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jfn111

The last realtor I used (when selling a place), had been regularly sending periodic mailers (to I assume everyone in my condo development) saying how they "specialized" in condos in our area, playing up the hot market and recent comparable sale prices, and that commissions were lower with...

jfn111

A question for all the home owners and future home owners out there- Since I'm to stupid to retire :oops: I would like to ramp my business up a bit. I have relied on sphere of influence and referrals from past clients but I think it's time to start advertising. I have read comments here that stated ...

jfn111

Thank you all. Very informative.

jfn111

A fellow Realtor is having problems with a home not being insurable. I had never heard of companies stigmatizing a house and not the people making the claim. Has anyone ever heard of this and a solution? "Insurers have their own MLS called CLUE (Comprehensive Liability Underwriter's Exchange).....

jfn111

I sold with 4% comission last year (2.5% to buyer agent and 1.5% to seller agent) but my seller agent was also buyer agent on purchase of the 2x as expensive replacement house that was done just a month prior, so he gave me a break. He was actually willing to settle for 3.5% if he was the one bring...

jfn111

There are plenty of Buyer's Agents that would be happy to work with you under those circumstances. Real estate is a numbers game. I don't expect to close a deal with everyone I take out to look at houses.

jfn111

This is how I usually handle things with my buyers. They get pre-approved with the lender of their choice. At this stage the pre-approval has more to do with the type of financing- conventional, FHA, DVA and maximum price. I will talk with the lender and they will let me know if the buyer needs clo...

jfn111

I have had this happen to me, representing the buyer, and it sucks. But... a verbal agreement means nothing. I'm sitting here right now waiting for a signed copy of a contract. Only when I have the "Finalized Purchase Agreement" in my hands do I feel we truly have a deal.

jfn111

This is how I usually handle things with my buyers. They get pre-approved with the lender of their choice. At this stage the pre-approval has more to do with the type of financing- conventional, FHA, DVA and maximum price. I will talk with the lender and they will let me know if the buyer needs clos...

jfn111

Pre-approval doesn't mean much more than a pre-qualification letter. Here is one I got today for a client- THIS PREAPPROVAL IS BEING ISSUED BASED ON AN AUTOMATED UNDERWRITING SYSTEM GENERATED APPROVAL. ALTHOUGH AN AUTOMATED UNDERWRITING SYSTEM GENERATED APPROVAL IS VALUABLE, IT IS NOT A FULL LOAN A...

jfn111

Pre-approval doesn't mean much more than a pre-qualification letter. Here is one I got today for a client- THIS PREAPPROVAL IS BEING ISSUED BASED ON AN AUTOMATED UNDERWRITING SYSTEM GENERATED APPROVAL. ALTHOUGH AN AUTOMATED UNDERWRITING SYSTEM GENERATED APPROVAL IS VALUABLE, IT IS NOT A FULL LOAN AP...

jfn111

Your Realtor should never send you pictures of prospective Buyer's, or their children. Someone from a protected class could claim you made your choice based on an illegal preference. The buyers sent the letters and pictures. Let's not imagine something that didn't actually happen. The buyer's would...

jfn111

We put an offer in and it was our "dream home". The seller's agent requested "best and final" offers. I had an appraiser friend do an appraisal on it before putting an offer in. Our realtor thought it was slightly overpriced. We went in about $5,000 over asking price which was a...

jfn111

Open Houses- We usually do these to keep the seller's happy. We do sell an occasional house because of the open, maybe 10-15%. (I'll pickup an occasional buyer to represent at about the same percentage.)

jfn111

In our Brokerage we have to offer the Buyer's agent at least 2.7%. So... anything above 2.7% is negotiable. If he's helping you sell and buy he should cut you a deal on the sell side. When I helped the kids sell and buy I sold their house for a 2.75% commission. (That about covered the photo's and s...

jfn111

The problem with getting a kid a cell phone is it never ends. My daughter (36) and my son (33) are still on my plan. :shock: (For many plans the 3rd and 4th lines are cheap so it saved THEM a lot of money just staying on our plan). My adult 22-year old college student daughter is still on our plan....

jfn111

The problem with getting a kid a cell phone is it never ends. My daughter (36) and my son (33) are still on my plan.

(For many plans the 3rd and 4th lines are cheap so it saved THEM a lot of money just staying on our plan).

jfn111

A $315,000 price for $48,000 per year gross rents?
I'd have people standing in line to buy it.

jfn111

I would just worry about location. I sell houses all the time that have things like heart shaped love tubs in the master bath. These must have been popular way back when but the buyers just roll their eyes today. Buy buying a house in a desirable area you will maintain sale ability regardless of how...

jfn111

Mold scares away most buyer's so we use it as leverage, with my Rehabber's, to negotiate a discount on the price. Usually, the mitigation is fairly easy as long as you can determine the original cause.

jfn111

I have a little bit of Dyslexia and struggled at times in school. I finished College with a 2.7 GPA. The degree got me into Mega Corp, no one ever asked about GPA, and I had a successful 33 years in Sales and Logistics.

jfn111

If it's in the contract then it should be a done deal. They pay. If they balk at the closing table then your choice is to cancel the purchase agreement or close and pursue non-performance in court or arbitration. (You probably signed an arbitration agreement as part of the purchase agreement.)

jfn111

When I'm listing a house there is often a clause in the listing contract that the SELLER gets a reduced listing fee if I handle both sides of the transaction. Don't assume there is always a set number the listing agent has to play with to represent you. I just finished a transaction where I was to r...

jfn111

Started Post college life with J C Penney's in 1978. (Many pre and college era jobs). Switched to Mega corp in 1979 and worked there 33 years. In retirement I've worked for 2 real estate companies.

jfn111

If we ever have a wealth tax we'll all learn how to properly define net worth.

jfn111

roymeo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 22, 2019 7:37 pm Good thing it's not 2017 anymore--we're safe.

