All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

Contrary to what several of the previous posts say, the City cannot "just take it".  Yes, they can force the issue via eminent domain, but they will still have to compensate you.  It is highly likely that they will have SOME room for negotiation because they are interested in avoiding delays that are caused by the eminent domain process.  

What will be important for you to understand is the temporary easement.  Are there buildings, trees, landscaping that will be destroyed and cannot be restored to original condition by the City?  If so, they owe you additional compensation for that as well.

That said, unless there is something funky going on with the temporary easement, its probably not worth engaging a lawyer for just a very small amount - however, the way legal representation often works for eminent domain cases (at least in our neck of the woods), is that lawyers are willing to take the case for a "%-age of the increase".  So, in your example, they would represent you free of charge initially, and then collect, say 33% of anything you get awarded in excess of the original offer.  You'll minimally collect the original $750 plus 2/3 of any excess.  Worth exploring, again, especially if there are issues with the temporary easement

As @Theresa Harris pointed out, Tax assessments or Zillow estimates mean absolutely nothing when it comes to, say, determining equity for getting a HELOC. The only thing that will matter is the appraisal ordered by your bank. You can order your own appraisal (typically $300-500) to get a better idea, but even that is no guarantee that the bank appraisal will match (or even be close). Lots of wobble in those numbers.

Even if the lease somehow “automatically” terminates, chances are that your tenants are unaware of it (you say there is a language barrier - how likely do you think is it that they have read and understood their lease?).  While it may be inconvenient for you to actually talk to them about this, how is it fair to just wait it out and then throw them to the curb with no notice at all?

It’s your call to do with your property as you see fit (I.e. not renew), but please don’t mess with people’s lives, just because you are trying to avoid delivering the bad news.  

 Agreed!  And I would go even further: I don't view ANY of the items on the list as legitimate post-inspection negotiation items.  As others have pointed out, these are all things that were obvious before you extended the initial offer, so I think its cheesy to try to squeeze the seller by trying to take advantage of/abusing the inspection clause.

Well, 6-8 weeks is standard lead time for pretty much everyone (I had a tight timeline last Summer when I replaced all windows on my rental during a "8-day turnover").  I contacted many suppliers (limited success), and also ended up with Window World.  They were the only ones who would COMMIT to a 6 week lead time and a one week installation window.  They did end up delivering on time, although I had some issues with their subcontractor who actually installed the windows (they have their own crews also, but do sub when business is brisk - next time, I would probably ask for an internal crew, if at all possible).  Pricing and quality was fine (about the same as reported by @Tiffany Alexy )

 Remember too that the deadline for sending the 1099s and filing the associated 1096 with the IRS is January 31, so you only have a few more days.

On the upside, if any of your repients are incorporated (think Lowes, HD, etc), those are excempt (no need to send 1099).

Penalties for not filing or late filing can be quite significant.   Also note that you cannot simply download the 1096 - it has to be the IRS printed form, so if you don’t already have it ordered, your only way to make the deadline is to file electronically (for a fee)

They do make SOME noise, but of course, nowhere near what a widow unit does.  In your situation, a mini-split may be the perfect compromise.

I think you misunderstood me.  Your point is correct that Forbes is wrong in using the two averages to draw their conclusions.  I think pretty much everyone in this thread agrees with that.

I just meant to give a REAL number of a rent that you can reasonably expect for that $295K house as an illustration of what the market in Raleigh looks like.  Realistically, you will be fortunate to achieve the "0.75% rule" for any rental in a decent to good part of town.  Yes, there may be the occasional exception where you find a better deal, but that will be rare and competition will be fierce.  I wanted to offer this fact as a counterpoint to your claim implying that "1% rule properties" are abundant in Raleigh.  They are NOT (at least not in areas of town where most people prefer their rental properties).

Regarding, "sorry, but that's where the rentals are":  well, I guess that's where many of the AVAILABLE rentals are.  None of mine are there... 

 It's true that you can't really compare average price to average rent.  However, you are doing a similar apples to oranges comparison, but for a particular section of town.  Those familiar with the local market ( @Chris Martin, for example) know that, in reality, it is extremely difficult to find properties that hit the 1% rule in Raleigh - at least for properties outside of war zones.  Find one that gets 0.75% and you do well.  That $295K will probably rent for 2-2.1K.  

BTW, South-East Raleigh, the area you picked for your example is generally pretty rough and far from the "preferred part of town"

Just bumping to see if anybody in NC has a suggestion