All Forum Posts by: Alvin Sylvain

I have no experience in this area, but from your picture, it doesn't look all that bad.

I think the most important thing here is, is there level space enough for all expected cars once you get to the top of that hill? I'm not so concerned about people getting their cars up the hill -- cars these days are fairly powerful -- but I would be worried if somebody needed to park on the hill. There is no curb to turn the wheels into, and if the parking brake fails (or they neglect to activate it), odds are good the vehicle is rolling downhill. I don't need to say, that would be very bad.

But that's nothing to worry about if every tenant, and all their guests, have plenty of level space at the top (or the bottom) to park.

Originally posted by @Joe Wood:

I'm not looking to stop traffic in anyway. Just seeing if a physical barrier separating the house from the street is required.
I plan on putting a few very large rocks that would stop vehicles from entering the property, while maintaining a natural look. 

Is the property at the top of a T intersection? At the corner of a sharp turn? That is, somewhere such that a car driving too fast might go out of control and blast into the property? If not, I wouldn't bother.

Although I don't know your situation, and it occurs to me maybe the driveway into your property looks like it's part of the street or something. If that's the case, and if it is not a public easement, you ought to be able to put any sort of barrier on your own property you like. I was thinking you needed something to restrict street access in some suburban setting with multiple houses on the same street.

But there may still be restrictions to look into, such as if the community has CC&R's (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions)

Just FYI, I've been told that, as an investor, you'll need 25% down for conventional these days.

And even going conventional, I believe you'll still be able to get the FHA 203K rehab loan.

Contracts:

I'm fairly certain a search on BP would turn up a few standard lease contracts.

I had purchased the book, "Landlording: A Handymanual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves", by Leigh Robinson, which I recommend highly. He has a sample contract, which I had copied, then modified to my preferences and situation. The only problem that turned up with that contract, was that when we refinanced, the lender wanted some sort of extra protections from the renters in the event we ever failed to pay. I don't recall the exact language.

You might also check Nolo Press for landlording books. I can't recommend them directly, but over the years, I've gathered a certain respect for the organization. Like the lease in the previous book, you can always modify it to taste.

Of course, the safest way to go is to find a competent attorney, one who specializes in real estate law from the landlord's perspective. If the attorney is also a landlord, so much the better. Nothing like having a personal interest!

Marketing:

We had good luck advertising in "Recycler.com", but right now I don't even know if they're still out there. "Craigs List" is probably the go-to place these days.

Of course, you can always pay to advertise in one or more of the online advertising websites, such as "Apartments.com" or "Rent.com". I do not know how much they cost, but some of the Big Guys advertise there all the time, so they must be getting results.

Vetting Prospects:

I'm only throwing this out there because you definitely need to do this. I had used "SafeRent.com" in the past, and I'd also used someone else who's name I forget. For a fairly hefty fee, they will run the public information on your applicant, the more you want, the more it'll cost you. Can include a credit check, a past eviction report, a criminal record report, and maybe even make sure they work where they say they do. It's been a while, I'm sure their services have changed. 

I don't know whether to recommend them (it's been too long, and I might not have remembered the name right), but definitely find somebody. There may be ways to find out all that info yourself, but for my dime, I'd just as soon not stand in line at the courthouse.

If you're going to physically block traffic, you very probably will need some kind of permit from your jurisdiction, probably the city or borough or whatever they call it there.

There are little "Slow: Children Playing" signs, complete with a little flag, that you can buy. The ones I've seen are in eye-catching colors, and shaped vaguely like a child. You can put one or two of those out in the middle of the street, not completely blocking traffic, and probably get no more than a mild talking-to from the police, if even that much.

I can't give a real answer from experience, but I can suggest calling banks -- EVERY bank -- EVERY credit union -- EVERY mortgage lender -- and ask for their "REO" department (Real Estate Owned).

I admit that I've done that in the past, and did get to look at a few nice deals, but that dreaded "F" word* stood in the way.

Of course, the challenge these days, with the Internet and Email and such, almost nobody has a live person answering the phone anymore. But you can always walk into a branch. Don't restrict your search to the nationwide chains -- there are a lot of small neighborhood banks, and they usually have some properties they'd like to unload.

(* Fear)

This is not the place to ask. Check with your local municipality or seek legal council familiar with your jurisdiction.

But my guess would be, yes, it's probably perfectly legal.

@Demetrius Reynolds God will make a way, but the way might not be the completion of the sale. The way might be to raise the offer. The way might be to look in a different market for better deals. The way might be to forget about real estate entirely and make miillion$ playing guitar. We must be patient: God is not in the habit of telling us His Divine Plan.

JUST KIDDING!!

How are you fixed for C4?