All Forum Posts by: Bethany T.

Tim,

Couple of questions (from a fellow Chattanoogan): If you're planning on moving in closer to the 'city,' is it because you want to be closer to the investment properties or are you moving for a job? A HELOC is a great source of income to pull multiple times and would be better than selling your home and only having that money to use once-especially since you would need access to the MLS or to a wholesaler to find a home with that kind of equity in Chatty. Also, we have been working with a real estate investor as we move into this market so we know a lot about each of the neighborhoods. Is there any particular area you are interested in?

@KevinPolite VW is near Ooltewah/Collegedale. It has positively effected the area out that way. Downtown is a different beast. Lots of great revitalization happening in St. Elmo (beware the "historical committee" as they need to approve your changes) and Southside (I have many friends who love Southside, and many more who keep their hand on their concealed carry when going through). Northshore is a little beyond the revitalization point and really pricing people out of the area. Rentals go quickly and for a premium. Great for buy and hold investors...if you can get a property that makes financial sense before everyone tries to snatch it up.

Bethany

I know that 3/2's are what most renters and lease-purchasers are looking for but our market has a lot of very affordable 2/1's. I have seen some homes that have literally added a "box" on the back that contains a new "master suite" effectively converting the home into a 3/2. Has anyone come across an effective/cost efficient way of doing this? In the area of town we focus on, 3/2's go for 30-50K more than a 2/1 (3/1's only 10-25K more than a 2/1 or 2/2).

Thank you @Steve Babiak and @Mike Hoefling for your quick responses. I wonder if "old" un-finishable basements are more of a hindrance than an asset. Do you all prefer rentals with or without basements?

The 10K quote was for a french drain/new sump/drylock of the walls. The basement is approximately 1000 square feet. I would like to just try funneling more of the water away first before we go nuts on keeping the water out. We were thinking about starting with extending the drain pipes further from the house and installing a new sump ($231 for a good quality new pump on Amazon) to see how much that eliminated the water. I guess I just felt like water in an old basement when it rains heavily obviously doesn't negatively effect the structure of the home since it has likely been wet since 1938 ...and if it is not a living space, why does it matter to a renter? Old house = risk. Lesson learned =)

We have had quite a few great showings that seemed promising. Everyone wants the "charm" of the older home (1938) but no one wants the plaster, wet basement, and small kitchen. People keep asking me where the master is...and I get so confused because the house was built in 1938. Did any older homes have that? So really...they want a new home with hardwood floors that look old in an established neighborhood =)

We are thinking about knocking down a wall and turning the home into a 3/3 instead of a 4/2. Well...we were thinking about it until the basement became such an issue =). It has been leased for 3 years, we paid less than what it was worth and it has appreciated well so it's not a total loss. Thank you all again!!

BT

Mike,

I saw that you hadn't had a response regarding the water in your basement a year ago. Did you end up closing on the home and performing any remediation on the issue? My husband and I have the same issue in a rental we own, but do not want to spend the 10k we were quoted to make the basement "dry" since it will never be a finished basement (6 foot ceilings). What did you end up doing?

Bethany