All Forum Posts by: Dennis Tierney

I always thought they were supposed to be used for the medical practice. There is no reason you couldn't go to a local bank. As a doc. you're a good risk. If you are serious about real estate you'll want to develop relationships with local banks anyway. It'll be to you're benefit in the long run. I've done this 13.5 yrs. and a friendly banker is invaluable.

@Kenneth Morff I agree with others that you need to shop more banks. Since you want interest only it may make more sense to get a business plan set and take it to the banks to get a business line of credit which are more likely interest only.

@Roy Morris Thanks for your input. The city knew about the bad conditions at that complex for 10yr and did nothing. The nonprofits who placed the refugees at that pace knew the conditions and did it anyway. All of their hands are dirty but that doesn't stop them from pointing their fingers at all of the landlords. It was a carefully orchestrated stunt by the mayor (who was front and center for the TV crews) to give them political hay to grab headlines and power. Your stat helps, but, the impact on the landlord's employer when he/she is absent and nonproductive for the time spent at the inspections is unknown. It has to be some multiple of the hourly wage, otherwise they wouldn't have a job.

In the Nebraska legislature and the Omaha City Council there is movement afoot to impose a registration and inspection program for all rentals- Single and Multifamily. They would charge $50/ house and $20/unit per apartment/year. They figure this would pay for the increased number of code inspectors to set a regimen of inspections every 2-3 yrs. Of course none of them has figured the cost to the private sector to comply. In Lincoln they have a regimen for multifamily and they give the landlord a 4 hr. time window in which the inspector will show up. They give no value to the landlord's time who has to sit and wait for the inspector. If, as a good portion of landlords do, he/she has a "day job" and does the real estate as a side gig he/she has to take time off work for the inspection. Anybody know how to value that time or the lost productivity to the workplace for that lost time?  All of that has to be put into the equation for the true cost of added regulations on the rental industry. 

We already got the termite inspection. That's how we know of the 8 untreated buildings. The issue is how to determine how much structural damage they caused.

We have a 9 building property under contract and the termite inspection has found that one building has been treated in the past but the other 8 and the garages all have evidence of untreated termites. It appears the seller has chosen willful ignorance in treating one then failing to check the other 8. So how do you determine how much structural damage has occured while he looked the ohter way? I doubt he'll let us take the walls apart in each building to assess damage. All the buildings also have evidence of ground water problems that have been minimally addressed. I may just end up walking away. Any suggestions?

@Matt M. I agree the safety issue is paramount. My other concerns are my paranoia about a fire hazard that I know about and if I don't have it fixed how liable am I and also since I have had 4 fires in 13 yrs. in the business (all caused by careless tenants) the last thing I want to do is knowingly take on electrical fire risk.

@Russell Brazil They did quote $2K per panel for the swap out alone and there are 31 panels (including the laundry) and then $15K for the main panel plus some wiring as they need grounding as the current panels aren't grounded.

Brian: They are Stab-Lok and the electrician wouldn't certify them. He actually won't do the work as it is too big a job for him. He does single family work primarily. These were not disclosed by the seller or his agents. There are windows that need glass replacement due to blown thermal panes and some A/cs that were hail damaged but otherwise a good building. Guess it's negoitation time. Thanks for your help.

We are in the process of doing due diligence on a 30 unit bulding we have under conract and have run into Federal Pacific electrical panels in each of the apartments and also the main panel. The inspector and electrician agree they should be replaced as they are deemed an electrical hazard due to a higher rate of failure to properly trip and subsquently overload the circuit causing an electrical fire. I have been told that to replace the main panel the electricity to the building would have to be off for 2 days! They estimate the total cost of replacement of the main and each panel in the apartments would be $90K. Do I walk away or try to get a price reduction from the seller? We are still in the due diligence phase and can get our deposit back. Thanks.