Mechanics Lien Risk Assessment: Fill & Download for Free

Hell no… Get a good RealtorRealtors are not ONLY about marketing.They do have a fiduciary, they are about representation.Representation from a good Realtor will help a buyer or a seller navigate all kinds of crazy issues.Do you know what termite casts look like? I am a veteran Realtor and I do...Do you know how much it costs to mitigate radon in an average house? I do...Do you know how to choose the best offer when you have 4 on the table... and price is not the only way to evaluate which one is best? I do...Do you know how to make it much more likely that an offer will get accepted when there are 6 offers on a property and you have a buyer who wants to buy so badly they would pay $50K over asking price... but you don't know what the other offers have been submitted at? I do...Do you know what the average cost to get infrastructure in per lot?Have you changed zoning codes before? Do you know how to research them for each municipality?Which cities allow for legal accessory apartments? What is the difference between a mother in law, a legal accessory and a duplex?Are those definitions different city by city?Some cities require that a seller disclose their zoning to a buyer? Which ones in your county require this? Where do you get the forms?Do you know what is and is not required regarding disclosures when you are selling and your neighbor is walking around in his house naked all the time on purpose and his master bedroom window is directly behind your back family room window? I do, been there, done that…That... or what if someone was murdered in your house.When can you lose your money if you choose to back out based on finding out your new neighbor is on the sex offender registry?Would you suggest a sewer drain line get scoped before you buy a home?What is your perception as to how much is normal to ask for in a reduction in a specific price range?Do you know how hot a market is in the $500K market in your city versus in a $200K single family residential neighborhood?How much does it cost to repaint a 1000 square foot area?How much does carpet cost per foot? Tile?Do you know what Polybutylene Plumbing looks like or what the risks are for having it?Do you know the two different types of electrical panels which are actual fire hazards?Do you know what the real risk of having a double lugged breaker is?Or which panels allow for them to be double lugged because one brand name is actually set up for that to be ok by code.Do you know how to fly a drone? Are you licensed for it?In an old house if a plug is broken is replacing it with a three prong plug a violation of zoning code?How close to the floor does a window sill have to be for a basement bedroom to be legal?Do you know how to compare a builders REPC versus a state one and where they differ in favor of most builders?Can you use a state form even if the builder says you need to use his?How much is a normal Earnest Money Deposit and when can you get it back?Who holds onto that?Which title companies allow for a reissue rate?One or two years?How much will you save if you know to ask for it?How long after closing to you disconnect utilities to avoid a disconnect fee?How do you check to see if the home you are purchasing has a home owners association transfer fee if it is not written anywhere?Who is responsible to pay for that if the seller does not disclose that to the buyer?What are normal assessments for a HOA?How much money does a normal HOA hold in their escrow account as a percentage of the average sales price of the homes in the HOA?Can you belong to more than one HOA at once?What kind of fiduciary does a title company have to their client?When can you ask the title companies staff attorney for help?How do you close a property when an underlying mechanics lien shows up after there have been three different closings and title policies issued since the work was done and the new title company will not insure over that? 

Which rider should you request for your title policy if you have plans to move the property into an LLC or a trust? If you don’t do you really lose all your coverage?What seer rating is a HIGH efficiency AC unit these days? What was normal in 1993?How do you enforce and deal with something that has been adequately disclosed and becomes an issue post closing?How do you fill out a seller property condition disclosure if you have never lived in the property you are selling... or have not for the past four years?How much do you have to put down on a duplex if you are buying it to live in?To rent? Is it different for a four plex? (It is) is it different for a 5-Plex? (It is)What happens if a seller has already used part of a tenants security deposit towards an issue and the tenant breaches the rental contract?Where can you use a USDA Loan?What grants are available to first time home buyers in your area? Do you have to pay them back? Are there any that are available to a non-first time buyer?Can you spot an error in a settlement statement?How to property tax prorations work in December when taxes have been paid for the year already?How long do you need to wait before your escrow account will pay out?Does MIP ever go away when you hit 20% equity interest? After which year did it become NOT removable?Can you sell your neighbor a 5 foot section of you property he has had fenced for years if you have a mortgage on your house?How does a quiet title action work?How do you record a fenceline agreement?What does an ALTA policy differ from a normal title policy?How do you file a title claim?What is the difference between an owners policy and a lenders title policy?How does SBA financing work?What would trigger a condo complex's loss of FHA approval? What about Fannie or Freddie Mac approvals? Can they be jeopardized by the actions of an HOA?

