Posted by Brad on July 01, 2002 at 15:25:27:
is there any chance that he was selling to relatives? that would be my guess that he is getting rid of assets. but not willing to just give them away.
Why sell below FMV??? - Posted by Mike
Posted by Mike on July 01, 2002 at 13:36:36:
There’s a friend of the family (older in his eighties) who made some good money in RE.
I heard that he sells his properties at ridiculously low prices. He just sold his primary to move to Florida. It’s waterfront in NY for way below FMV. Any reason why he would do this? I thinking taxes…
Re: Why sell below FMV??? - Posted by Dave T
Posted by Dave T on July 04, 2002 at 11:11:47:
Perhaps the attack on the World Trade Center followed closely by an airline crash in a NY neighborhood, coupled with reports of ongoing terrorist threats against major economic and population centers, has dramatically increased his motivation to sell that NY property.
Re: Why sell below FMV??? - Posted by Walt
Posted by Walt on July 01, 2002 at 17:36:38:
I don’t know why he might be doing that. I do the opposite and it is a win win proposition. I sell the property at the FMV but I pay the sellers closing costs and his down payment also (to 5%) in the way of a grant. That way the buyer gets in with nothing down and I get a quick sale and move on to the next one. Everybody wins. I would be glad to show you or anyone else how this works. Just e-mail me.
Re: Why sell below FMV??? - Posted by GL(ON)
Posted by GL(ON) on July 01, 2002 at 14:37:53:
If he has plenty of dough, it could be that he is willing to give someone a deal in order to get a quick sale with no real estate agents and no hassle. It could also be that he bought the properties so long ago, and so cheap, that he feels he is making a good profit anyway. He may also feel like giving a beginner a little boost. Also that if he tries to squeeze every dime, not only will it be harder to sell, but if he has to take back a second mortgage there is a big chance the buyer won’t be able to afford it and he will have the hassle of foreclosing and taking the property back. This way if anything happens the buyer can sell easily, and he will get paid off with no hassle.
When someone has all the money they need, then getting the highest possible price is not the most important thing anymore.
It is also possible that he is senile and thinks 1975 prices are still the cat’s meow.
Another possibility is that he never expected to live this long, and stopped doing repairs or maintenance 20 years ago. In which case his properties would be worth a lot less than the typical “FMV”.
Taxes could enter into it. If he has depreciated them down to nothing, then he would have a big tax liability. On the other hand it would be at capital gains rates. He would really need to have a grudge against the tax man to lose money himself in order to reduce taxes.
I hope you asked him if he has anything else he wants to sell?
Re: Why sell below FMV??? - Posted by Jim
Posted by Jim on July 02, 2002 at 24:33:42:
Do you use neighborhood gold or one of the other grant companies?
Thanks,
Jim