All Forum Posts by: Cameron Price

looks like i may have missed out on this....

Realtor called and told me they have an offer on it.

I tried to get a contractor out to the house to give me an estimate, but he left me hanging yesterday, and I couldn't get the guy to answer his phone today. I'm not sure if I should be mad or thankul... theres smething special about this house, but it is a MAJOR project with a lot of unknowns. We'll see how it all shakes out.

talked with a possible investor tonight. Calling a local contractor tomorrow to see if i can get a quote on a turn key rennovation. 

Also talked with a local bank and learned that this project could be financed with a construction loan if the apraised value in current condition supports the asking price, and the ARV is high enough to support the total investment. I fell pretty confident of both.

I want to respond to all the questions, but its been a crazy day!

 @Account Closed  I walked all through the house. Besides one room upstairs that looked like you'd fall through if you stepped inside, it was really solid. That is where the one BAD leak is... but is that such a big deal? What are a couple new joists? I dont see why you couldn't replace the water damages ones. Its just wood :) flooring in that room is ruined. Not sure what woud have to happen there. 

I went under the house. It has a dug out cellar with an access door from inside. Everything underneath looked solid as well. I was impressed with the integrity of the home, even after sitting for so long. It must have been built RIGHT. 

@Scott Allen

Welcome to the site! I'm about an hour away from you in Hartsville, SC.

You are correct that it's a whole different world. I'm about as linear a thinker as they come. My education is in civil engineering, and that kind of methodical, calculated mindset is what makes sense to me. I unofficailly began my real estate investing career in 2009, but just recently made it my main focus. I'm still in the beginning stages. I've bought and sold 1 house, bought, renovated, and rented another that I still own. 

The past 2 years have been a gradual building of momentum, and this year, I made the decision that I want to be a full time real estate investor. 

The best way to learn this stuff for people like you and me is to just dive in and start swimming. A lot of it won't make sense, but as you run across new terms, look them up, then you'll at least know what they mean. Read all you can stand on this forum. It's the best source of information that I have found concerning real estate, bar none. I'd say read Rich Dad, Poor Dad if you haven"t as well. Listen to the Bigger Pockets Podcast. Usually, what I end up doing is becoming interested in a specific topic being discussed, say for instance Solo 401k retirement plans. THen I dive in and read and read and read until I have a good understanding of it. They are awesome by the way, and I'll hopefully have one set up by the end of the year. 

Let me know if I can help you. I love this stuff!

@Joy Hardin

Keep us informed. I'll be making a similar decision soon. I'm taking the license class coming up and will have to hang my license somewhere. It'll be intetesting to see what you decide.

Another big question. How do you attach sheetrock to plaster???

it has hardwood floors throughout, so no asbestos on the floors. plaster walls inside. I guess the insulation on the pipes would be the main thing.

@David O

That is pure gold man... I'm glad you posted that.

I think the best thing to do then is to check with whoever would be giving me a hard time about it anyway... probably the city inspector. It is a highly visible house directly across from a college, so I'm sure they'll be checking up on me if this happens.

@Colleen F.

You asked about it only having 4 bedrooms. I think that is only the rooms with closets. There were other rooms that I really don't know what they were. They could be turned into bedrooms with the additoin of a closet.

On a side note, I think there were 6 or more fire places in the house. It's crazy!

@David O

I hope it is am much a non issue as you make it sound! It is inside the city limits and a very well known house that would have a lot of eyes on it, so I'm concerned with what I legally have to do. If I can spray bleach on a moldy spot and be good to go, then awesome, but if it requires licensed contractors, so I don't end up in some mold lawsuit down the road, then I'm trying to figure that out on the front end. 

For what it's worth, I didn't actually see much mold... the actual leaks had mold/ mildew at the source, but that's really all I saw. I'd just hate to think it's a non issue, then find out that I need 10K worth of mold remediation done. 

I don't know what in the house contains asbestos... is there any way to tell other than hiring a company to test it?

Same with lead, I saw that they have testing kits at lowes, but is that sufficient? every surface in the house needs to be repainted. Do I buy a bunch of test kits and dab all over the house?

Thanks for the feedback. I really like the house and it seems it could be a great investment, but I want to reduce the amount of surprises.