All Forum Posts by: Peter Sobotka

I am new at finding renters and could use the advice of the experts on this forum. What are the different avenues landlords use to market properties for rent and find tenants for their properties? Also, if you're looking to rent a room in a property you currenty live in are there any options other than craigslist?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Did some further discussions with the owner. The female is on the title. She however owes a considerable amount of back taxes that she has never paid related to the property. The female does not currently live in the condo. The female would have incentive to want to get rid of the back taxes owed on the property as well. Along with avoiding continued legal fees etc.

I'm not looking at the condo as a long term hold property. If it makes sense for me and the other parties then I'm not sure of the downside for me. If they both will sign over the title so I get it free and clear what other big issues would I be looking at? They avoid further legal battles, taxes, hoa, I sell quickly and put the profit towards additional SFH and MFH for the long term.

If she had a prior lease I've discussed purchasing the property as my own personal residence. There was a suggestion that this would allow me to move into the property despite the lease? If she is on the title how can that situation play out if he does want to sell?

I have been talking to an individual as a propsect for my side business during the last two months. While prospecting for the other business we had been talking about a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom lakefront condo that he has been having issues with for 7 years. He purchased the property 7 years ago at the top of the bubble. He not only purchased this condo but a second condo in the same complex. Property taxes and HOA fees have increased and due to his purchase price he is fighting an uphill battle trying to get positive cash flow. I've discussed with him how he's been upgrading the properties to demand a higher rent.

The second part of the issue. He has an ex girlfriend that is living in one of the condos. He called me last night and explained he doesn't think it would be worth a legal battle with her for not much reward on the property. He mentioned he was thinking about foreclosure but didn't want to do that to his credit to get her out of the property. He then said he would be willing to sell the property for pennies on the dollar due to the lack of control on his side. He said he would be willing to sell it for $200k which is also the value of the remaining lien on the property. I did a quick research on the property, tax value is around $265k, and I see similiar properties currently listed for $275k on the lake. I'm waiting for comps on sales of properties from a realtor. I've also mentioned I would give him a room rent free in one of my properties for two months on condition of me buying this property. Trying to make the situation work for both of us.

Questions - what do I need to be worried about? I will need a good legal real estate lawyer to correctly word the contract. How will the ex gf affect the situation if he does want to sell? How does it affect the situation if she is also on the title, if she has been leasing the property, or if she's just been a freeloader? Other key things will be the title search and making sure of the liens on the property. What else am I missing and what should I be aware of?

Exit strategy - Setup a sale of the property quickly, take the profits of the sale and do a 1031 on a downpayment of SFH's or a MFH. Silly question - do you avoid any PMI or additional charges by putting 20% down on investment properties? What are the benefits of 20% down on investment properties?

Hello,

First thank you to all of the posters of this forum. It's great to see a forum dedicated to people passionate about doing something more with their lives through the avenue of Real Estate.

I currently have a SFH in the Montclair area of Charlotte NC. I am contemplating moving to Brazil in the next year and would like to find a property management company I can trust when I am not in the country.

Could anyone with first hand experience using a property management company in Charlotte NC post some recomendations and what you liked about the company?

Also it's not a bank seller, it's being sold through a Realtor by an independent investor.

I'm doing conventional 20% down 15 year (was thinking of switching to 30). The structural engineers report said there's serious issues with the one side of the house that overhangs the bottom level. The construction was not done correctly 40 years ago which is causing the room to sag. They would need to cut up some of the flooring to install trusses and support to the upper level. I'd lose about a foot of the room in total.

Right now I feel like if I don't get a 10 - 15k reduction it makes more sense to put my tail between my legs and take a loss. Talking to the neighbors today brought up some issues with the neighborhood. There's theft from houses and some criminal activity. I'm not getting a great deal on the place, I'll lose out on the $1k or so for the inspection, appraisal, etc, I'll lose out on a few months of having to pay rent, but I might find a place that's a great deal in that time and make that money back and then some.

I'll check into the heating unit and see if there was a recall. I appreciate the help, feel free to let me know if there are other things/perspectives I'm not considering.

I recently moved to NC from NJ. I am a first time home buyer. I am currently in the last week of due diligence on a house closing. My current plan was to purchase a single family split level home to be able to rent out the bottom level which has it's own bathroom, bedroom, den, and private entrance. Since I was being told I had to move out of the current place I am renting by the middle of this month (November) I made the decision to purchase the 4bed 3bath split level that was supposed to be completely renovated. Completely renovated means, Brand new kitchen with new cabinetry/countertops, tile, & stainless steel appliances. 3 full baths completely renovated with new tile and new vanities. My thoughts were I would avoid paying additional rent (for my own living situation), and would have the opportunity to start getting rent from the bottom of the split level.

Based off of the appraisal my current total purchase (offer less seller paid closing costs) is $3k under the appraisal. I'm already over $1k of costs in with the inspection, appraisal, and structural engineer costs. During closing the inspection came back with the following issues; related to the heater (3 years old, newer and running but HVAC guy going on Monday to try to figure out issue with it not heating correctly), electric (Zinsco, Electrician said should be fine but will give quote to fully test it), chimney (cracks in base of chimney on inside inspector said could just be from regular use, deciding whether to pay for additional chimney inspector), roof is less than 5 years old but does have some shingles that are raised, insulation is missing from the upstairs and insulation was installed upside down in the basement, other issues (toilets, fronts steps work not done correctly to code, tilework in shower, water shut off not in good location, etc.) and finally the upstairs has some structural issues with the upstairs sloping slightly downwards (only notice it in a 3 foot width) near the windows on the chimney side (I am waiting for the structural engineer report which I should get on Monday). The current contractor quote is $4.9k. This quote does not include any work from the structural engineer, tile work in the shower, the electrician, hvac, or chimney. The majority of the cost relates to $1.4k to fix the front steps which was not properly done to code (work needs to be permitted). I was planning to cut out about $1.2k of the quote by doing my own insulation and renegotiating the work.

I have only come up with two current options to consider. The first option is get the full quotes of repair based off of the engineer report, contractor, electrician, hvac, and chimney. Ask for the full repairs as a credit from the seller. The seller is an investor based off of zillow it was listed at $56.5k below my current bid in April. The property was then foreclosed to lender (in April) right at my current bid. The sellers repair order was quoted at $33k. If the seller will not give me the credit for the repairs I walk away.

Option #2 walk away now. Eat the costs I spent in trying to close. Try to find a place to rent month to month while I look for a different single family house to purchase.

Any feedback and different perspectives would be greatly appreciated! Let me know if you need any additional information.