All Forum Posts by: Julie L.

How did things turn out with this property?

I've just started to coinsider doing business in Idaho.  I'm from Washington.

There is certainly a stain in that picture, but the photo itself does not appear to reflect mold.  That looks like rust from what I can tell, but I could be wrong.

Your message to the tenant is - I want to take care of this, it's going to take some time to figure out exactly what to do.  Then get the report from the mold inspector.   I would want to know - can I trust this report?  Then what does this report really mean?  Who can help me interpret this?  Look up the mold inspector and see what kind of reviews they have.  Check with the Better Business Bureau about their track record.  Call a couple of mold remediation companies and ask them about this specific inspector - what do they know of his practices.  While you've got them on the line ask the mold remediators everything you can think of.  Like - at what level does a mold issue become something that requires remediation?  Is there some threshold that if you're under that threshold there is no regulation?  Ask more than one company the same questions.  They are incentivized to instill fear in you - they make money doing this work.  You're looking for the guy with integrity who will give you the straight scoop.  Do you know anyone doing flips?  They will probably know this stuff too.

Your spirit is - I want to make this right.  If there really is mold there then you want to eradicate the mold in whatever way a professional directs you to.  Lawyers are necessary and talking to one is a great thing to do.  But talking to the tenant face to face, giving her the benefit of the doubt, and expressing your sincere desire to appropriately deal with any problem will go a lot further than starting with an adversarial stance. 

If this were my rental I would work to find common ground.  She wants a mold free home.  You want to provide a mold free rental.  You two really do want the same thing.  Whatever you do if you are able to connect with the renter in a way that provides the message that you two support the same agenda then things will go much more smoothly.  This does not mean that you intend to "tear down the kitchen and AC closet" it's just a way of working through this instead of working against her.  Your ultimate goal could be to move her out, remodel, raise the rent and install a new better qualified tenant.

Thanks for putting this together.  I look forward to meeting you. 

I agree with the prior responses.  It is also true that --

Savings is Murphy repellent

When buying a house, whether for your personal residence or as an investment, having a fair amount of savings will save you from headaches.  Life happens and when it does it requires money. 

Work, learn and save.  When you have a bit set aside it's time to get into the game.

"

The best deals are usually the ones not on mls.

"  True, but there is nothing wrong with buying off the mls, expecially as you begin your investing journey.  Everyone starts somewhere.  Avoiding the "war zones" is a good piece of advice.  I also avoid buying in the 100 year flood plane.

Strong work.  Thanks for sharing the encouragement and photos.  I look forward to seeing what you do next.

Your instincts are good.  That's probably not the price.  I don't have experience purchasing properties before auction, but if that is what I wanted to do I would start with finding out who is acting as trustee on this property.  I would call the trustee and start asking questions.  Also, go to the auction even if you have no intention of buying.  Go just to see what happens.  Try to talk to the person who sells this property if you can.  In my area the person who conducts the bidding for the property is an agent of the trustee.  You could ask them - do you ever sell properties prior to auction?  Under what circumstances?  How often?  Is there anything that makes it more or less likely that you would sell a property before auction?  Do other trustees sell prior to auction?  Specifically what other trustees?  

You could also try to get the data about this property from a realtor.  Realtors have access to data we cannot get at.  PropertyRadar is a software product that provides data about properties such as the date it is scheduled to go to auction, the current owner, the note holder, the amount of the outstanding note and more.  Look to connect with someone who has access to the PropertyRadar data. 

My favorite piece of advice here is when the folks on your buyers list turn you down solicit their feedback.  Accumulating the opinions of the experts you are working with gives you insight for every deal you face moving forward.

Strong work.  Thanks for sharing.