Answers by Mohammed Mudassir

You are going about it in the right order: house hack first. A two family you live in qualifies for owner occupied financing, and FHA lets you buy a two family with 3.5 percent down, against the 20 to 25 percent an out of state investor loan asks. One to two hours out from the city, a $450,000 two family is still in reach. With 100k you can cover the down payment, closing costs and six months of reserves. You have to live there at least a year, so pick a place you can commute from. Run the payment, then subtract the rent from the second unit: https://hellomuds.com/monthly-payment/

In New York, yes to the attorney. Attorneys draft and review the contract here, and you hire yours before you sign, usually the day your offer is accepted. The agent finds the home, negotiates the price and keeps the deal moving to closing. Ask friends who closed recently, or ask your agent for two or three names and interview them. Ask what the fee covers and how fast they turn around a contract.

First the facts. In New York, the buyer’s attorney and title company usually order the municipal searches, not your agent. So the search delay may sit on the buyer’s side, and that matters for who owes you. Have your own attorney send the buyer’s attorney a time of the essence letter, which sets a firm closing date with consequences in the contract. Write to your agent’s managing broker about the missed lender change. If your attorney still will not call back, write to the firm’s managing partner. Keep every receipt for the $150 a day; whether you can recover it depends on your contract, and your attorney reads that. On our team at OverSouth, we keep sellers updated on every step from contract to closing, so a lender switch is never news you hear last. If your attorney stays silent, I can share a few New York closing attorneys who answer the phone.

First the facts. In New York, the buyer’s attorney and title company usually order the municipal searches, not your agent. So the search delay may sit on the buyer’s side, and that matters for who owes you. Have your own attorney send the buyer’s attorney a time of the essence letter, which sets a firm closing date with consequences in the contract. Write to your agent’s managing broker about the missed lender change. If your attorney still will not call back, write to the firm’s managing partner. Keep every receipt for the $150 a day; whether you can recover it depends on your contract, and your attorney reads that.

Today, email your attorney and the paralegal on your file together....List the survey documents sent 25 days ago and ask who is reviewing them and whether you still close on schedule. Then call the lender’s closer, who knows what is outstanding. Two days out you can still save the date, but someone has to own the survey today. Ask your attorney at contract signing for a weekly two line update, in writing.

An auction company markets the house for a few weeks and sells it to the highest bidder on one day. Ask about the fee, the buyer’s premium (a charge added to the buyer’s price), and whether there is a reserve, meaning a minimum price, or it is absolute. It is fast, but bidders expect a discount. Before you choose an auction, let an agent get you two or three as is cash offers in a week so you can compare; that often nets more and closes about as fast. If the house is on Long Island, Iqra and I can do that for you. Elsewhere, I can connect you with someone local.

Start the search now, since pet friendly houses rent fast. Have a pet resume ready: vet records, a photo, and a reference from your last landlord. Ask an agent who handles rentals to send you listings the day they hit. Message me and I’ll connect you with a rental agent in Orange County who has handled pet friendly leases...

Have your agent pull the price history and ask the listing agent, plainly, why it has not sold. A below asking offer lands better when you attach recent sales that support it and make the terms clean: a strong preapproval, a flexible closing date, a short inspection window. Write it respectfully and leave room to meet in the middle. After 60 days, most sellers want a firm buyer more than one more month on the market. Sixty days is where the real conversation starts. I’m happy to look at the price history with you and help shape an offer the seller can say yes to. Let me know if I can be any help?

On a 40 year old house I would spend the second budget on specialists, not a second general inspection. Think a sewer scope, an oil tank sweep if it ever had oil, a roof or chimney check, and an electrical look at the panel. Use one clear report to negotiate. Ask for a credit or a repair on the big items, and skip the small ones so the seller stays at the table.

Put them side by side by net, not by price: what you keep after any concessions. Then weigh certainty. A cash offer with no contingencies often beats a higher financed offer that needs an appraisal to come in. Check the proof of funds or the preapproval, the deposit size, and the closing date that works for your next move. Your attorney should read the riders before you accept.

Mostly because the money is there. The seller receives the sale proceeds at closing, while the buyer is already bringing the down payment and closing costs. Since the August 2024 settlement, though, it is no longer automatic: the buyer signs an agreement with their own agent, and the seller decides whether to help with that side. It is a negotiation, not a rule.

When the fee is a percentage, yes. Each 1 percent is $5,000 on a $500,000 sale and $9,000 on a $900,000 sale. Some agents lower the rate on higher prices or charge a flat fee, so ask for the fee in dollars at your price before you sign. To see what you keep after commission, transfer tax and the payoff, try our net sheet: https://hellomuds.com/net-sheet/

Yes. In New York, as is means you are not promising repairs, but buyers will still inspect and price what they find. Expect lower offers and more cash or investor buyers. You still owe the New York property condition disclosure statement: since March 20, 2024 the old $500 credit no longer replaces it, and your attorney handles it. Often one or two cheap fixes raise the net more than they cost.

Not always, and since August 2024 it is more of a choice than it used to be. The seller pays their own agent under the listing agreement, out of the sale money at closing. The buyer's agent is paid under the buyer's own written agreement, and the seller can agree to cover some or all of it. Every commission is negotiable. I laid out who pays what here: https://hellomuds.com/who-pays-commission/