Q-For the second time in four years, I have been laid off from my manufacturing job. When there’s work, the pay is excellent, so I hate to take another job because I may be recalled in a few months.
Until this happened, my wife and I planned to buy a home, but for the last few months we have been living off unemployment and savings.
We have an opportunity to take a job as part-time managers of a 41-unit apartment building. I am very handy and would get paid extra for painting, plumbing, etc. Do you think we should take this job?
A-Apartment management is an excellent stepping stone to home ownership. Discipline yourself to save the money you would have spent for rent so you’ll have enough for a down payment. If you won’t do that, you will be managing apartments for the rest of your life.
Managing apartments is the best way to cut your housing costs and get ahead financially. If your job recall doesn’t come through in a few months, then you can decide if you want to make a career change.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to work in a field where I become unemployed every few years. That doesn’t sound like fun.
As for managing 41 apartments on a part-time basis, I think you will be surprised to learn such a job is a full-time occupation. With so many apartments, there are dozens of tasks to do at a well-run apartment building, such as collecting rents, keeping the premises tidy and cleaning vacant apartments.
However, learn as much as you can because someday you may want to invest in apartments.
Home sale commissions
Q-I admire your courage in writing that article a few months ago about how to get a fair appraisal. The follow-up letters from several appraisers were very self-serving.
But when are you going to expose the Realtors for their overcharging on real estate sales commissions?
My husband and I just sold our home for $156,000 and the Realtors got a 6 percent sales commission for just a few hours’ work. The house was priced right and sold in only three weeks.
The listing agent spent a few dollars on ads and held one Sunday open house.
The buyer was driving by, saw the sign, made an offer and we accepted. At most, the agent didn’t spend more than 10 hours on our sale, but he got more than $9,000 in commission. Isn’t that a ripoff?
A-No. The agent doesn’t sell a house every day.
Most of his or her time is spent prospecting for listings, marketing the listings and then getting the sales successfully closed.
You didn’t see all the behind-the-scenes agent work that commonly goes on because agents make it look so easy.
Also, don’t think your listing agent gets to keep the entire $9,000 commission. If there was a second agent who produced the buyer, that agent got half the sales commission, about $4,500.
Then each agent usually gets to keep only about 50 percent of his or her half of the commission ($2,250 in your case), with the other half going to the real estate broker.
Property swap
Q-I inherited a 10-unit apartment building in a bad part of town. For the last six months I have had it listed for sale with a real estate broker who says there aren’t any buyers for slum properties.
How can I get rid of this troublesome property?
A-Ask your broker to advertise it “will trade.” You probably will receive some very interesting exchange offers.
For example, an investor with a fourplex in a good part of town might offer to trade for your 10 units. Such an exchange would get you out of that bad property and into one in a better area that may be more saleable.
Because you inherited the property and your cost basis is the building’s market value on the date of the decedent’s death, your purpose in making an exchange is not the usual tax avoidance goal.
Instead, your purpose is to trade for a more desirable property.
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Please note: Real estate laws differ from place to place, and laws of your area should be checked before making decisions on real estate problems.
You can address inquiries to Robert Bruss at Tribune Real Estate Features Service, P.O. Box 280038, San Francisco, Calif. 94128.
