All Forum Posts by: Chris Pasternak

@Steve Babiak - good question.. It definitely has an addition feel to it, though I'm not sure if it was unpermitted...how could I find out? Use that to my advantage when negotiating? Or is this something you don't want to mess with? Also, not sure what A) you mean by setbacks in this zoning area, or B) if there were any.

@Alexander Lommel - Good to know with the mini-ex flexibility. Also, based off of what everyone is saying here, I'm no longer going to attempt this tear down, myself - I rather favor my life more. Thanks for the bottom line!

Mark - thank you for the added info. If I do it, I'll make sure it's done right.

Andy - thanks for the great info. Your points combined with other discussions make me think the wall was the best they could do because the property line is not far from where that wall is. There is another house on top of the hill there behind that wall and its property comes down very close to where that wall is currently.

Haha thanks Chris - you sound like you have experience with this. I'll give an excavator a call tomorrow to discuss. Thanks!

Went by today to get another shot of it

Mike - thanks for the reply. On the other side is a sloping hill filled with dirt. Don't believe any equipment will make it to this area of the house.

Is this a DIY project? At least the tear down part? I was thinking of letting the earth flow right into the back yard area and fill it in up to the house and create a back porch patio area.

Hi BP,

I'm interested in a SFR for myself and have noted the largest problem is the retaining wall pushing into the back of the house as seen below:

My question is has anyone dealt with this before? I sent this picture to a contractor but figured there are plenty of people on here who have experience with this as well, or have contracting experience. Backhoe would be tricky to impossible to get in this area I'd imagine due to slope of hill and tightness of alley between houses. But that's why I'm inquiring. The wall has not caused any visible damage to the inside of the house. Washer/dryer/HWT located directly inside that area.

Other than the wall, there are a couple pieces of missing gutter and fascia. The house is older (1900) but looks ok on the inside (previous rehab done), with some cosmetic repairs required.

I'd love to do VA financing on this one but that doesn't look like it will fly. Probably looking at conventional.

As a former vet tenant, if she provides orders stating she is leaving for duty, you're stuck. Request to see her orders.

I just structured a lease/option deal as the buyer and proposed it to the seller and he agreed. The key is finding a motivated seller, if you're after a deal. There are ways to pay to find these people, or you can do the leg work yourself, or you can get lucky like I did and show up to a viewing and talk to the seller directly who just so happens to be motivated. This particular seller had his house on the market at 79.9k, and we ended up agreeing to a sae price of 45.5k.

I don't know what your time constraints are as far as time frame to buy but I would get plugged in to your local investing community, network with them, tell them your situation, be patient, and you will find what you are looking for.

I also advise telling everyone you know and see that you're in the market for a house. Never know who knows who.

Congratulations on turning the corner in your financial future. As for this deal...

I see a lot wrong with this.

First: I would never buy something banking on appreciation, let alone hanging on the sellers word that the property will appreciate so and so amount in such and such time. Blasphemy!!!!!

Second: The seller does not know (I hope) that you have a bankruptcy and credit challenges in your history, so if I was you I would not understand why I would need to pay full retail for a property. In fact, I would be severely confused.

Third: The seller is not willing to negotiate. The seller is not WHAT?! I need not go further on this one.

I would not advise you to work with this seller if he owned your DREAM HOME.

Sean, to answer your question directly, it is NEVER safe to assume ANY appreciation will occur in ANY amount of time.