John T. Reed’s news blog

A REDDIT real estate investing member posted this request for help. . “I'm in the process of purchasing my first real estate property in California, priced at $650k, and I've run into a somewhat unique and frustrating challenge. The seller and I agreed on a deal where $130k of the payment would be made in cryptocurrency. However, when we approached the bank to handle the transaction, they informed us that an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) check is required for the crypto portion of the payment. “This has put me in a difficult position. I completely understand the necessity of AML regulations...

A REDDIT real estate investing member posted this:. I bought a principal residence in 2016 for about $300k. Now worth about $500k, and has a tenant. My understanding is that I can avoid capital gains on up to $250k if I've lived in the house for 3 of the past 5 years.  Of course, I have a 2.25% mortgage I don't want to lose. My plan is to create an LLC, contribute $200k to the LLC, and then buy the house for the fair market value of $500k. I would transfer the title through a closing attorney. I would continue...

Assuming a low-interest mortgage. Is that a good idea? .There is no advantage to a home buyer to taking over an existing low-interest mortgage. Why not? The house will sell for a higher price if it has a low-interest mortgage. So what you don’t pay interest you WILL pay in a bigger down payment and a higher price than if the home did NOT have a low-interest mortgage. It all comes out in the wash.. Is there an advantage for the seller of such a house to a buyer who assumes the low interest mortgage? Yes. Now I read that...

I found a REDDIT question from a real estate investor that could help my readers. But bought a row house in Philly fixed it up and sold it. But the title company won’t provide title insurance claiming the prior seller was not the owner and that there are $33,000 in unpaid property taxes. He says his purchase settlement statement said $31,500 of the sale proceeds was going to pay off that much delinquent property taxes. . Generally, if you get title insurance when you buy, they are guaranteeing that the seller is the seller. But the policy limit would not...

There has been a settlement in the lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors® and a number of large brokerages. This is being touted as a great change and lower commissions. . I will believe it when I see it. Here is what needs to happen. . A start-up will come into being offering low commissions like a flat rate of $3,000 for all homes regardless of the sale price. And that start-up will succeed and get competitors offering similarly low fees. . Crown Books, which was started by one of my Harvard Business School classmates, is an example. Their...