All Forum Posts by: David Sisson

You'll need to talk to the city to get an official zoning certificate. It should show the commercial zone. I'd do this research before buying it. Websites can be wrong. You may be able to find information through the cities gis website, or a city zoning map, however, you need the official zoning cert. 

I'd say - powerwash them before you paint them. Brick is intended to be a "finished" surface which requires minimal maintenance. Painted brick requires repainting, so you are creating a maintenance issue for yourself. I've never heard of staining brick. If you paint, be sure to prime with a good quality masonry primer. Brick walls are designed to breathe (research weep holes) and you don't want to block the weeps. Are you having water problems? 

People got overextended when they had adjustable-rate loans that came due, and they couldn't get tenants to pay enough - or pay anything - for the properties. They got overextended when they bought properties too high and had adjustable-rate loans and the value of the property went upside down. People got overextended when they took hard money loans, or other high interest rate / quick payback loans, and couldn't get the projects completed before the loans came due. People got overextended when they needed additional loans (say, to complete the construction) and couldn't get them. People got overextended when they had no equity in the property, and the value went upside down.  If you are purchasing at the right price, and have a solid fixed-rate loan for 15, 20, 30 years, and can cash flow with solid tenants, you'll be OK. There's nothing wrong with having loans. If you have any properties or loans you are worried about, tighten up the risk on them by selling or refinancing. Get 20% or more equity in the property. 

Look at how much you can cash flow per month, how much it will appreciate, and compare it to what you'll get if you flip it. Remember cap gains tax in your calculation. If you come out ahead by flipping, it might make sense to flip it. 

To find out who owns it (in my area) you will:

1) Google "city name" + "tax assessor database"

2) Go to the local tax assessor's database, and search for the property address

3) As a follow up, you can also google "county name" and "registry of deeds", and then search for the address for the deed and possibly the mortgage. 

If you can't find this online, you may need to go to the local town hall or county building and do some legwork there. You might not be able to get an address or phone number for the owner. You might try mailing a letter to the house, it might have forwarded to the owner. You'll need to do some sleuthing. 

In my area, it's easy to find the name of the owner, it's a lot harder to find their address, and almost impossible to find their phone number. Possibly, ask your real estate agent to help you. If all else fails, hire a PI. 

Sounds like you have your answer! I have a buddy (architect) who does this stuff in Seattle, let me know if you need a recommendation. 

Go to the city. Talk to building, zoning, planning, etc. Tell them you want to do the right thing, but can't tear them down. They probably know about the property. Once you've had the conversation w/the city, you'll know a lot more about how difficult they'll be. It might be that they'll require you to get a variance and get them inspected. They might want a lot more. I'm always very nice and polite to the town people, and they reward me in return. You don't always get the answer you want. 

I don't know, but following this thread. 

Myself, I'd prefer they just got out. I'm assuming the spouse that wants to stay in will be difficult to get rid of later. Or, you give them 2 or 3 options:

OPT 1: You get out, and we close, on Jan 1 (or 2 or 3, whatever works...)

OPT 2: You get out and we close on Dec 1(ish)

OPT 3: You get out and we close on Dec 15 (ish..)

etc. Give them the 3 options, let them decide. Maybe 2 options and tell them your patience is wearing thin, they need to sh*t or get off the pot. 

So, if you can get a flat for free in London, that only requires 10-20K, then DO IT!!

I don't know your skill or experience level with fixing things. I don't know what this property needs. 

I'd say, don't spend any $ to fix it until you own it. 

then, once you own it, 

1) Live in it. 

2) Hire someone to fix the stuff that's broken

3) Fix anything that you can fix yourself

4) house hack it if you can, otherwise you have a REALLY cheap place to live

If you don't have the $ to fix it yourself, you need to get some sort of loan to fix it. This should be easy once you OWN IT, because you can get a 10-20K loan against the equity of the apartment. Your monthly cost for the loan is VERY cheap, so don't worry about that. 

I don't live in London, but my BIL does. Units are SO expensive there, that 10-20 is a huge bargain to get one for essentially free. 

Because you are 18, if this sounds complicated, feel free to reach out. I'm a bunch older than you, but I wish I'd done this at your age.