All Forum Posts by: Barbara McArthur

Yes, I did the home inspection.  The inspector didn't notice this.

I bought my first real estate investment for buy-and-hold a couple weeks ago.  It has a nasty moldy basement so I decided to fix that first.  I've spent the last two weeks hauling moldy junk out of the basement.  I often passed by the main sewer line in the basement and noticed that it was wrapped in black electric tape...a black pipe wrapped in black tape.  I started picking the tape off just because I thought it was weird.  To my surprise I discovered this morning that there is a significant crack running down the length of the pipe.  The crack is filled with silicone gel and the pipe was completely wrapped in electric tape.  I stopped immediately.  The house is about a hundred years old but the "fix" does not look that old.  The previous owner had the house for about 5 years but only lived there a short time.  Most of the time his ex wife, a woman in her seventies, lived there.  My question is, do I have a legal issue here?  Someone did an inappropriate "fix" on that sewer line then covered it up ( I realize that the electrical tape may have been part of the "fix" but it made a good cover up also).  Is this a caveat emptor, a cover up and non disclosure by the seller, or a major miss by the professional home inspector I hired?  Is this something a home can be condemned for?  I'll have it fixed correctly before I rent out the house but I"m wondering if someone besides me should pay.  Thanks

I would show up.  I might even bring cookies.

When I was looking at a house with a Realtor the seller showed up.  He talked a lot and one of the things he said was that he'd hold the note.  Later I asked the Realtor to follow up with that and she reported that he wanted to meet me.  Neither of us knew what he wanted.  I told him I was offering him his full price if he'd hold the note at 4% simple interest, payments or $240 per month and a balloon in 5 years.  He just said yes and told the Realtor to write it up.  She asked him if he wanted anything else written into the contract and he said no.  She wrote it up on a sheet of paper and said she'd write up a formal contract and get it to us the next day, which she did.  As we were leaving he said, "By the way, do you have much debt?"  I said, "I'm cosigned on my kids' college loans which gives me a high debt to income ratio and hurts my credit rating.  Besides that, I don't have much debt."  He said OK.  She wrote up the contract and we both signed it the next day.  A week later he told the Realtor he wanted some kind of proof that I could make the payment and a print out from a credit agency about my credit rating.  I said, it was too late for that, we have a contract.  To that he replied that he would not sign the closing documents if I did not provide the information.  The Realtor said that she knew I did not legally have to provide the information but it would smoothe the way if I did.  I provided a copy of my March bank statements and ran a credit report on Credit Karma.  Then he said he wanted the settlement lawyer to review it.  I said That's not the lawyer's job, I'll provide the information to the seller as a courtesy.  So the Realtor is going to present the information to him tomorrow.  I told her that he must perform regardless because we have a contract.  She said, "Yes, I know".  As I understand it, if he refuses to sign the paperwork I have grounds to sue for failure to perform.  This house is a good deal so I don't want to just let it go.  I know this is a lot, but this is my first deal and I'm wound up about it.  Do I have recourse if he fails to sign the closing documents?

My tenants tried to save a few bucks on heating expenses by turning the central heat way down and using space heaters.  When they moved out I eventually discovered that one of my electrical outlets wasn't working.  The electrician said it was a 15 amp breaker and that probably the heater drew too much electricity and burned out the outlet.  He replaced the outlet and upgraded the breaker to 20 amps.  I was stuck with a $400 bill.  The tenants are long gone.  I'm tempted to put a "no space heaters" clause into my next rental contract.  What do you think?

I suspect what the others have said is true...now that you've closed it's your problem.  However, you can still go after the agents.  My only additional two cents is go after their brokers also...both buyer and seller brokers.  The broker is responsible for what his/her agents do.  They also have "bigger pockets" so if a legal suit is filed they're more likely to have $$$.

I'm glad you asked this question because I have been wondering about the same things.

That dog is adorable!  Labs are notorious "I'll do anything to get food" dogs.  Crating her when you're out is probably a good idea.   

Just my humble opinion...not professional advice.  I think fake anything is hideous.  If I were looking for a house to live in, and there was anything else roughly equivalent on the market, I'd choose the house that doesn't have the cheesy fakey rock foundation.  

I'm getting my first investment house ready to rent.  Within several blocks there are houses that are rented to very poor people or Section 8.  Often these houses have sheets or blankets draped over the windows.  I hate the way it makes a house look.  I'm thinking of putting a "no sheets or blankets in the windows" clause in my contract. I don't mind leaving all the curtains, drapes, and curtain rods in place when I move out.  I don't want people putting up their own rods or window shades because they often do such a poor job that they ruin the corners of the windows.  Is this unreasonable?