I was purchasing a duplex for $12,100 and everything was running smooth until the day of closing.Closing occurs, everyone gets their check and leaves.I get a phone call from the closing company 10 minutes later saying they discovered a $20,000 lien on the property from the electric company, and that they have stopped payment on the seller's check, and they are "undoing" the closing.The seller did not reply to the closing company until he found out his check was no good.

Electrical is easy... just stop short of wiring into the circuit box and there's no juice to electrocute yourself with... that said, you probably don't know all the compliance rules to pass inspection anyhow...Generally there's several outs... either through financing or inspection.

Perhaps find a real estate agent that will give you access to their standard state form contract.

Hi Sam,I don't have any articles for you so if that's the only thing you're looking for you can stop reading now.Last year I spent one month in Kawai looking at exactly this type of property.

Comping properties is an artform and takes lots of practice. many RE agents can't even perform such a task for rehab flippers, even with all their access to MLS data.The key to evaluating your exit value (ARV) is to really know your market, know what it was doing and what it is doing.

If you have access to first time home owner loans you might consider FHA + multifamily as your first purchase.

You want to easily evict your tenant buyer if they stop paying, but you want the deal with your seller tighter.You would, hopefully, collect a relatively large option fee from your t/b and give a small one to the seller.

Step1:Define your goal (home buyer or investor)Step 2: Define if an investor what kind you want to be (wholesaler,wholetail,fix and flip,hold,etc.)Step 3: Define how much funds you have to start out with,credit,access to additional capital etc.Step 4: Do you plan on living off of real estate full time or do you have a job and want to invest a little at a time?

I disagree about the charging the upfront fee makes a serious buyer.I can't tell you how many scammers I have seen in the commercial lending arena.I can say one problem lenders face is they get a package submitted to them and then give an LOI.Then in due diligence the buyer finds out the income levels and returns were not as stated.Now the lender wants a bigger payment down from the buyer or the buyer has to get the seller to reduce to the actual proven numbers.The deal falls out and the lender made nothing.The way to solve this is submit a detailed and verified package upfront.This way you know the numbers you are sending have been verified.Lenders site confidentiality etc. when doing loans so you can't verify other properties they have closed.If lenders state money has to be in escrow or a deposit have YOUR attorney hold in an account the lender does not have access to or authorization to.This way the money can be shown to be there and earmarked for the purposes of the loan.I am telling you these scammers will do anything to separate you from your money.I know some deals I wasn't involved in where the people chased the lender for 6 months to get back 500k.Do not let lenders PUFF fees.If they say they have to pay for appraisal then tell them you will pay the appraiser directly.If you are a legit lender and you make money when you close a loan you should have no problem with this.If however you are a fee generator mill and you hardly close anything or a point taker with upfront fees I can't tell clients to work with you.Some point takers take money to submit apps knowing the lender will not close or that it's a sham.They usually charge a small amount upfront to entice the victim.Usually 500 to a few thousand.

No title policies, no access, cashier's checks on the spot, etc. etc.