All Forum Posts by: Wayne Kerr

I think the better question is: How much "value" is removing that wall going to add? I'm guessing little to none, certainly not as much as it would cost to remove. Where you going to put the refrigerator and cabinets? There's electrical for the fridge, for the outlets. The more I look at it, the less it makes sense to remove that wall. 

Value add would be adding bedrooms, closets, bathrooms, finishes etc. NOT removing a random wall to change the layout. I don't see this as an improvement. 

Not only that, the house looks to be already remodeled and clean. It's ready to go. 

My take: Leave the wall 

If this was a primary home that you were staying in, then I'd say for for it, because YOU personally want the garage. 

As far as doing the renovation/addition for a rental - I don't believe you'd see what you put into it. Maybe 50%, at best. It's a big project - more than your typical DIY. You have walls, insulation, electrical, garage door, lighting, siding, moisture barriers etc. If you just DIY it, then it won't be permitted - this will likely come to light when you sell. If you DIY and pull permits then you're looking at knowing the regulations, code etc. If you DIY and an inspector happens to drive by or a neighbor reports you, you'll get shut down. If you get a contractor, you're looking at a higher cost. If you do it to your primary, you likely won't have to worry about it (here we can do most work unpermitted on a personal home). 

The pictures that you show are also all single garages - close it in, and I doubt you can fit anything more than a golf cart in there. Might actually turn into a deterrent. I'd rather have a carport I can park my car in, than a garage that I can't get out of my car in. 

Also it looks like most of the market in that price range has carports. 

Long answer: leave it as a carport 

Short answer: leave it as a carport 

Was that the previous owners primary residence? Here in LA you get a home owners deduction (I'm sure this is common all over the US) where they take the assessed value minus 75k - that's what you would pay taxes on. Not the full amount of the house 

You should be able to see this on the tax assessors website. This will allow you to accurately estimate numbers going forward 

As far as calculating your selling proceeds/losses - just add up/subtract everything. I would recommend making your own calculator (if you can't do this you probably shouldn't be investing) 

What problem can you solve for the seller? What are they trying to achieve?

Try to structure the deal that way - maybe you can pay more if they do seller finance and give you good terms? Maybe you can pay less if they're looking for a quick cash sale?

Check the restrictions with the HOA since it's a condo. Special assessment? HOA fees? What would the property rent for? Get in touch with a property manager and ask them about the location

I personally don't think the juice is worth the squeeze on this one 

Too many unknowns, problems, time, effort etc for the result 

I'm not buying a house over a sinkhole regardless of how it's been fixed...my wife would go for it even less than me, if you can imagine

Personally - I'd make an offer contingent on an inspection of that unit. Give yourself plenty of time to do an inspection - I'd do 14 days minimum since you've had to put up with this. That way you can get it under contract and take your time 

We often have small MFH around here that allow inspections contingent on accepted offers. So your offer has to be accepted before you can view the property. 

Just adjust your offer accordingly, based on the inspection, and leave yourself plenty of time and "loop holes" to get out of the contract 

I have cameras on one of my properties - lots of foot traffic in the area from both crackheads and college students. I actually put them up to monitor the driveway - I kept having someone park in my driveway when I wasn't there - a "tow zone" and cameras put a stop to it instantly 

I do like what @Nathan Gesner said - if you feel the need to put cameras up for security reasons then it's likely not a safe community to invest in, and a alternative investment may make more sense. 

 "make this a win: don’t sell, it will be profitable if you hold long enough"

Opportunity cost would like to have a word with you. Lol. I agree mostly though - if you botch one deal (a small part of your portfolio) I think most the time it is better to just leave it alone and let time work - RE seems to always go up over time. The time allows the other benefits to work also - appreciation, loan paydown, depreciation etc. When you add in the gains on paper (gains other than cashflow) things start to look a lot better. But this means you need to at least breakeven - the business model is unsustainable without cashflow. 

Here lately I've been foregoing RE for stocks. The market was on a big sale recently - there's no way RE could match those gains (for the most part). So RE success really depends on the exact deal you made - did you buy below market, did you force appreciation, are you getting cashflow etc. A lot of the RE "deals" I see don't beat the market 

Blinds 100% keep the deposit - whether you have to do an "extra" clean or replace 

Oven - I'd likely lean towards no. I'm surprised the previous tenant never complained about this. How old is the oven? If it's new I'd charge. if it's old I'd likely just replace 

But as other have mentioned - move-in checklists, move-out checklists and pictures for both

You also should not let the new tenant find broken stuff from the previous tenant. When/If you get a move-out notice, do an inspection and take note of what may need to be replaced. Then you can get ahead of the curve when the tenant moves out. 

I would personally try to speak with a local bank - they often have a lot of non traditional options since they will keep your loan on their personal books. You may find it easier to have a personal relationship with them - they can often do more depending on if/how much money you have with them as well