All Forum Posts by: Mike Hsiao

@Account Closed thank you very much, great inputs and tips!!

I just finished up a home inspection on a 4-plex in San Diego.  There were a number of broken window seals and improper flashing installed on a lot of the windows, as well as a couple of the 2 story decks.  The improper flashing on the decks seems to be causing some of the ceiling stains running across the first story ceiling/walls where the deck attaches to the house.

There also looks to be a possible past dishwasher that leaked from upstairs, but all the appliances have now been removed from the property.

It's been raining a lot here in San Diego, much more than usual, and the property has been vacant I know for at least 1 year.  I know the property has likely been neglected for at least 2 years before that as well. I hear the past owner used to take care of the property, until he got hooked on drugs.

There were a few areas noted on some of the ceilings of water staining and dry wall sag...mainly in the first floor units. There were other areas that looked like they were recently painted on the ceiling. I have to assume to try and hide some water stains.

Without being able to see behind the walls, my mind starts to think of potential wood rot, fungus, and mold growing.  Although the inspector did not notice any mold in view, I'm worried about what's behind the walls/ceilings.

I plan to have my GC walk the unit next week. 

QUESTIONS:

1. Since I can't rip down the walls, what are somethings I can possibly do to burn down risk of discovering a major disaster on my hands if I decide to move forward with this property?

2. Is there anything specific I should ask my GC, other than pointing out the areas?

The property is looking less appealing, but I really like the location. I want to get an idea if my concerns are warranted, or if I'm making a bigger issue than it really is.

Growing up in San Diego, the rumor was always that if you are not a Mexican citizen, the gov't could come take your property anytime they wanted.   I doubt it's that severe, but I would definitely look into all the proper paper work or laws and consult with a real estate attorney in Mexico just to be sure.  Just my 2 cents.  In terms of crime, I think it's more in Tijuana area.  There are certain areas in Tijuana you don't want to be walking around at night. Probably goes the same for Rosarito and Ensenada, but I think in general Rosarito and Ensenada are quite safe.  Valle de Guadalupe is a beautiful area.

Can anyone help give some recommendations on good investor friendly General Contractors in the San Diego area?  

I may be close on acquiring a 4-plex here to turn into a rental, and will need a full rehab.

I did some searching on past posts here on BP, and got a few names, but that post was from 2020. 

The last GC I used, and really liked, unfortunately move out of state.

Any recommendations would be very much appreciated!!!  

I have an offer in on 4-plex property that is currently completely vacant. It is 2 stories.   Top story has a 2BR/2BA and a Studio. Bottom floor has a 2BR/2BA and 1BR/1BA 

The property will need full rehab of all units, including plumbing and possibly some electrical work.   Principal and Interest per month would run about $8700.  My GC estimated about 60-90 days to rehab the entire property.

So I asked my GC about the idea of rehabbing one unit at a time  very quickly starting with the 2BR/2BA upstairs unit to get tenants into that one quickly for income. Rehab the next 2BR/2BA, get them in quickly, etc etc

My GC said it's better to rehab all 4 at the same time and just get tenants in when they are all finished.

I can totally see why doing them in series would be more of a pain for my GC, and more of a headache to schedule his sub-contractors in for each unit.  But i can see if he planned it out right, it can be done effectively.

OR if it truly would be better to just let him finish all 4 units first, then just get all the tenants in at once.

Just wanted to get the thoughts of people here to see if it's really that big of a headache for the GC and he is just wanting to make it easier for himself?

So just a quick update. I did find the court case # after some calls to the city, and I was able to pull up all the details on the case.  Long story short, it was a pretty much a drug house, all tenants got vacated,  the city came in and issued multiple health and safety violations along with citing multiple unpermitted items in the house that needed to be fixed.  Current owners took it over a year ago, said they have fixed everything, and finally plan to have their final inspection next week with the city.  If I buy the property, I certainly will have something in the contract to state that sale is contingent upon final San Diego City inspection approvals.   

I did view the property today with my agent, my GC, and the sellers were there as well. It was actually in better shape inside than I was expecting. I'll be putting in my offer probably over the weekend.  Definitely will need a full makeover, but very good bones.

The floor is definitely slanted, so I'm going certainly get an expert to look at the foundation granted this house was built in ~ 1920 and from Dan's comments above, likely built on beach sand. I will probably get the sewer scoped.  I have a friend who is a commercial electrician that will check out the electricals.

QUESTIONS: 

1. Any suggestions on how to get the most unbiased opinion on the plumbing needed, and the roof?

I feel like any roofing or plumbing company will tell me I need a new roof or underlay...and same goes with the plumbing. 

2. What other things should I pay particular attention to for a 1920 house during the inspection period? I want to fully ensure I am covering all my bases so I don't get surprised with a major "gotcha" high dollar ticket item

@Dan H. and @Kenneth Donaghy, thanks for the insights above. I plan to do an initial walk through of the property later this week.  I was able to also finally find the case # from the city as well.  So depending on how the walk thru goes, if I'm still interested, I will be downloading all the case files  to see if indeed the violations are tied to this property in question. 

I did want to add that this property was build in 1920 in a Historic District of San Diego. So I'm guessing that perhaps this court case is possibly due to things being hazardous to renters (asbestos, lead paint, old electrical, etc)

I am looking into an off market, 4 unit property in San Diego that was brought to me by a Realtor.  The property is currently completely vacant, and looks like it has been that way for some time.  Looking at tax records, it looks like the property sold to the current owners on April 2022, in which looks like an off market exchange.   So it's strange that this ~ $2M property was sold to this new party, for it only to sit vacant, and un-rehabbed, for 1 year.   So I just googled the current owners name which is a revocable trust, and the first thing that appears is a pending court case with the City of San Diego vs. The current owners + the previous owner right before.   

The Case description is as follows: Plaintiff (City of San Diego) alleges the defendant’s (current owners + the previous owner) use or maintenance of their property has resulted in numerous California Civil and San Diego Municipal Code violations, which constitutes a public nuisance.

The date the case was filed was March 2022, which is just 1 month BEFORE the property was sold to the current owners.

QUESTION: I plan to ask the Realtor if he knows anything about this.   And I also plan on trying to call the San Diego Court to see if they are allowed to disclose details on this.

But does anyone know if this is something to be greatly concerned about?  I don't know if this is an issue with the property not conforming to building code? OR perhaps something much more serious?

Any thoughts on how to properly vet this out during the inspection and contingency period?

Thank you in advance

Thanks everyone, all very good inputs! I did find a comp of a quadplex that sold about 1 year ago.  It's a little bit nicer street, and it was decently renovated, so I can take these things into account.