All Forum Posts by: Curt Bixel

Bjorn, the area I am considering buying in is a poorer section of Columbus, Ohio, and from what I can tell, it looks like there is likely more unpermitted work being done in the area than permitted.  When I drive up and down the streets of the neighborhood, I see an unbelievable amount of rehab going on, and very few of the properties have the permit sign the city provides that is supposed to be visibly posted on the front of the house.  Also, when I go online and look at the auditor's website, more often than not, I pull up the permitting records, and there are none, despite the fact that there are new windows, roofs, porches, and siding.  Even when I check back on some of these homes a year later, there is still no permitting showing, so I don't think it is just a matter of the permits not being entered into the system yet.  

I am considering adding some properties to my rental portfolio.  From time to time, I run across a property for sale with significant recent unpermitted work.  I am curious about other's thoughts on this.  I do like the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that the work has gone through the official permitting process, as this significantly improves the odds that is was done correctly and will not be a problem later.

I am wondering if it is a good idea or a bad idea to purchase a property with significant recent unpermitted work if I can get it for enough of a discount to have all the work inspected, fixed if necessary, and perhaps retroactively permitted.  I recognize that there are difficulties inspecting things that are behind drywall and the like.  With plumbing, I am of the thought that I can get a pretty good feel for the quality of the work by looking at what I can see, and then fix anything that shows up later.  

With electrical, I would suspect that the safest way to go would be to pull permits and do a whole house rewire, even if the wiring looks new.  I suspect it might be allowed for me to reuse most of the boxes, outlets, switches, and lights, but would likely have to replace all the wire that was pulled behind walls as well as the main panel.  

I am interested in feedback concerning legal aspects, insurance aspects, financial aspects, and anything else one might happen to have, and any idea for how to use the unpermitted work as a negotiating point on price.  

I think the term landlord may have bad connotations, but I think it has a solid place in legal language.  Lessor and Lessee probably have the same solid place.  I would not want to trade a word with a better connotation than landlord if it has the possibility of worse usefulness in court due to ambiguity.  

This would be for a rental property that is a duplex.

Is it possible for me to serve as my own GC and pull permits for a smaller scale rehab in Columbus, Ohio?

I am building an area for a first floor washer and dryer in a duplex I am rehabbing.  I could go without a partition wall in one place, but I would like to have one simply to make the washer and dryer a bit less visible.  I know the standard wall is about 4.5 inches thick, and for various reasons, it would be better to have one that is as thin as possible.  

This wall will not be structural in any way, and will have absolutely no utilities.  It will be 8 feet tall, and 42 inches wide.  

I am curious if I can simply use a piece of good quality sanded plywood, an inch thick for this wall?  I would cap the end with a 2 x 3 piece of hardwood with rounded corners so that it wouldn't hurt if you bumped into it.  (Bumping into the corner of a piece of solid plywood can be unpleasant.  

Brandon, thanks for the reply.  It was my understanding that some new rules have been put in place in Columbus.  

My understanding was that, as soon as I had my next vacancy, and put an add on Zillow, someone with Section 8 would apply for my apartment, and, as soon as that happened, I would be required to go through the whole Section 8 process with inspections etc.  

I have considered Section 8 before, but had planned to do it on my own timeline.  

Thanks Stephen.  I am trying to figure out the rules.  After a few experiences like what you cite above, I have settled on asking for first month's rent, last month's, and security deposit at signing with no exceptions.  This has worked well for the past few years, as it very much increases the likelihood that my new tenants will not be living on the edge of the financial abyss.  Thus, they can absorb an unexpected car repair without missing the rent.

I am not sure if the new policies would still allow me to do this, as there seemed to be one part of the law that would mandate that landlords accept the security deposit in little bits over 6 months of time.  

Even if the city would guarantee the full security deposit, that would still interfere with my attempt to make sure a tenant had at least the small amount of reserve to make sure that their unexpected problem did not become my unexpected problem.

I also wonder about the section 8 qualification process.  I have never been through that process, and, although my properties are all in exceptionally good shape, I am worried about the disruption to my business that might ensue if I am forced to go through this process.  

Last time I tried to do someone with money problems a favor, they left me with $5000 rent owed, and when I went into the property to get it ready for the next tenant, it had been destroyed, (not maliciously, but destroyed nevertheless) it cost me $22,000 to get the property ready for the next tenant.  

Lesson learned.

I am curious if anyone can point me to a good source of information about the new section 8 rules for Columbus Ohio.  I have a few rental units that will likely come available this summer, and I am not quite sure how best to proceed. 

I just read something about the section 8 requirements, and it seems like it would be pretty easy to pass.  For example, they want to make sure your windows have actual panes of glass in them and that they have locks.  It also shows that the toilet should flush.  Those seem like pretty easy hurdles to clear.  

At the same time, I have heard a lot of bad things about section 8, and it seems like an extra complication to deal with.  

I want to make sure I have a good understanding before I venture into this area.  

I am looking at vinyl siding for a rehab I am doing in Columbus.  I have found a product called "5 inch lineal" that would seem to be a great option for trimming out the exterior of new windows.  I will post a picture of it below.  

I can get pretty much everything I need to side the house in less than a week.  The lineal, however, looks like it has a shipping date in late July.  

I wonder if anyone might have any ideas for how to get this quicker.  I only need about 80 feet of it.