All Forum Posts by: Bruce C.

I have 2 here in Galveston. I’m afraid of heights, so it makes the roof work I likely wasn’t going to do myself a definite no, but otherwise I love them. No surprises in the subfloor when you buy. Easy to reinforce or replace the floor joists or girders without ripping up the floor. Makes it really easy to repair or run new plumbing or electrical. Also a great area to turn in to a shop while you are doing repairs if it is elevated enough 

Another question @Karen Rivera, about how long does it take to get a short sell approved?  If I find someone at the begging of the month that is auctioning the next month, is that enough time for you?

 One was in good shape, the other took a lot of work, at least by my standards. 

Hard money lender, rehab, ReFi. The 2 I've done so far, no money down on the first one, about 5-10% on the second because the ARV came in a little low.

Anyone cold calling you with offers isn’t even offering you what it is worth now. Those are people looking for extremely discounted deals. You negotiated them up some, but I bet you could still get 20-30% more as is just having it listed. 

Had an issue where our rehab came in WAY low. In our case they forgot to account for ~1500 sqft shop with full bath attached to the garage (they also messed up some other minor things).  The broker submitted a dispute and the appraiser added some flat amount. It should have been higher, but it was enough to get a ReFi. Just have some data/info in hand when you send in the dispute. 

Signing in for my update. Unfortunately not a lot of movement. I’ve put it n a few offers here and there, but not closed on anything.  Been to most of the Galveston county auctions and bid on a few things, but not won. 

We did get under contract for a house in Baytown. Was listed as a SF, but it is zoned MF. 3/2 1400 sqft main house, 2/1 600 ft apt over the detached garage that had a 3 year tenant at $650/month. Viewed the house, and it was old and needed some updating, but could be made to a nice rental for that area for $20k and some sweat. We went back and forth with the seller agent on price and seller financing, agreed to something, and then found out he hadn’t actually talked to the seller. So we started over and ended up with what I thought was a good price and short term financing via Zeus. Went under contract and went to do inspection as well as get our first look at the apartment which it had been implied it was in serviceable shape. Well, it was not.  No one should have been living there. Electrical was the worst of it (burn marks in the panel where it had been and still was arcing, bad splicing using cheap extension cords to power fans).  On top of that the sub floor was rotted due to poor toilet installation, plumbing was pvc duct taped to cast iron that was falling apart, floors and walls needed to be replaced, rotting framing on the garage ground level due to siding issues, and a crack running all the way across the garage floor that was 4” wide at some points.   No go. I wanted something to do with the extra work from home time, but not that much.  The apartment wasn’t safe to live in, and I’m not sure we’d even be able evict the tenant to repair if they didn’t go willingly. We told them we were canceling if they didn’t drop the price $35k. They canceled, and the house has gone off and on contract a few times since. 

The 2 "STR" houses are doing OK with moderate term renters. The nurses just left the smaller 2 bdrm so we are back to traditional weekend stuff. I did spend a weekend painting and getting it ready for what I hope are good spring break numbers. I also had time to install flood vents in the storage area and scheduled an elevation. Based on the other house, I think my flood insurance should drop from $2800 to about $500.

Definitely feel like I’m behind on my goals at this point and it has depressed me a bit. But as far as problems go, relatively minor compared to everything else going on. 

Prices are just a little too ridiculous right now. I’ll keep heading to the auctions, but with the eviction stays there are just handful of houses and a **** ton of bidders. I’ve also started digging in to struck off properties that have been sitting for a while. Those are mostly vacant land, but maybe I can get a hold of something to sell and raise more capital, or at leas keep my busy. 

@Karen Rivera what is the process for getting a house approved for a short sale?

They owe you nothing. You might want to do a little more reading. Or I can give you a link to my house’s taxes due for Harris county if you want to get your CC out.