All Forum Posts by: Alia Abbasi

Last November, I was trying to buy a piece of land from an older couple. They had bought the land at a tax sale and never bothered with checking the title. So I gave them a deposit and the rest would be paid at closing, which was supposed to be before the end of the year. The title company found that the title was tied up by the DEA due to a seizure back in the early 90's. It was originally several hundred acres with an airstrip that was seized. After the drug dealer went to prison, the land was sold to someone who split it into smaller plots and created a residential airstrip community. For some reason, the lot I was trying to buy had never been released by the DEA and so it does not have a clear title (figures). I even contacted a real estate attorney and was told that wasn't their area of expertise. Finally after 6 months I ended up just asking for my deposit back because there was still no resolution.

Does anyone know a way to clear this? I did get my deposit back but I am still interested in this property.

Thanks for all the feedback. I think I'm going to really like this site. Y'all are so helpful! :-)

I did buy The Book on Flipping Houses, which also comes with The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs and I will start reading them tonight.

Thanks for the advice James. I will try the search option. I actually did read the beginners guide and that's where I learned the 70% rule. I understand how it works, but it doesn't talk about how to estimate the ARV and rehab costs.

Hey everybody, I'm Alia in Sugar Land, TX. Currently I work full time as a purchaser in the oil & gas industry. I am looking to educate myself and work towards something more rewarding and enjoyable. I am interested in SFRs and/or flipping houses.

I read a BP article on getting started and learned quite a bit. It seems a lot of importance is placed on the 70% ARV rule. My question is, as I'm looking through listings, how do I come up with the ARV and the repair cost?

Thanks y'all! I look forward to learning a lot and making new friends!