All Forum Posts by: Steve Babiak

Rich,

Glad to hear you survived. Hope you get completely recovered soon.

Rather than partnering with attorneys, look at the discounted rate that you can get for the title policy.

That is a good negotiating tactic on REO, since there really is no person who owns it to negotiate with; take advantage of the bureaucracy of the bank and the associated delays, and get them to lower price in exchange for the extension of closing date. You got my vote.

Now that the thread hijack is finished, back to the regularly scheduled original post topic:

Just don't sign any "exclusive" contract with any realtor. Many of them try to get you to sign it, but you are allowed to refuse and I suggest you do so for your own good. That way, if it doesn't work out with that realtor, you move on to another without any obligations to the one who didn't cut it.

I'm not a realtor. But Aly is, and she has her license under a broker. That broker is responsible for supervising her activities, and as such that is why I suggested that she bring this matter to the broker. That way whatever the broker allows, she should be allowed to do, including paperwork to use.

And what you stated would certainly apply to those investors who are also licensed realtors. Now, there was somebody's intro thread where I assembled a bunch of BP links on the pros and cons of having the license, and the items you mention could fit in with that material.

Aly,

No offense intended, but why don't you ask your broker what forms he/she will allow you to use?

I have my own one page offer, that has a condition in it that buyer and seller will execute the normal realtor's contract (20 pages in PA), upon acceptance of the offer terms. You could ask your broker if they have something similar for you to use.

To the left of this post, under "Foreclosure Resources"; or you can just use this link:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/bank-reo.html

There is one point to keep in mind. Some REO properties have been so trashed by former occupants (or vandals while it was vacant) that the normal banking lenders will not lend on them. This can be one of the reasons for cash only, as they know that financing that REO is a pipe dream.

And that wasn't the only idea for circumventing that transfer taxation issue, but it is one that is can be readily utilized; some of the other ideas would only apply in specialized instances.

How about getting the NPN on a high-priced building, and having the defaulted borrower do a deed-in-lieu with you being the noteholder; this falls into one of the exemption categories for PA transfer tax - foreclosing lender is exempt for the amount of the note (in most cases).