All Forum Posts by: Bob Derwin

@Carmen Falcone there are 2 active groups that I belong to in Luzerne County.  The NEPA Real Estate Investors Network meets monthly at the Perkins restaurant in Pittston.  There is no charge for this group.  This group is more investor oriented.  We have folks that come from as far away as Williamsport and New Jersey, but a majority of the members are from the greater Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.  We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of every month.  Meetings run from 7 to 9 or so.  There is usually a guest speaker, or a member of the group will speak about a real estate investing topic.  After the speaker, we have networking time, to get to know what each other is doing, and discuss deals, etc.  The next investors network meeting is set for Wednesday August 14.

There is also the WVREIA (Wyoming Valley Real Estate Investors Association).  This group meets on the last Tuesday of most months (there are no meetings in July, August, or December).  This group was more landlord oriented, but we are in the process of recreating ourselves to become more balanced between landlording and real estate investing in general.  There is a nominal yearly fee for this group (I believe it's 55 dollars), which is used to cover soft drinks, a sandwich tray, and renting of meeting space.  This group meets in the Dolphin Plaza on Rt 315 in Wilkes Barre (between the casino and the Woodlands).  Again, this group tries to have guest speakers.  In the past we have had an insurance agent, a magistrate, insurance adjuster, flooring store owner, and many others guest speakers.  The next WVREIA meeting is set for Tuesday September 24, meeting starts at 7.

Dan,

Also, there is a REI Group (NEPA Real Estate Investors Network) meeting tonight at Perkins in Pittston. We meet monthly on the second Wednesday of the month. There is no fee for this group, but since the restaurant provides us space at no charge, everyone tries to have a bite to eat. There are usually 15-20 local investors at these meetings, and you can probably get better answers to any questions you may have. The meeting starts at 7, and usually lasts until 9 or so.

If you are going to attempt to use some sort of traditional bank financing, an LLC will be a hindrance. If you have cash, or plan on going with commercial, private, or hard financing, an LLC is the way to go (especially if you have personal assets that want/need to protect). I'm from Luzerne County, so I really cannot recommend an attorney for you, but I would think any attorney that lists real estate as part of their practice, could/should be able to file the necessary paperwork to get your LLC listed and legal.

Sounds like you are needing to do a wrap around mortgage.  Your mortgage to the current owner would "wrap around" his current 325K mortgage, which would stay in place.   You would take title to the property at closing, the current owner would have a 2nd position lien on the property, with the current 1st position lien remaining in place.   You need to be aware, that there is a "chance" that the current holder of the mortgage could call the note when you transfer the property into your name.  There are other options, such as a lease option, where the property remains in the current owner's name, but I would be hesitant to improve a property, if title were not in my name.

I prefer natural gas over any other type of heat.   Is it a baseboard hot water system with a boiler for a forced hot air unit.  I've got a boiler in one of my rentals that is going on 50 years old.  Still works like a champ.  My current home uses gas forced hot air, that unit is 15 years old and still works fine.  I did need to replace a control board in that a unit a few years, it cost me about 400 for the board and labor.

Look into purchasing a professional grade ozone generator.   I purchased one (approx $300) and have used it along with Kilz to successfully remove cat urine, kerosene, and strong mold/mildew smells.    I would start by washing the walls, then run the ozone generator, and finally seal them with Kilz or a similar product.  It is important to run the generator BEFORE sealing/encapsulating the ordor, but AFTER you clean/remove what you can without tearing into walls/subfloors.

Good property managers in Luzerne County are few are far between.  I've yet to interview one that I would/could use and/or recommend.  Good Luck!

Hello Ron, and welcome.   There is an investor group that meets monthly at the Perkins in Pittston.  Meetings start at 7:30.  They are the second Wednesday of the month.  There is one this week.

https://www.meetup.com/IN-NEPA-Investors-in-Northeastern-PA-Real-Estate-Meetup/events/250971584/

We've been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan for over 16 years ...

@Dave Lin what town do you need the work done in.  My GC might be able to do it, or I can get you the number of a plumber who may be able to help.