How do you know if a HOA has adequate reserves?What do you do to obtain financing if you are no longer FHA approved?What is a normal debt to income ratio? Is it different for FHA versus conventional?What is the normal issue with a VA appraisal? How can you prepare for it?When is it NOT a good idea to get VA financing even if you are eligible to do so?Who do you call to mitigate Meth, Termites, Lead based paint, Radon? At what point does the health department need to get involved?When do you need to start disclosing lead based paint? How is that done? What happens if you do not do it correctly? What liability does a seller carry in that situation?Where is the most effective place to advertise per dollar? What is the best return?What CANT you say without potentially creating a HUD fair housing issue? Can you say you are next to a Church?When can a homeowner or a landlord say... "I don't rent to Mormons?" (or other religions) without being in violation of fair housing?When can you not rent to Black people? What happens if your seller says I don’t want to sell to black people?When is it appropriate to use a negotiation gambit like nibbling or third parties?Have you ever developed a subdivision or split a lot?Do you lose your title insurance protection if you transfer your new duplex into an LLC? Can you do something about it? What happens if you transfer it into your wife's name?What happens if you close on the first rather than the 31st of the month with a conventional versus an FHA loan? Is it a big deal?How does a loan wrap work? Is it legal?If you are buying a Short Sale how can you protect yourself from a mechanics lien?Are you legally liable for the loss a bank incurs on a short sale? What does a short sale look like to the IRS? Tax liability?If you are representing a seller doing a short sale can you do something to prevent a judgement from attaching to them from their lender if you are smart? What is that?If you have a canal in your back yard and there is an Public Utility Easement can you build a deck? A shed?What are normal setbacks? Do they apply to secondary structures?What is a building envelope?Do you have a good painter you refer, carpet cleaner? HVAC guy? Electrician? Plumber or roofer? Do you know how much a new furnace will cost for a 2000 square foot home? What about AC? What if it high versus low efficiency? How do you know if a new furnace is direct drive DC or not? If it is high efficiency or not? (I know when my clients are getting ripped off...)In which cities are two flag lots developable versus three... or just one off of a shared stem?Can you edit video?Can you do SEO work? Advertise on FB? Is there anything you should watch when doing so?DO you have a Matterport camera? How much is a normal Matterport tour per foot? Will you spend that?Do you have a good DSLR? Can you take photos like this? Work Do you think they might net a seller more or less money?Please list the high schools in order for your county based on test scores and academics... Can you?How does depreciation work on your house versus a rental property?What if you take equity out of your house to buy a rental property? How is that equity or the debt left on your house handled by the IRS?I can go on and on... I am not kidding. I can type as fast as I can think of these things. There are a million potential land mines that have nothing to do with marketing. Marketing is a piece... Having a website… or even an attorney… or maybe a discount broker… to ask questions of is nice... However usually a homeowner will not even approach an attorney until after they have gotten themselves into a problem that if they had me... they most likely would not have had to deal with.Sure there are different things that will work but if you think I can't provide the value I charge in my commission... you are tragically mistaken... and very wrong. Many of my clients actually don't have any clue what real value I bring to the table because those little things that would have derailed them if they did this by themselves... Never even rise to the awareness level.It is true that there is a big difference between me and a brand new agent but skimming over that is like saying all police officers shoot defenseless people. It is a generalization that is very, very inaccurate and harmful. The truth is even a brand new agent can tap into the experience of his broker and colleagues… I would take any good hard working agent… and would pay them over a website or a Real Estate attorney.

