All Forum Posts by: Patti Robertson

Downtown Suffolk residential is pretty rough. There are some decent areas.  It is harder to rent there than the Northern, growing section.  Personally I avoid buying anything built after 1950, which eliminates most of Downtown Suffolk.  My PM company does manage some there though.  

 Not in Virginia.

Be very, very careful. We have had so many situations with people trying to sell vacant land they don't own, that our MLS put out a warning about it for all agents. You want to use a title company to ensure the seller is legit who they say they are.

My Aunt is an attorney and a landlord there.  Ellen McDowell.  https://www.mcdowelllegal.com/ellen-mcdowell/

Hi Logan. Welcome to Hampton Roads investing! I was curious, so I checked the Portsmouth civil court records and your name does not show up as a plaintiff in any Unlawful Detainer cases (or any other cases for that matter). Are you SURE the tenants were taken to court? Feel free to PM me if you prefer to take the discussion out of the thread. As a PM, we have the UDs filed with the owner's name as Plaintiff DBA our company name, because any judgment received should be owned by the owner, not the PM. The owner is (or should be) named as the landlord on the lease, with the PM listed as agent for the owner.

 Because our General Assembly just passed a bill defining wholesaling real estate contracts as an activity that requires a broker's oversite, which means having a license.

A agree with everything @Greg Scott mentioned.  You are making this way too complicated.  If you "gift" the property your daughter she will be subject to gift tax for the fair market value minus the $18,000 exclusion.  I suggest you meet with a CPA first to figure out the best way to accomplish your strategy.  

I don't get the hesitation that wholesalers have about having a license. I've always seen having a license as a benefit. 1) It gives you multiple strategies when meeting with a seller. 2) I always tell the seller when I disclose that I am licenses that this gives them the ability to not only use the court of law if they feel I do something wrong, but they an also submit a complaint to the licensing board. This builds trust. 3) At least in our area, our MLS allows a contract to be listed for sale. Listing generally nets the highest price.

The way I read this law, it is only assigning a contract that the new law is saying will require a license.  Essentially they are going to consider the wholesale fee a commission, which will have to flow through a brokerage.  Remember that DPOR will still have to adopt this, and that may not happen by July 1.  

Wholesalers can still double close without having a license.  No one can ever tell a property owner that they have to have a real estate license to sell what they own.  If you close with the seller and then in a second transaction close with the buyer, no license will be required.  This will require the deal to be funded by the wholesaler, and will create a big opportunity for transactional lenders.  

Most traditional brokerages aren't going to want to have wholesalers on their team. This creates an opportunity for a broker to create an investor friendly brokerage.  

The people who will be hurt by this are the people who are wholesaling from other states and the people who don't have the ability to fund a double close.  The majority of the people who are wholesaling the right way are going to do business as usual.

I do ALOT of SEC 8. The issue with someone porting into your area from someplace else is that they almost never have income when they move.  IF they have all retirement or disability income that may be OK, but if they are quitting a job to move and have to find another job after they move to your area, this means their income when they apply for your rental and SEC 8 determines if they will approve your rent with be zero. I don't accept any tenant with zero income, even SEC 8.  

As a Property Manager I will tell you that the worst properties I take over are military house hacks when the owner leaves before the roommates.  In 100% of the cases I have experienced (including one we are working on as we speak) the roomates leave their crap behind and leave the house in a total mess.  If you decide to go this route, I strongly suggest you have the same expiration date for all the leases.  I had one situation where the owner had one lease 4 months longer than the other and she was stuck with ony $700 in rent because we needed to wait out the lease because the tenant would not accept any other option.  Everyone always thinks their roommates wouldn't do that to them, but I promise you they will.  It is best if the roommates all leave when you do or if you leave last.