All Forum Posts by: Tom C

Good move Kel.. I was shocked when Fannie accepted my offer of 14K. The home listed at $48K, then $36K and then down to $24k and then I made my offer.

They countered at 16K and sent their contract, which when I read it, I found out that I was responsble for all CC, so then I countered again noting that, at $14K. They also had the requirement of closing within 2 weeks, which was fine with me.

BTW: Check your Auditors site and it should tell you which bank owns it and if it's FM.

One the things I have to do to my rentals is pull the 3 prong and replace with 2 prong, because so far, none of them have been grounded, which is a requirement by Section 8. When I have to install GFCI's, I run a ground down to the nearest cold water line, as long as your meter in the basement is grounded, this solves your GFCI issues with getting them to work correctly.

Theres nothing stopping you from countering again and your best offer. With that closing date, it sounds like a Fannie Mae, if it is, you are responsible for all closing cost and then you have even more bargaining to do. Is it a FM?

If you have a Budget Outlet near you, they have a landlord program where you get 3% off every purchase. They cater to landlords and have some great deals. I picked up some carpet the other day for one of my rentals, 55 cents per Sq Ft. and storm door for $87. Their supply is always changing and they never know what they will get from one week to the next.

Diane,

Banter? :) And yes, I am getting ready to pull the trigger on pulling some cash for another purchase.

Just hoping it's going to warm up a little first!!!

Douglas,

We have been down this road many times. I can tell you that all of my brokers will tell me the same thing. That the lender will look at the purchase price and then take your rehab expenses into consideration, but seasoning will still be an issue. Whether you use a HML or pay for the rehab out of your own pocket, you still have to get around this purchase price with most lenders. It is very risky for someone to purchase a home, rehab it and think that they will be able to refi it based on the current appraisal value if they have owned it less then 6 months. They need to make sure that their lender will not require seasonings or they may just get stuck with unexpected holding cost.

I did notice that Sec 8 folks were far and few. I guess they don't like to move in the winter. Hell, they don't like to wake up in the summer, let alone have to lift anything heavy when its cold outside.

I can say that these rough times seem to be taking a toll on marrages too. 3 of the 6 apps I took lately were recent divorces. There maybe a market there.

On paper they would be responsible and you may be able to convince them into paying, but I am not sure what else you would have to do, if they didn't pay. By time you try to convince them to pay, you hopefully would have gotten pretty far on the eviction process.

I just look at it as one more person you have to fight with to get your money, when you can just go for the eviction instead.

Aly,

I don't use co-signers. If they don't meet the criteria then they do not get in. I guess you have to ask, what is a co-signer going to do for you? If they trash the place, can you go back on the co-signer for damages? Do they have a record of trashing places. I am just not convinced that a co-signer does anything more then make you feel better.