All Forum Posts by: Ben Cochran

I put in an offer on a triplex this morning. 

This evening I received this letter back from the listing agent, basically telling me that the neighbors said that the property was a meth lab. The owner says they aren't aware of any type of meth use in the home. 

Now any offer I put in on the house, must be accompanied by the meth disclosed that I've copied and pasted below 

This would be my first rental if all goes well and I would be an owner/occupant as well. 

Any advice? 

Below is the meth disclosure emailed to me by the listing agent; (I changed the address) 

RE: 123 Main Street Fort Collins, CO 80524

In attempting to sell the property at 123 Main St we were made aware that a neighbor mentioned to another prospective buyer that they think this tri-plex may have been a Meth Lab. This information has not been confirmed, and we were also not able to confirm this information with the neighbor. The seller stated to us that they are unaware of any Meth activity on this property. This could be just a rumor or it could be fact. At this time, we have nothing to substantiate this or deny it, and no tests have been performed. However, since we were made aware of this information, even though not verified, we are now compelled to make this disclosure.

Buyer should assume the possibility that Meth may be present. If present, methamphetamine can have adverse consequences. We always advise in maters of this nature, to test before buying. It is up to the buyer to decide whether or not to proceed, and what tests or investigations to obtain in order to determine this. Buyer shall satisfy themselves as to the presence or absence of Meth. 

Should I just walk away or disregard the neighbors "rumors" and sign the disclosure?

Is there anything I can do to protect myself if meth residue is actually found?

Thanks

Hi Duane White , ICOR has a a monthly meetup here in FoCo at the Home Depot. Also Pine Financial (hard money lender) has a monthly meeting at the Boot Grill in Loveland. I haven't been able to attend the ICOR meeting but I've been to several of the Pine Financial meeting and really enjoy them. Great opportunity for networking with a cold beer or other adult beverage, real laid back.

Sounds like you got yourself a ghost ????

thanks everyone. 

@adam 

@Adam L. That's fantastic information. It's great to get advice directly from a mortgage loan officer. 

I'll definitely get the FHA loan under contract before leveraging myself further with the hard money loan.

Joe Villeneuve Maybe I've got this backwards but wouldn't it be better to go ahead and secure the FHA loan, then go ahead and do the cash deal with the hard money lenders? Or should it be the other way around?

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Elizabeth Colegrove yes the fix and flip would all cash; my capital plus the hard money lenders which lend 70% of ARV. The duplex would be a typical 30 year FHA loan. My plan as of right now would be buy the duplex first and move in. Then purchase the fix and flip with hard money. Does that sound feasible?

I am looking at possibly buying 2 properties at the same time. First, I'm going the FHA route and purchasing a duplex to live in and rent out the other side and putting it in my name. Second, my realtor just brought me a really good deal this morning for a fix and flip property. I have the capital to purchase it as well along with a hard money lender, but inside my LLC. I haven't approached my lender yet because I just looked at the rehab house this morning. Would there be any conflicts with purchasing both at the same time?

good luck!

Yes, the app is not working well at all for me with the new iOS.