What happens immediately after you buy

One of the issues that’s been popping up for me lately is how buyers handle the transition to owning once the deal is done. When you buy the kind of buildings I favor, the ones with low-paying, rent-controlled tenants in them, there is inevitably deferred maintenance that needs to be addressed. The kinds of things … Continue reading “What happens immediately after you buy”

How to get a bad reputation as a principal

Claim you’re buying all-cash; then use a loan Attempt to chip price materially; blame lender When seller resists price chip, force your agent to take a commission reduction, even though he brought you an off-market deal Request an extension of closing Request another extension of closing When seller requests payment for delay, act surprised Ask … Continue reading “How to get a bad reputation as a principal”

Checking in on the East Hollywood income property market

I’m on the record repeatedly extolling the virtues of owning in East Hollywood. I generally think owners there underestimate the achievable rents and that buyers can therefore occasionally find deals that makes sense, even at today’s inflated prices. Today, I figured I’d check in on the income properties on the market in East Hollywood to … Continue reading “Checking in on the East Hollywood income property market”

About to remove your appraisal contingency? Read this first.

You need to be very careful when you are considering removing your appraisal contingency, because it’s very easy to get burned. To understand why, we need to look at what an appraisal contingency is. Here’s the relevant language from paragraph 3I the California Association of Realtors multi-family agreement: “This Agreement is contingent upon a written … Continue reading “About to remove your appraisal contingency? Read this first.”

Why a quiet marketing period makes sense

When it comes down to it, most brokers who sell residential properties don’t know a lot about marketing income property. (One easy way you can tell is that most of them don’t include information that is absolutely critical to an income property investor – like the rents! – in their MLS listings.) But why does … Continue reading “Why a quiet marketing period makes sense”

More on demands

We briefly discussed demands (the documentation provided by the lender of what the borrower still owes on a loan that’s about to be paid off) a few days ago, because I was dealing with a particularly irritating lender who was taking forever to issue a demand. You’re not going to believe this, but the lender … Continue reading “More on demands”