All Forum Posts by: Bryan Devitt
Bryan Devitt has started 4 posts and replied 789 times.
Post: Is damage to mini blinds considered normal wear and tear?
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Get new blinds that don't have the string and rod. Home Depot normally has them and will cut them to length for you. They're fabric and spring loaded, so you just pull or push them up and down. There is no way for them to break unless the internals break. Then it is no question if it is wear and tear or the tenant. If they're dirty or mangled the tenant pays and if they don't move anymore then you do
Post: Quickbooks Payroll, is it worth it?
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
I haven't used their payroll service but just an FYI Paychex is horrible. They nickel and dime you on fees and it takes many months for them to cancel after you send them forms a handful of times over and over because they "never received them" even with delivery confirmation. Have you tried local payroll companies to compare? Do you run quickbooks yourself? Our book keeper said their payroll was fairly easy to setup if we went back to having employees so the ease might be worth using it
Post: Listing a Wholesale Deal in the MLS
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Did you post the deal on here? Usually when you're not getting interest it's because it isn't a good deal
Post: Can a buy and hold condo be worthwhile to a new investor
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Yes, anything can be a good investment if the numbers work. The hard part is knowing what numbers matter and what they should be. There are plenty of threads on here that go into those details already though
Post: Please help me analyze my potential first deal?
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
How much work are you doing for $15k? Do you have bids for the work or is that a guess? Even with what seem like optimistic numbers, it isn't an investment unless you're doing it for the appreciation which is risky with a condo because prices fluctuate much more than SFHs. How is the HOA? Are their books solid? How is their savings? Is there any major deferred maintenance that they're going to nail you for an assessment? Looks like your best case scenario is that you will break even when you rent it and chances are if you only use inflation for rent adjustments the HOA fees will eat that as you go, so it will never turn a profit and the only way you make money is if there is appreciation. By the time that makes you any money you're sitting there with an old condo building that people won't want to live in. Are there any duplexes, triplexes or quads in the area that you can afford once you count the rental income? If not, find a property through a wholesaler that is in much worse shape and needs more work so you get a bigger discount or find one at an auction
Post: Bought house at sheriff auction, someone else bought it day befor
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
So when trustee gets the funds in.. they go through the lenders title guarantee to see who is owned money . the bank a second a lien etc. the money left over is send to the owner of record.. if they cant find the owner of record which happens of course.. then the funds are sent to court in Washington.. and in Oregon I believe they go to some department at the state that handles surplus monies. but reality is if your working this strategy you will call the trustee who handled the sale or Sherriff and give you new address and contract info.
Thank you for the explanation Jay, that is fascinating, I never knew such a thing existed
Post: Bought house at sheriff auction, someone else bought it day befor
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:
Originally posted by @Andy Mirza:
Originally posted by @Jenifer Levini:
@Davido Davido your doubts in lawyers may be well founded. However your justification because they dont all agree is not. It's definitely true that lawyers dont agree. That is the entire reason that there are multiple justices on appeals courts and the Supreme Court. The disagreement among lawyers, the ability to peer into the cracks to find the details and different solutions to a problem is what makes hiring a professional worth it. The law is not stagnant. It is not a set of codes. It is a series of precedents that change each time new decisions are made in court. That's exactly why laymen dont understand the law. Because they think it is a static series of rules to which there is only one right interpretation. Just like there may be many routes to get to your destination, there could be many legal processes to get to your desired results. People who fail out of law school frequently do it exactly with your thinking - that there is one right answer.
"That's exactly why laymen dont understand the law." Ouch.
At the end of the day, the client is the one paying the attorney for his or her counsel. The client is the one who is making the ultimate decision and has to deal with the consequences, not the attorney who advises him. Maybe @davido davido was referring to the quality of the advice or counsel differing from one attorney to the next. That's been my experience. Just because someone has "esq" at the end of the their name, doesn't mean he or she will provide good counsel or work ethic.
One play that no one has mentioned is that someone may have jumped into claim overages.. if the bid from the buyer results in overage the owner of record ( new deed day before the sale) can claim them.. this happens a lot on the west coast I have personally done it.. its not a well known strategy but a strategy none the less.. you pay the owner 200 bucks for the deed and hope like hell that there is spirited bidding LOL and you have checked title no junior positions .. overages are the title owners.
So you're buying the amount (by purchasing the deed) the bidding goes over what is owed on the property?
Post: Sick tenant with no rent payment
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
I am sure the OP will give you the tenant's info if you want to donate $2k a month to her like you expect the OP to do. It doesn't matter if you can afford it or not because I am sure the OP should go into foreclosure and lose the building that they spent tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on in order to donate to someone that happens to live in their building
Post: Landlord is selling home via OpenDoor, asking me to vacate ASAP
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Your landlord is being a selfish *******. Tell them you will try to find a place and move ASAP but you doubt you can get it done in 3 weeks. That is an insane timeline. How many are you paying in rent per month? Them even asking for prorated rent for the last 3 weeks when they want you out now is ballsy IMO. And how nice that they'll rush you back your security deposit if you followed the lease that they want to wipe with right now. How nice of them to give you back your own money a coupe weeks quicker than they're legally required. If you can't afford to move right now than tell them that and maybe they'll bump that weak $500 cash for keys offer. I am annoyed just thinking about this because it is so insulting to even ask this of you.
Post: Evicting bats costs $3,000?!?!?!?!
- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
If bats come in through a fire place then it is the cap, if they come in from the outside of the chimney then it is gaps in the flashing. I can't count how many times I have stripped a roof and as I am pulling back the flashing there is a bat or three between the flashing and chimney. As you found out, $3k is insane. They probably figured if you were willing to spend $250 just for them to look then $3k might be in the ballpark and if they don't get it, then they don't have to go into your attic and they'll keep raking people over the coals for setting some traps inside houses