All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

 Much appreciated Chad - thanks!

anyone at all from the Alamo city that can chime in?

Does anyone have a recommendation for taking down a rather dilapidated 2-story SFH in San Antonio? I'm exploring other options as well, but scrapping it is definitely a possibility, so I'd like to get a couple of estimates.

Please post here or ping me, if you can recommend someone

Thanks much!

when you say "needs to be hooked up to utilities", do you mean that everything is in place and just needs to be connected, or that it basically sits on an undevelopped lot and you need to bring in all of the utilities first?

 The date of the post is in the top right corner of the message box.  For your own posts, there will be the word "edit" or "update" to the left of the date.

You can edit for about an hour or two after your original post.  After that "edit" turns into "update".  If you click that, you will be able to amend (i.e. update) your original post.  However, the original post cannot be changed.  That's only possible during the "edit" phase right after the original post.  For a example of what an "updated" post looks like, see my post in this thread.

Hope this helps

In my experience, MLS listed properties significantly under 100K in Raleigh are either a.) in very dicey parts of town, or b.) require MASSIVE remodeling investment. Now, if you go off-MLS it's possible that you find better deals, but it's NOT easy.

Again, talk to a bank or broker (call Amy Bonis at 919-414-4430) - the pre-approval is not property specific and is free, so just go and ask.  You need a strong and detailed financial plan.  Even if you do a lot of work yourself, you still need the cash to pay for the supplies , permits, holding costs, etc.  Also, if buy investment property (as opposed to a duplex or quad that you owner-occupy), then you'll need at least 20% down.  The low/no down mortgages are for owner-occupied properties.

 Yes, those are significantly lower priced and may have better cash flow numbers.

 Welcome to the site, Colton.  I don't want to be the "wet blanket" here, but you should talk to a mortgage broker or a bank as soon as possible and get pre-approved for a loan.  You may have other income sources or access to people who can co-sign a loan etc., but based on the numbers you provided, I predict you will have a VERY hard time qualifying for a big enough mortgage for a solid property in a solid neighborhood, let alone two.  The Raleigh market is not cheap - unless you are willing to go into seriously sketchy parts of town (definitely not recommended, especially not for a newbe).

Once you have an idea as to how much you can borrow "the traditional way", you can decide to move forward or whether to explore other options (@Brandon Turner 

 wrote the book on those).

 Probably depends on location, but I have had no problem getting commercial umbrella coverage from my local State Farm agency.

 I was with you most of the way, Chris, but I disagree on the last point.  If you want her gone, give proper notice (sounds like she is m2m) and be done with it.  Don't play games with squeezing rent until she goes broke.