+1

jfn111

I'll start by saying I don't work in AZ. In my state the seller has 2 choices. Fill out the disclosure form or do a waiver of disclosure. I would have my agent go back to the seller's and say please fill this out completely. Seller's often lie but at least you have recourse if the disclosure indicat...

jfn111

The term in real estate is "procuring cause". If you contact the listing agent first and he/she answers your questions, and esp. if they show you the house, they can make the argument that the procured the sale regardless if you show up with a buyer's agent. The best option for you is to c...

jfn111

The easiest way is to Google, selling cost calculator- California. (Most of the large Title Companies have these on line).
I use a MN calculator when I'm putting Net Sheets together for customers. Each state, and sometimes City/ Counties, have different fees and taxes.

jfn111

From the "Go Fund Me" help center- Donations made to GoFundMe campaigns are usually considered to be "personal gifts" which, for the most part, aren’t taxed as income. However, there may be particular case-specific instances where the income is in fact taxable (depending on amoun...

jfn111

I went 80% cash today at the close. It may be a brilliant move or... :oops: So the market is up about 5% since this move. In less than a month. You may still be proven correct. The market could drop 20% from here. But if it keeps going up, how do you decide at what point to get back in the market? ...

jfn111

This happens all the time. Just tell them your staying put for awhile and then find a different agent when your ready to look again. If this agent is really pushing you to make bad financial decisions then just sever contact with him. No apologies necessary.

jfn111

Thanks relaxtothemax. That is an excellent resource on doing loans between family members. How much of a paper trail did you have to produce to prove the money you were using was obtained in legitimate ways? It was over 15 years ago and I don't remember it being a big deal. However, just last year ...

jfn111

Thanks relaxtothemax. That is an excellent resource on doing loans between family members. How much of a paper trail did you have to produce to prove the money you were using was obtained in legitimate ways? I deal with a lot of cash buyers, mainly investors, and as long as your not bringing in a s...

jfn111

The normal process is a "Good Will" letter to the utility that dinged you for the late payment. https://ficoforums.myfico.com/ has some good info about sending the letters. IMO, that forum is moderated with a very heavy hand. FICO doesn't bite the hand that feeds (their scores would be us...

jfn111

If everyone used the search function there would be no new posts. :shock: We would probably get a lots of posts asking "How can I search this site for information". At that point we could create a Wiki to document the process and then just share a link for them to review the "process...

jfn111

The normal process is a "Good Will" letter to the utility that dinged you for the late payment. https://ficoforums.myfico.com/ has some good info about sending the letters.

jfn111

The FAQ is where I looked first - but it doesn't address this "stuck in outbox" question. The behavior is unusual AFAIK so a FAQ entry on it would be a good idea. If everyone would learn to use the search box there are numerous questions that could be answered without a post on a myriad o...

jfn111

I was just talking with my partner about this. There is a lot of people that want no hassels, and a quick sale. They don't want to fix up their homes to pass city required inspections and are happy to sell it "as-is" and let some one else deal with the problems. Sometimes illness or divorc...

jfn111

I had the same problem the other day. I cleared the cache in Google Chrome and was able to log right in.

jfn111

I went 80% cash today at the close. It may be a brilliant move or... :oops: I finally got my excess 401k proceeds distributed to me on Friday and immediately reinvested them lump sum. Expect the markets to tank on Tuesday! You are welcome! :sharebeer LOL, I'm figuring a 200 point gain because of my...

jfn111

I went 80% cash today at the close. It may be a brilliant move or... :oops: I finally got my excess 401k proceeds distributed to me on Friday and immediately reinvested them lump sum. Expect the markets to tank on Tuesday! You are welcome! :sharebeer LOL, I'm figuring a 200 point gain because of my...

jfn111

Whyfore thou go to 80% cash? Just a hunch. I could well be wrong but I have a interest income fund paying 2.8% to park it in while I see if my hunch was correct. The dividend yield on the S&P is just over 2%. The market is still down 8.87% from its September highs. Are you playing for a short t...

jfn111

Real estate agents are useless. They always tell you to put in a higher offer to ensure the deal goes through. I've heard you should use a lawyer to look over the contract if you are buying without one though. It might cost a lot. I had to laugh a little bit when I read this. I got fired by a clien...

jfn111

Real estate agents are useless. They always tell you to put in a higher offer to ensure the deal goes through. I've heard you should use a lawyer to look over the contract if you are buying without one though. It might cost a lot. I had to laugh a little bit when I read this. I got fired by a clien...

jfn111

I went 80% cash today at the close. It may be a brilliant move or... :oops: Whyfore thou go to 80% cash? Just a hunch. I could well be wrong but I have a interest income fund paying 2.8% to park it in while I see if my hunch was correct. The dividend yield on the S&P is just over 2%. The market...

jfn111

GoldenFinch wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 8:09 pm
jfn111 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 18, 2019 7:53 pm I went 80% cash today at the close. It may be a brilliant move or...
Whyfore thou go to 80% cash?

Just a hunch. I could well be wrong but I have a interest income fund paying 2.8% to park it in while I see if my hunch was correct.

jfn111

I went 80% cash today at the close. It may be a brilliant move or...

jfn111

Pay it to stop interest accumulating, and sort things out later, when there may be a partial refund. I was a replacement executor for a previous executor who, because of alcoholism, messed things up including not filing tax returns. The IRS charged interest but waived the penalties. I wonder if any...

jfn111

I volunteer 1 day per week at our local Food Bank. I have found this a great way to help people in my community.

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