All Forum Posts by: Dan LaFontaine

Looking at a luxury flip in East Hampton NY.

If anyone has any names of HML's in that market or positive experiences to share, that would be much appreciated.

Shelves in place of uppers can work well.  Aside from being stylish and allowing the residents to personalize the space moreso than cabinets, they also have the option of adding uppers later on if storage needs change.  And it saves time and money initially during a rehab.  Hard to go wrong there as long as there is decent storage in the lowers.

Anyone been to REIA meetings in Suffolk County? Are there people who operate in the South Fork/Hamptons (NY) at those? Thanks.

I've seen similar situations where the lots had been merged (which many towns like to do) and therefore it appeared that only the main (house) lot was last sold, but in fact that sale effectively included the extra lot, which was not properly recorded/updated.  You never know.  In any case, sounds like it's absolutely worth your time to figure out all the details.  Could be a real opportunity, even if there is nothing more you can do than the driveway for now, you or a new buyer could maybe do more in the future should zoning rules change or more flexible administrations run the town/county.  May even be worth throwing a few dollars to an appraiser and title agency who can help you figure out value and specifics around the ownership, easements, etc.  

Should you proceed... Unless you don't mind giving up your summer enjoyment of the house, or prefer to wait until the fall, you'll want to identify a contractor as soon as possible.  In that area they are about to get very busy on projects that owners want completed before "the season".  Once you get closer to spring they will have much less availability and likely charge you more.