All Forum Posts by: John Lopez

Environmental hazards can be a big concern when purchasing commercial/industrial properties. As @Seth Borman said, some of this concern can be mitigated with a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) .  I actually work as a Environmental Consultant full-time so I deal with these on a daily basis.  Sometimes sampling is also required (typically called a Phase II ESA) to evaluate the recognized environmental conditions (RECs) discovered during the Phase I. 

As @Ivan A. noted, due diligence is critical, you don't want to inherit environmental liability as it can be extremely costly. 

If you find a contaminated property you are looking to redevelop, you may want to look into the"Brownfields" Program.  These are programs at the state and federal level that assist potential developers (PDs) by allowing them to use engineering controls in lieu of environmental cleanup.  The PDs are often given tax breaks and liability protection in return for redeveloping a property.  

The company I work for does a lot of Brownfields, Property Due Diligence (Phase I and Phase II, ect), and remediation (clean-up).  Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.  I'm more than happy to help out a fellow investor.

Cheers,

John       

Just correspondence with my agent and a lender I was beginning to work with to refinance at the 180 day mark.  Additional proof could potentially be my past behavior.  I have not flipped a house for profit before.  I typically buy and hold.

Greetings, 

I purchased a home in Feb that I was intending to renovate and add to my existing buy and hold portfolio.  The renovation is near completion, and I was approached by someone that was interested in buying. The proceeds of the sale would give me a net profit of approximately 30K and I am considering going forward with the sale.  I have two questions related to the potential tax implications of this sale.

1- Since my intent was to rent the property at the time of purchase, would that change the tax rate I would be responsible for? capital gains vs. self employment/regular income

2- Would the income of the sale of the flip be looked at holistically along with the expenses of my other rental properties? In other words, if I opted to make large scale improvements to my other properties (new roof, kitchen, bathrooms, ect) would these expenses help offset the profits of the flip? 

Thanks for your input.    

Interesting read.  Thanks! 

I found a wholesale deal for a ~11 acre vacant track.  It is on the edge of an expanding small town.  The tax value is 100K, and the asking price is $20K. Seems like a good deal, but I know nothing about purchasing land.  What are the potenial hazards here? I look forward to your input

- Aerials from 1970's to present show the land has been vacant/wooded

- Zoning is Residential

-There are high tension wires running through property

Lots of areas turning around in the CLT area.  The market is pretty hot. 

Are you looking for buy and holds or flips? Single family? 

@Oren K.I hope these responses are helpful.

Greetings, 

I am a full time employed environmental consultant in NC.  Our firm does a ton of property due dillegence (Phase I and Phase II) work. If any RE investors out there need a second opinion or some general advice on property purchases and potential environmental liability, please reach out and I will help the best I can. There is no catch with this offer, I am just trying to contribute to this community that has already helped me greatly. 

Best Regards,

John Lopez, PG

PS- I also have a great deal of experience working with Brownfields Projects in NC, so bring those questions too. 

@Ritch Bonisa Thanks, but I don't need hard money on this one.  I'm looking for long term, low rate financing. 

@John Mathewson I will check out Ridge Lending.  Thanks