All Forum Posts by: Aaron Carter

It is conventional financing, I will talk to my loan officer about it. Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the advice, I will use my own title company.

I had one other question as well. I am obtaining financing for the property.

I have all of my paperwork in order and have been pre-approved through my bank. However, the purchase agreement is not contingent on financing. The house has been winterized and I cannot de-winterize the property until after closing. Do you think there will be an issue with the appraisal if they cannot check the water?

I have a property under contract through Hubzu. I have seen many people recommend using your own title company rather than theirs. However, my father is an attorney and would assist me through the process for free.

The purchase agreement states:

"If you wish to close through your selected attorney, please be advised that seller will pay the title insurance costs if you agree to use the Seller Selected Title Provider."

Should I still use my own title company?

I am in the same situation as you at this time and was wondering how things turned out for you and which option you chose. This will be my primary residence as opposed to a buy and hold.

My wife and I are looking for a primary residence. We are both 25 with a little one due in July. Currently moving into my father and mother-in laws until we find a place to purchase. We own a duplex that cash flows okay right now but we are improving the property this summer; adding two more bedrooms and will be doing really well when everything is done.

We have been searching for a home for the last couple months and of course I am looking for a great deal. We found a foreclosure on Hubzu. I was unfamiliar with the site but I have read all of the threads about Hubzu on BP that I could find. I understand they are frustrating to deal with... I am willing to be patient if it gets me a deal.

We went and looked at this home. It far exceeded our expectations, which from what I understand is somewhat rare on Hubzu. It was recently built and I would say would conservatively appraise at $190,000. Hubzu has it listed as "own it now" at $158,000 with a "starting bid" at $120,000. I live in a rural area, it is not listed on our MLS and there have been no bids on the property for one month. So I don't think there is much competition for this property as not many know about it or are comfortable bidding online.

It was listed last fall prior to foreclosure at $227,000. The unique part of this property is that it has a detached garage with a separate living area that used to be a daycare that I could easily turn into a 2/1 rental for under $1,000 renovation. I expect I could get about $800 per month, however, I would need to include utilities as the unit would not be separately metered.

My wife loved the property and is really encouraging me to bid. They will honor conventional financing and cash offers only. They have a 4.5% buyers premium at this time, my mother is my broker/agent and said she will give me any commission she receives. This may justify part of the premium...

Problem is, I only have about $9,000 cash right now. Our duplex appraised for $92,000 when we bought it in very poor condition. We have since renovated most of it but have not had it appraised since. We owe $73,000 on it at this time. It would be tough to pull any equity out at this time with such little wiggle room.

Two questions:

Price dropped on May 14th by 6.7% Should I wait for the price to continue dropping before making a bid? As there have been no bids for one month...

Any ideas on financing to meet their conventional financing requirement with only $9,000 cash at this time? My wife and I have strong credit ratings and above average income for our area. I believe we could save another $4,000 in another 30 days.

Thanks in advance!

Appreciate the advice, I will pass on the property. Thanks.

I think it is ridiculous. I discussed this with the assistant city planner who said that there are things that a variance would cover, addressing such issues as parking which is also a concern with this property. Currently only four off street parking spaces, city code requires one off street parking space for EVERY BEDROOM. There is plenty of yard space for at least eight more parking spaces and plenty of off street parking.

However, I was told that a variance would not address the zoning issue.

I agree with your solution of putting up double doors, there is already a common area available. Honestly, all the work that needs to be done is one wall, three doors, and a kitchen in one of the units, as there are already two kitchens in the building. It is also only three blocks from the local technical college and three miles from the local university, so HUGE demand in areas like this.

I just looked up the matrix for the zoning as was mentioned in a previous post and I DID find that a sorority or a frat house is permitted under conditional use... This would be a GREAT solution. So I am assuming I would need to apply for a permit...

Going to e-mail the city planner to make this suggestion but I think they are still going to stick it to me regarding the parking issue...

Yeah it is, I am slowly learning that I can not do or figure out everything myself just to save a few dollars. I know the people on bigger pockets reinforces that a lot. Thanks for the advice Bill!

I actually planned on renting it to college student because that is my most profitable demographic. However, the city code states that not more than 4 unrelated people can live in one unit.

I have looked at the matrix for the zoning, unless I wanted to do something more commercial there is not any money to be made. I guess I will just have to pass and forget about it. Thanks for the input!

Long story short...

Found a property that used to be a large foster home, currently vacant. Seller is from out of state. The floor plan is perfect for a triplex after a modest remodel. Currently a 10 bed, 4 bath, 4500 square feet. I know the rates for rentals in this area and feel that I could get $1200 for the 4 bed 2 bath unit and $900 for each 3 bed 2 bath. Oh, and it is in GREAT condition, requires very minimal cosmetic work. Would need to install one kitchen.

List price is 139,900. I think I could get it for $127,000 but will assume $139,900 purchase price.

Assumed with 8% vacancy rate:

20% down and $10,000 in improvements.

Estimated NOI: $24,540

Cash flow: $17,330

Cash ROI: 41.78%

It is a great deal with a great return, so I anxiously drove to the city office to find out more information about the property. They explained to me that it is not zoned multifamily therefore I could not separate the units or consider a variance.

However, they were kind enough to give me a few options... I could rent it out as a single family, start a charter school out of it, or rent out one unit and use the rest of the place as an in-home day care as long as one of the tenants was employed at the day care...

So they would let me put a SCHOOL there but not put up three walls for a multifamily...

I live in a rural area and I do not see any other use for this property. So it will likely sit on the market for quite some time vacant...

Looking for some advice or simply someone sympathize with my frustration...