Besides a physical inspection of all infrastructure, boundaries and boundary markers, a title search of the land records - if you are responsible to arrange this as a buyer; respective responsibilities of buyers and sellers differ among states.Title should be researched back for decades, at a minimum as far as your state's marketable title act provides to make sure there is clear title of record (no outstanding mortgages, liens, etc.), and so you can understand what covenants, easements or deed restrictions of record, etc., might be attached. There are a lot of variations of things that can encumber title: some minor and expected (like utility easements) and some more significant encumbrances that can affect use of the property and its value. Read the fine print and make sure they are acceptable to you, and that you can terminate the contract if you find any encumbrances unacceptable. Some state laws already decide by default what is acceptable or not on your behalf (which usually favor the seller). Get local legal advice to understand things like this before you sign a contract.If you have title research done, you might opt to have the search include copies of maps, surveys, past and pending regulatory permits and their applications and design plans (remember different permits could be from the state or the county or more local), and property tax assessment records, for example, so you can see what improvements have been made or proposed in the past. This might be over and above what a title researcher might normally do in your area, but you could find the results informative.You will probably want to arrange to get a title insurance commitment (pay attention to the general and special exceptions to make sure they are acceptable to you) and after closing, make sure you obtain an Owner's final title insurance policy.If you are getting financing, your lender may arrange for some of this due diligence, including an appraisal of the value. Understand what due diligence your lender does and does not do. Remember that banks and similar lenders work for themselves, not you. Often your interests overlap, but certainly not in every way.You can negotiate with the Seller for a Warranty Deed (instead of a Quitclaim). Make sure the warranties do not have huge exceptions.You can negotiate to obtain an Affidavit (statement under oath) from the Seller some time prior to closing to confirm certain facts as far as the Seller's personal knowledge - for example, if the Seller had the property worked on in the recent past (which could give rise to a yet-unrecorded mechanics lien or materials lien if the bill was left unpaid). Besides information the Seller would know about during their brief ownership, an untrue statement made under oath might give you a remedy in the form of an action for fraud later.Informal conversations with neighbors can be especially informative.If it is a commercial or industrial property, or adjacent to such a property, or if there is additional acreage, a phase one Environmental Site Assessment by an environmental engineer might also be productive.If it is rural you would probably want to have the water from the well tested for potability if that's not a standard part of the physical inspection.Research can be a big investment on your part, so you probably want to have the property under contract while research is done, so long as you can be certain you have sufficient time, and that you can withdraw from the contract without penalty if there is any property or title condition you find unacceptable. A flipper-type seller may not want to play ball if your offer involves a long wait or a lot of contingencies, so negotiations may involve risk analysis on your part. In some states, the Seller is supposed to provide proof of clear title, but I'm not sure how thorough it needs to be, or whether that is the case in NJ. You will want legal advice specific to your situation and the laws of NJ to understand your risks, rights and remedies, and to accomplish any due diligence effectively before you sign any contract.

Here’s the way I categorize management science in my own mind. And behold, the number of categories just happens to add up to ten! Within each category description, I’ve included examples of specific tools, in case that’s what you’re looking for. Keep in mind that this is a really macro view of things. To gain a working knowledge of any of these categories (or their tools) requires lots of study and experience.Mgmt Foundation: Includes the basic mgmt. concepts we rely on every day e.g. span of control, unity of command, specialization of labor, worker motivation, planning & control, etc. Modern mgmt. started taking shape in the early 1900s and lots of contributors. I’d suggest starting with Henri Fayol for completeness of vision. Most managers take these concepts for granted until something changes, then they’re lost and are completely reliant on consultants. A couple tool examples (of many) are budgets, variance reports, and organizational charts.Project Mgmt: General mgmt. works for routine operations. But for successful one-time, non-standard initiatives, you need project mgmt. which is a whole science unto itself. Some PM tools include Gantt charts, project plans, change requests, stakeholder analysis, and project status reports.Program Mgmt: Generally defined as management of a related group of projects. For example, I once managed a program to merge two companies. I defined the merger strategy, what projects would be required to achieve it, project costs, sequencing, etc. A couple of the tools I used were program strategy, program scope & charter, program roadmap, and program status report.Change Mgmt: A great addition to management science which recognizes that implementing large changes in an organization and getting them to stick requires special technique. A key tool here is Kotter’s eight step change model.Strategic Mgmt: Generally defined as the process by which senior management plans and implements the means to achieve the organization’s goals. A key tool for this is a strategic plan. It could also include worksheets to gather strategic ideas from line staff, and workshops with line managers to disseminate the strategy.Risk Mgmt: Involves analyzing risks to the organization, planning suitable response and monitoring the outcome. Tools include risk assessments and risk registers.Process Mgmt: Whether an organization runs like a well-oiled machine or a squeaky wheel, depends on the quality and coordination of its processes. A major contributor to this discipline is Lean, a customer-centric, process improvement methodology. A couple representative tools include value stream mapping and root cause analysis.Audit & Compliance: Organizations operating in regulated environments (publicly-traded, accept credit cards as tender, etc.) require ongoing, impartial monitoring and control mechanisms (auditors, review boards, etc.) to achieve and maintain compliance. Some key tools include the audit plan, data sampling methodology, register of findings, audit report, and management response to the audit report.Agile Development: Used extensively in developing products of all kinds and especially in software development. Employs close collaboration with the customer, early delivery, and improvement through formal, successive development cycles (iterations). Tools include user stories, product backlog, sprint backlog, and burndown chart,Performance Mgmt: As a discipline within management science, this area has seen much improvement in recent years. At its core is a set of standardized competencies that the company purchases (or develops), along with a set of tools e.g. exercises to match competencies to jobs, guides describing performance standards for each competency and how employees can improve. Once embedded in job descriptions, appraisals, and employee development, the competencies make performance management more consistent and effective.Hope this helps.