All Forum Posts by: Justin B.

Thanks Joe, funny you mentioned Nationwide, they seemed like the only ones willing to touch it subject to an electrician inspecting it.

The missing bricks is in the back structure. The shoddy bricks is in the front. Now I just have to ask the seller to fix all the electric, I have a combo KT and Romex panel electric system that the insurance company has to inspect before they grant insurance ($83 mo). There was some double tapping and bushels missing so he's gonna have to replace that. It was only grounded to the water pipe, so that seems like a concern (anyone know how big or how much?). Plus we found a couple of bare KT wires in the basement, not good...

Finally the guy has to put gfci throughout the house, sounds pretty expensive! 

Thanks for the replies people!

 I attached a picture below, thanks again JD. Hopefully the last question, you said if the pillar below the porch is solid (under the brick), what if it isn't? Would that mean a mason has to dig it out and cement it in and then rebuild the brick column? What do you think that could cost? I'd give you plus 2's if I could!

 JD thanks for your very informative post, it's what I was looking for. Quick question, what if there's a second patio supported by the columns of the first patio, usually the second patio is anchored into the house right? If there was a porch failure at the bottom, couldn't it affect the house because its holding up the second patio?

We just had an inspection done on the duplex we put an offer on, unfortunately there are some major concerns that came up in the inspection report, and I was wondering if anyone could give me any idea on how major the issue is, and how much it might cost me (I live in Cleveland which is a cheaper realty area in the country). 

Perhaps one of the biggest issues we have is with the front porch and back porch. The front porch has very old and furry looking joists. The back patio has some bricks missing from the corner upholding the structure together. Also the front patio doesn't seem to be supported well. My opinion is that if either porch structure collapsed, it would wreck the house and hurt the foundation even more.

The second biggest issue we have is half the walls and ceilings show sign of sagging because the plaster has come undone, this seems to be a pretty expensive fix, considering it's in both kitchens, and most bedrooms in both units. What would you budget to correct this? The house has never been updated since the 70's.

The last issue we have is there seems to have been a leak in a finished room in a corner of the basement, next to a wall that seems to be a little out of plumb due to a small 11 inch diameter tree trunk growing on the side of the house. I would cut the tree down and that would be the end of it, but if the leak continues, we would possibly have to deal with the flooring which looks like Asbestos tiles, according to the inspector, which I know myself would be expensive to remediate. 

We paid 135k for this duplex, there are other issues, mostly which I am willing to fix or the city point inspection will require the seller to fix, so I already know going into this property we have to update some items. Comps in the area show duplexes like this going for 130k all the way up to 155k.

I am not sure how much to ask for in seller concessions to fix these major 3 problems that I don't want sneaking up on us as we fix the other stuff that came up in the inspection.

Any advice for the repairs, costs, what I should pay for the place etc.?

BiggerPockets has been the biggest resource on the web for real estate, I don't hesitate to always recommend the site to any investor or professional. I am hoping you guys will come through for me!

Best Regards,

Anyone have any good insurers to recommend for knob and tube with a combo Romex panel for each unit in a duplex? We've been getting some outlandish quotes, when I asked my inspector who has the same thing he recommended SF, but they recently put a policy in place that doesn't take it anymore. 

Also for the ones that are giving us quotes, they require an electrician to inspect it. What's the chances of the electrician inspecting it and not giving a green light?

Appreciate any replies!

If I got an FHA loan on my own house, and I marry this girl who has an FHA loan on her own house, what happens? Can we rent one of our units out? Appreciate any insight!

I saw this article, and thought it was worth posting here.

The number of people who believe now is a "good time to buy a home" has been stagnant for the last 6 months, but, according to University of Michigan's latest survey, there has not been more people who believe now is a "good time to sell" since March 2006... which marked the absolute peak in US home prices...

What happens next...When everyone knows it's a bubble?

Seems like a surge in "good time to sell a home" since The Fed 'unleashed' its rate rise environment... maybe time to back off that rhetoric before they implode another welath-destructing bubble.

We will be lowering the price to around $150,000. This is a major steal with the appraised value being $210,000+.

This property is no longer being offered and has been sold.