more information about it. 

I want to connect with people to ask questions and perhaps partner up. I recently left my W2 job in pharmaceuticals for the past 26 years. I own 7 rental units and am looking to build a RAL from the group up. I am flexible as to the location. My wife and I are unafraid to move for the right opportunity (RAL hacking instead of house hacking). I'd prefer IL, IN, MI, OH, VA, NC, SC, GA, AR, AL, TN, etc. I have rental homes in SC, AL, and FL. I am currently in the research and education phase of my RAL journey.

I recently moved to Texas from California and plan to move back to invest out of state. I am wondering if anyone has any advice, pros/cons, and tips on investing from out of state. How hard is it to network? How do you find deals? What is the purchase process like. Currently,  I use direct mailers, so I am curious to know what avenues other take. Other than that, i would plan on flying out to inspect properties. In terms of sellers, I plan on negotiating with them directly with no agents. If anyone has experience with doing private deals, please share your experience. Much appreciated! 

Hello All, 

My wife and I have decided to get in the real estate game and have recently began looking into foreclosures. I know it requires a lot of homework and due diligence.  Would it be wise to hire a real estate attorney for all of the “dirty” work?   What are some good foreclosure strategies?

Here's the situation.  . .

I am under contract on a property that was supposed to close next week. Unfortunately, the seller passed away and does not have a will or trust. So it looks like this will be headed to probate. 

The contract only had 1 contingency-the home inspection. The home inspection was completed prior to the seller passing away so all contingencies were lifted. 

I am trying to be understanding since this is a difficult time for the family and they certainly have many arrangements outside of the sale of the house to consider. But it has been about 2 weeks since the seller passed and the seller's estate has not given any information to my relator or the title company.

Given that the estate is contractually obligated to the sale & that I have money tied up in the deal (earnest money, home inspection cost, interest), I am looking for advice to move this forward and/or a suggestion for a real estate attorney in Cincinnati.

Hello,

Trying to runs some comps on comparable properties to figure out what I should rent out my primary residence for. I’ve done Zillow, filtered it based on Bathroom/bedroom size, home type, etc.

I’ve found a few but in the event where houses for rent don’t show up (due to time of posting ?)

1) are you able to see what surrounding properties DID rent out for and are now not listed?

2) If not, is there another way to run the comps on a similar site? Not trying to use a realtor but an open to it if that’s the last resort

Thanks

Greetings all,

I recently graduated (in my 20s) and moved into the area for work. I plan on saving my income and applying for a FHA loan next year. In the meantime, I am trying to better understand the Indianapolis (Fishers, Carmel) real estate market and considering getting a realtors license.

In Indiana, the cost for the real estate licensing course is approximately ~$580 and an additional ~$80 annually to maintain. I am trying to decide if this is a worthwhile endeavor.

From what I have read, the main benefit is early access to MLS for purchasing homes and saving on commission costs while selling homes.

This leads to two questions:

• - Is simply having early access to new listings worth $600, or is it only worthwhile if I plan on flipping and selling a property on my own? I don't plan on representing others.
• - Is the license itself intrinsically useful for networking, or does nobody really need a rookie agent?

My provisional strategy is to put a room in a property up for rent while also living in it as my primary residence for a year. I will do minor renovations over the course of that year then flip for a profit. This may be an overly ambitious strategy considering that I am inexperienced in both DIY and sales contracts, but in theory it seems like a very efficient option. Feel free to give me any advice or direct me to any meetups. I am always looking to build my network.

Best,

James