Price of Everything Goes Up While Wages Stagnant (JJ 687)

Price of Everything Goes Up While Wages Stagnant (JJ 687) Transcript: Jack Butala:                         Jack Jill here. Jill DeWit:                            Hello. Jack Butala:                         Welcome to the Jack Jill Show. Entertaining real estate investment talk, we hope. I'm Jack Butala. Jill DeWit:                            And I'm Jill DeWit, broadcasting from so-so sunny, partly cloudy southern California. Jack Butala:                         Today, Jill and I talk about the price of everything seems to go up. Well, it actually does go up, while wages and how much money we all make seem to stay stagnant, unless you're a real estate investor. Before we get into that, though, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the jackjill.com online community. It's free. Jill DeWit:                            Okay. Matt asks, "Hello, all. I'm conducting due diligence on a five-acre property I'm looking to purchase from a lady who has owned it since 1987." Jack Butala:                         I like where this is going, Matt. Jill DeWit:                            "Upon looking at the vesting deed, which is the last recorded deed, I noticed that at the bottom of the deed, before the signatures, that her purchase of the property was subject to a real estate contract the previous owner was paying on, and that the buyer, the lady who is currently selling it to me, would be assuming this contract. It appears that-" Jack Butala:                         Right on the deed, huh? Jill DeWit:                            Right above her signature. I haven't seen that. Jack Butala:                         You never see it on the deed. Jill DeWit:                            "It appears that she was purchasing the property from her parents and assuming the land contract." That makes sense. "The owner of the contract was a single guy. I searched the county records to see if there's anything recorded that shows this contract had been satisfied, and wasn't able to find anything." Boy, Matt, by the way, I want to say I appreciate you doing your homework on this so it doesn't come back to bite you. Jack Butala:                         Me too. What a bright approach to this. Jill DeWit:                            "I asked the seller about it. She told me that she was finished paying on the contract a long time ago- Jack Butala:                         I believe her. Jill DeWit:                            ... but because it was so long ago, she didn't have any documentation that could back it up. Does anyone have any idea ... " Oh God, I can't believe she didn't keep her receipt. "Does anyone have any ideas on how I could go about circumventing this issue? I don't believe that there's a big risk of the contract not being satisfied. However, I am not sure what is the best way to clear up title. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated." Jack Butala:                         What do you think, Jill? Jill DeWit:                            You know, my first thing would to do would be to really try to find the company. My first thought, and the easiest thing would be to find the company who had issued the land contract. Fingers crossed they're still in business, ask for a document from them. Just say "Hey, would you guys mind sending a one page thing? I will even draw it up for you. At this property that everything's been satisfied, she doesn't owe you anything. Have a nice day." And have them sign it. Then submit that. Jack Butala:                         I think, Matt, you found a little gem here. In this business all kinds of owners respond to the letters that we send out. Some of them have really easily solvable problems, so you can turn a huge profit. These little tiny problems that some other buyers may have seen as "I'm just going to move on. I'm not going to buy it. I only want a perfect deal." I think you found a situation here where, because of the age,