All Forum Posts by: Michael D.

It just sounds to me like he's looking to finance his improvement of the property.

The bank isn't just going to figure the final value, hand over 80% of that, and hope for the best. What you want is a construction loan, where you provide a detailed plan to the bank and they give you the money a little at a time as milestones are met. There are a lot of different ways to do something like this, so you should probably ask a lot of different banks.

I'd like to get some quick bids on some mostly cosmetic work to bring a place up to rentable standards. Carpet/vinal/drywall-patching - that kind of thing.

Can any of you recommend a good, resonably priced contractor in the Pittsburgh, PA area?

Thanks!

Also what are the exact terms on your note?

You seemed to be hung up on what you've put into the place and at what specific point you're "in the black." Honestly, none of that matters. All that matters is the current state of the property. What's it worth, what is it *currently* costing you to hold it, what are your mortgage terms, etc. IOW, What's the right thing to do RIGHT NOW, completely ignoring what's happened in the past?

Obviously, the first thing you should do is find another management company.

After that, file a complaint with the DRE.

Why are you looking at downtown Chicago?

If you're open to out-of-state investing in general, then you need to have a good reason for picking that particular spot as the best place for your money out of the entire country.

I'm not saying Chicago is bad, by the way, I'm just telling you that you need to have good reasons for yourself.

I am not a smoker, but I don't have any rules against it.

Reasons stated are valid reasons for prohibiting smoking indoors - having a fire is not.
The risk of having a fire is very low - and probably even lower for Dennis Tierney, since the other tenants are more aware of the dangers now.

Taking a proactive approach to things is good - like prohibiting smoking indoors because of the wear on the unit, or outdoors because of the second-hand smoke.
Being reactive to things like fires is bad.

If you never had the fire, would it still be right for you to prohibit smoking outside? If so, then you should have done that anyway and now's a good time to fix it. If not, then don't do it now just because you had a fire.

And remember that property managers are not people - they are businesses. Property managers employ people, and not just one. If a prospective property manager cannot name at least 4-5 employees with titles like "accountant," keep looking.

Paul A., Why aren't you thinking about negotiating here? They might have eminent domain, but that doesn't mean that you can't make it more difficult for them. Why not consult an attorney at least? You might be able to squeeze another $50-100k just by asking for it.

Remember that the people making the decision are being paid to spend other people's money. It doesn't cost any of them a nickle to pay you more money - but it does cost them pain to have their project delayed.

Congratulations regardless! I'm glad it's not my tax dollars.... we have a 55mph "bullet" train to pay for.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater here.

You had a problem - but fortunately a rare one. That doesn't mean you have to jump to a rash decision.

Depending on local customs, banning smoking might drastically reduce your tenant pool. Plus you probably can't impose that restriction in the middle of somebody's lease.

Yes.

Do you think it's a good deal?
What additional information would you want to get more detailed with the numbers?
What could you do to improve the deal?