All Forum Posts by: Jason K.

I'm in a debate regarding kitchen cabinets:

From your experience, which of these impresses more buyers than not? White painted cabinets, light stained finish, dark stained finish, or stained vs. paint, generally speaking. (using Granite countertops)

Any feedback is much appreciated!

thanks for the quick replies!

I'm about to make an offer for my first rehab and am worried I should check title before I submit offer.

If there are issues on title after my offer is accepted, what is the general process like? Can I get out if there is a substantial issue?

Should I add a note in special provision regarding Title? If so, what would it look like?

But I know one thing! It withstood Hurricane Ike! irony...

Yeah but that is not the case here, Jon. It was built in '98 and had to comply with the code then. Whether it was built improperly or records were lost, I have no idea.

And apparently you can't even get an inspector or engineer out to an "existing" home to inspect it. I couldn't even get a quote as to how much it would cost, they had no idea. I tried 5 different companies and they all said the same thing.

I'm staying away. I don't even own the property and I definitely can't have someone ripping the house apart during my option period.. Ha! I think it's headed for auction, and I'm not the only person who's tried to buy this home with financing. Someone will pay cash and address the problem then, or be forced to find another cash buyer down the road...

I'm going to try one last time with the city to see if they can dig up any old files or else I'm out.

I contacted the state dept of insurance, and after a few more phone calls found out it's nearly impossible to inspect an existing home.

Yes, it is an insurance policy that covers wind damage.

The property must have the proper strapping or "ties" or it won't be insured or funded. It was either constructed without the proper strapping or "ties," or the paperwork proving it was built to code can't be found.

I need to get someone out there to inspect and either acknowledge that Yes, it is strapped properly and stamp their approval, or tell me what it will cost to install the proper strapping, if it is even possible. I can't contact the builder because they went out of business, so I'm going to try to get the city to direct me.

Hope this clears up any confusion.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your input, I'll definitely have to check with the local permits dept.

Anyone else have any wisdom or solutions to what I can do? Also, the builder who built the home went bankrupt in 08 so there is no way of contacting the builder in this scenario.....

BP,

I've got an issue on a property I want to buy -- The windstorm policy on the house cannot be found (or was just not built properly, not sure which.) Either way it's nowhere to be found. For argument sake, let's assume the house was not built with the proper building/windstorm strapping requirements...

Question:

1. Can a house be strapped for hurricane protection after its already been built without removing the roof?

2. (Let's assume the house IS windstorm certified but the windstorm policy/certification just cannot be located: Would it just take an engineer to come out and inspect/give his stamp of approval saying that "Yes, it is built up to windstorm requirements?"

Thanks in advance BP

I've used white pages to try to locate the phone numbers for some home owners searching their name and/or address. I find that white pages is only effective about 33% of the time being able to locate a working phone number for the person I'm searching. I do not want to do direct mail at this time.

I'd be willing to pay for a service, if my odds of obtaining a phone number is higher than 1 out of 3. I just don't want to pay for a site that uses the same info as the free white pages.

Thanks for any help in advance!