All Forum Posts by: Andrew K.

First property was a primary, lived in it 9 months before the Army sent me elsewhere. Second property was also a primary, lived in it 6 years before the army sent me packing again. Third property, as in purchased this month, is purely investment--bought a VA foreclosure all cash. Interesting to see the poll results and stories. -Andrew

Jermaine White where do you plan on investing when your return to the States? What types of properties are you wanting to invest in? Single family homes or multi family? Are your open to house-hacking? I also recommend studying your chosen market and investing strategy for the next few months. Be sure to make a deliberate effort to have a strong financial picture as well. Good luck and keep us posted! -Andew

Alex David unfortunately I don't have a recommendation for the area of NC your property is in. If you get anything in Cumberland County, I can provide a recommendation.

@Jai Sookhakitch once you add NC to the list, keep me in mind!

-Andrew

Hey John Reid , good question. I just bought a VA foreclosure and still opted for title insurance. As you said, it's inexpensive and you gain peace of mind that you're likely not going to take title to a property with hidden issues. A REO foreclosure is supposed to have all liens and cloudy title issues cleared up before the seller offers it up for sale. Again, get title insurance so you don't pay for someone else's mistake/oversight. Good luck! -Andrew

Interesting topic and in literally came across this situation recently. One of my coworkers has a property that he's willing to sell, with a quit claim deed. Does a quit claim deed provide an additional negotiation tool to justify an even lower offer? (Compared with a home with a "normal" warranty deed) Just trying to put my offer together to this coworker, any insight would be great. Thanks! -Andrew

Welcome Dale Glave ! Glad to have you on BP. Glad to hear your already have a MF family. Care to share some details about the place? See you around the site, you're gonna learn a ton! -Andrew

I agree with Phil Z. there may be an underlying issue as to why the power is off to begin with. Possibly something related to the condition to the home. Either way, work through the seller and have them turn on the power. I went through a related situation with a foreclose I just bought. I had the seller (the VA) dewinterize the property during my inspection period. They rewinterized the place after my inspections were complete. Keep us posted on how it turns out. -Andrew

As may as possible!! Heck, even create a free drop box site and dump a bunch there too! I'm also a fan of using the property address as a URL and posting a bunch of pics to the website--not limited by the MLS that way.

It's a pet peeve of mine when people only put up 1-4 pics of their flip. Why go through all the trouble and expense of rehabbing a place only to chop yourself off at the knees when you list? I literally just looked at an MLS listing for a $300k+ flip that ONLY has a pic of the front and back on the listing!! An investor bought the place for $80k...surely there is something about the inside that the investor would love for perspective buyers to see!!

Rant complete.

-Andrew

@Yang Zhang I vote or option 1.  Get the tenants to sign your contract (I'm assuming they're still on a contract under the previous owner).  Explain to the tenant that you'll be increasing the rent by $X amount when they sign the contract with you.  However, create value to the existing tenant by making a few, simple upgrades to the unit.  The upgrades will make it easier for the tenant to rationalize the increase in rent.  E.g. I'm paying $100 more a month, but I got these new appliances-or countertops, or tile in the bathroom, etc.

Ask the tenant what updates they'd like to see, you might be surprised at how little you need to spend.  For example, I was considering making upgrades to the kitchen in one of my rentals--would have cost me a decent amount. However, when I asked the tenant what improvements they'd like to see (in return for increased rent) I was surprised when they asked for new flooring in the guest bathroom.  This is far cheaper than the kitchen remodel!

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes!

-Andrew