All Forum Posts by: John Bartlett

@Marcus Auerbach when was the last unit you bought? Gas for the units is higher than steel pricing increases. I've heard some areas bottles are selling for $500 a bottle when in 2019 it would have been $75.

@Archer Stone You are in a hard spot, you probably don't have legal recourse but I would talk to a lawyer, today.

With mold, it needs moisture. If you have mold, you have a water issue somewhere. A one time flood will not give the issues you are explaining, there has to be another issue.

You can fix it, if you are not handy, it's going to be expensive, also sounds like it's not your issue to fix which is going to be more of a headache.

You can clean up what you can see in your side, and sell the condo. Kick the can down the road. You could also refi, get a down payment out of it, and buy a new place and rent this one out.

Bleach will kill it, so will Borax. It doesn't mean it won't come back if you don't fix the water issue.

Good luck.

@Scott Mac there is no such thing as "black mold", mold is mold. Different types affect people differently. If the neighbors has it, and they share a wall, they have it too. I didn't think mold sickness was real till I got it. It's not something I would even consider playing with again.

@Bruce Woodruff as bring one that has had mold in their house. I can tell you from personal experience, it does not take a lot to wreck you. I only had it in my AC, after I got it cleaned up, it still took me over 10 years to get 95% better health wise. What is really bad is when you have two different types living in a house and they start going to war on each other.

@Peter Nikic

Increase in value is not the same as increase in price. Are you planning on paying him in gold or silver? If so, you have a leg to stand on. The seller only asking for 8% is actually a good deal as he's using what the government is claiming inflation is at. I dare you to name 5 products that have only increased in price by 8%. In the last year it's closer to 15-30%, so 8% is actually a discount (assuming your market isn't shrinking).

Sellers don't need logic to sell, trying to make them sell on logic will fail every time.

If the numbers make money at the 8% increase, the deal works. What will the numbers be in 5 years if you pass the deal up. Also this is the last year for 100% bonus depreciation, how much will that cost in cash flow.

If you still want to haggle with the seller, you need to read Never Split The Difference, then read it again.

@Ashley Langeliers they aren't breaking the lease, I would just stop responding. I would not do anything or say anything to the tenants. My goal is to provide a safe, clean place for people to live and collect rent. Everything beyond that is outside of scope. Your goal should be make sure your renters are happy, the neighbor doesn't pay you rent. They are the issues it sounds.

@Arisa McRoberts 12 room motel, you could turn it back into a motel and run it full time, the isn't a lot of rooms for labor.

Depends on the layout, might be able to turn it into 6 2bed apartments and get long term renters..

I wouldn't do a single bedroom apt as you probably will not have good tenants.

With the uncertainties with construction, supply chain issues, and labor issues, I would say this would be a very risky investment to the unexperienced, and probably not worth the return.

I would look at alternative uses if you're still thinking about it. Would it be possible to turn them into small business offices? For small retail stores?

@Marcus Auerbach I really think this is it. Inflation. House prices didn't really go up much, the value of money just went down and it takes more money to get an equivalent value now.

Look at milk, butter, eggs, beef, etc. It's up 20-50%. It's probably not going down.

@Allen Bo I would up in your jurisdiction to see if there are any laws on adverse possession that might help you claim the extra 6' legally.

Honestly, I would consult a RE laywer in your area that deals with this. It may be too much of a headache for 6'.

What happens if you now know your property line is moved back 6' and any structure were not code complaint when it was built and the city issues a fine to you, or worse an order to move the building or remove it. Or your neighbor wants you to move the fence off their property that they just found out is theirs.

@Scott Seydor one is the things with s8 is you screen the tenant the same exact way, credit check, background check, calling their references, calling past land lords etc. There are a ton of people waiting for a house that size on a voucher, don't just take the first one.

Drive to their current address to get the application signed, so you can check to see how they take care of the current place(you can't tell them that's why, and make it unannounced or with little warning).