All Forum Posts by: Michael Stole

I will place my first bid on a HUD property. What can you think of to increase the chance of acceptance? Cash close? close early? No contingency? Any thoughts are appreciated, but just don't tell me to increase the price :D

Ask him whether they will accept my application. I just sent my application for a research analyst in their research department yesterday.... :wink:

I am thinking of getting a line-of-credit from a local credit union, and the best floating ARP I can get is the prime rate, 3.25%. But I can not pay off in two years. So do you think this is a good deal? Will the primate increase in two years?

Where can I find that information?

My guess is HUD has more options on their properties. If no individuals (OOs or investors) pay the market price, then they will sell cheap to local government, teachers, policmen, and non-profit organizations. But they won't give you that price.

I know you can get HUD properties at low prices, but given the condition and rehab cost, they are not cheap. And if that house were REO, it would be sold cheaper.

Taking into consideration the bad condition of the property and low-end neighborhood, I feel that HUD houses are actually over-priced. And compared to banks, HUD is harder to negotiate on price. It seems they won't accept any bid lower than 80% of their list prices.

Dispite that, however, most HUD houses are eventually sold! So I just wonder who eventually bought the HUD houses. Investors? Don't they follow the 50% and 2% rules?

Is this just my experience, or you experience the same thing in your local markets? Any experience to share?

As far as I know, not in indiana. I was envovled in a transaction in which the title company was not willing to close, because they found records of mortgages not wiped out during foreclosure.

Good answers, J. But for bank-owned REOs, the buyer does not have the right to choose the closing office, does him? At least for the two transactions I had with banks, the closing offices are chosen by the bank.

There are other services provided by real estate agents besides providing access to the MLS. For instance, they help prepare a house for sales, circulate flyers, place advertisements, hold open houses, and recommend the house to individual buyers. They assist with negotiations. They screen prospective buyers, facilitating and potentially accelerating the process of matching buyers and sellers. They provide market information and recommendations pertaining to the asking price. They assist with paperwork and legal documentation.

Yes, there is an information advantage enjoyed by agents, and they often take this information advantage to persuade their clients to sell cheap and quickly, so in a way hurt them. But there are these other services provided by agents which can not be neglected by their clients and substituted by the others.

Good replies, folks.

I heared of two theories. One is that flooring looks better if it runs in the same direction as the main light source, for example from a main window. The other is to run in the same direction as the room where you put the flooring.

Good pictures and instructions from Jon on how to install flooring around a door or wall frame. I hope I have known this before I installed the engineered flooring in my current house. I cut the flooring to the shape of the frame moding, and push it against the moding, instead of sliding underneath it. There are a lot of cuts which are unnecessary, and you can not avoid the gaps which look ugly.

Two faculty memebers from Stanford showed that agents do not bring much benefit to their clients. On the contrary, in order to secure a commission, the agent often convince the client to sell too cheap and too quickly. The client often takes the agent's suggestion, as the agent is more informed in this market.

See the following media coverage.

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2009/03/how_much_value.html