All Forum Posts by: Ika Sargeant

@Alex S. Thanks for the insight about the hotel market. Will check it out.

@Jeffery Wilen I know this thread is a year old but I have been searching in the Chesapeake area for a year for short term rentals. I slowed down when the prices went to the sky but I am now earnestly searching again. I visited the property you mention there where a wedding was taking place; a marina with a docking spots for boaters and large facility for wedding. I guess my biggest hesitation is once summer is gone what is the draw there for people to visit? Just comparing different area. 

@Account Closed there are 5 or more parties who possibly received the inspection report; you and your agent, seller and seller agent and then the inspector. Not sure why you can not ask your current agent who the source of information is without feeling like its a confrontation. This is a fair question to ask and you had an expectation that the inspection report was yours. It is possible someone in this group might have felt the foundation should be disclosed to your new listing agent. The bigger issue is, was the foundation issue was taken care of? and if it was- give the prospective buyers something that proves repairs were done and put the whole thing to bed. 

@Christian Luong the biggest risk from my point of view is deciding not to go to the open market, because we do not not know what you would have been offered. But if you decide on this sale get a spreadsheet and price out the options and they decide on what is worth it for you. Hopefully you know what you are doing especially if you are paying for your buyer to be represented.

@Michael Metz I will be happy to provide you with a guide for first time home buyers. My office is near Dulles. Send me an email directly. 

@Robert Williams what you are experiencing is very normal especially when you start out. Many people experience this paralysis. You are over analyzing because you might think there is a perfect formula that will help get everything right. There is no such a thing. Trust that your analysis is giving you a good baseline of whatever property your are looking at. Work with other professionals who will assist in the decision making. More importantly take one project at a time. Go through that project and get experience. Next project it would get easier to make a decision.

@Jay Hinrichs I wish BiggerPockets could vet some of the people who are supposedly experts or at least there should be a warning label to say; we do not endorse the experts. New investors are easily deceived because they do not see red flags or know what questions to ask. Another big lesson is trying to do it yourself real estate deals as a new investor. Pay a lawyer, settlement agent or someone who will ask questions you will not know to ask. A feel for this investor, his money is likely gone. 

@Shourlay Sheik Welcome to Northern Virginia. The best way to go about this is to go to the county websites and look at the how the schools are doing on the standardized test that are given. For some people this is not necessarily a measure of a good school. You can also visit numerous website that rank schools such Greatschools.org. More importantly look at the school system offerings and see if what they offering meets the needs of your family. Some parents want lots of AP classes or special Ed programs or diversity in their school. So whatever is good in your view is the most important.  

@Kraig Krueger I bought a home three years ago that had original hvac, probably over 30 years old. I decided from the point of view of cost to ride it till it died and did last week. Just got replacement cost of 8K on the whole system. The three years allowed me to save for this large expenditure. 

@Greg Houts much appreciated.