All Forum Posts by: Patricia Steiner

Gotta google - there's a lot on this out there.  Here's one:

https://www.stessa.com/blog/ow...

This is commonplace in my market.  Not a biggie.  You'll only get called/tagged/fined/shutdown if your guest is throwing a huge blowout party, trashing the place, has started a fire in the yard, is doing/selling drugs, running butt naked outside, harrassing neighbors, and more...and in these entertaining instances, would you not want to be called right away?  The municipality actually will demand that someone come to the property and 'deal with it' because people who are freebassing, fire setting, channeling Jimmy Buffett/Mick Jagger in their birthday suits are most likely not going to answer the phone.

If you remotely manage, you can always provide your housekeeping service or realtor's phone number.  The municipality - and you - just want to track someone down fast should immediate action be needed.  On a personal/professional note:  never been called/never want to be called/never want these types of guests so manage/reserve to your rules.

Best...

The car is an asset.  As with all investments, consider what you would do with the proceeds if you sold:  would it go towards the cost of your son's education?  That would be an investment in him - that's solid.  Would it go into your war chest (savings account) to start building your liquidity to buy a property in the future?  A savings account for your son's future?  Any of these might prove to be viable reasons to sell a car that obviously isn't wanted, is a use of cash (insurance, gas, maintenance/repairs), and which the remaining life of it may be limited (will it run in 2 more years without a new engine/whatever?).

Make an analytical decision - not an emotional one. See the solution as a path to moving forward - not as the all in.  

And, if your son wants to sell to have a blowout party of a lifetime, well, that's probably not the right move but I hope he'll invite me.  One more thing:  congrats on having a college-bound son (a great accomplishment) and for raising one who is not expecting you to buy him a Ferrari for his high school graduation.  You already made one great investment.

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What you're asking is none of your business.  What is your business is what are YOUR terms of the seller's financing - the interest rate, prepayment penalty, term/amortization, and titling/deed.  You also need disclosures on all of this but what you need even more is a real estate attorney to oversee the documentation and process.  A transactional real estate attorney is the best investment you will make here.  

What you don't know can and will hurt you badly. You may have found the right deal but now it's time to ensure that it will still be the right deal after you put your money down and sign.  Get a real estate attorney.

A dream is just a dream until you actually do something - and the first thing I would recommend is looking at what you have to offer a partner. If you don't have money to invest, what do you bring to the table.  Experience?  Education?  What?  Your offer to do 100% of the work is not a good pitch.  What is 'the work," what licensing do you have, what's the vision, where's your business plan?  I hope you'll take a step back and determine what a "real estate business" means (it's a big industry out there!), what resources are needed (money is just one need), what your role would be based on what you bring to any partnership, and more.  You can't just wish it - you gotta create/build it.  

People like to do business with people they know.  Why not start there...let your friends/family/acquintances know what you're doing and invite them to discuss opportunities. An extremely successful residential realtor in our market developed his entire business from people at his church and another from his son's little league affiliation.  The majority of my clients came from my past career as a wealth manager.  You already know your future clients...they just don't know that you're open for business.

Save your money and knuckles - there's a better, faster, more targeted way.

Here's a laundry list of 'what might' based on 1946 construction:

1.  Knob and Tube wiring (not insurable)

2. Galvanized Pipes/Plumbing (insurable but the suckers corrode from the inside out and burst without warning).

3. "Asbestos was used extensively in home construction from the early 1940s through the 1970s as highly-effective and inexpensive fire-retardant material and thermal and acoustic insulator. It is now known that prolonged exposure to asbestos fibers can lead to lung disease."  It is common is the wood siding of houses this age. It's okay as long as it is sealed and it should never be sanded by anyone who isn't in a gas mask.

4.  Lead Paint. (Warning: Don't lick the walls or eat the paint chips - as tempting as it may sound).

5.  Wood.  In our state, wood houses are termite hotels and need tenting just about annually - every two years for sure.  Wood fungus is also a problem that will require replacement of the siding and other areas.  Permanent wood foundations have been around since the 1940s and their life is dependent upon the materials used at that time as well as the maintenance since.

Scared?  My clients buy these all the time but the first thing to do is to know the condition and the cost to upgrade to current code.  If you're paying cash, you could secure a Builder's Insurance Policy to protect you during the rehab.  If financing, not so easy.  

First, look up the property on the municipality's permit site to see if any permits have been pulled.  I also recommend looking at the house from Google Drive - and adjusting that clock on the screen to see if the property has undergone any changes in the past few years.  Check the property appraiser's site to determine its appraised condition and valuation history.  

Please know that electrical, plumbing, AC, roofing - all the stuff of 4-point inspections - is extremely costly in our state to replace due to the property insurance crisis that we're in.  Know your cost before proceeding...it will not be a 'cheap date.'

Again, the super power here is KNOW - condition, cost to rehab, acquisition cost/method, insurability, valuation.

Hope this helps.

First, the contributors before me have given some great counsel.  And, I have a question for you:

Why would you want to invest in a property that has no market?  Not a judgement - a question.  Is it so great that no one ever sells?  If you had to sell, could you?  What would be the appreciation in a market with no activity?  

I have known people who have invested in areas where there were no comps - like desert resort areas - and getting financing and reselling were impossible.  Proceed with care.  You want a marketable asset - not a forever yours.

Best.

You need a new PM.  It wouldn't take a year on Mars.  Have the PM provide you with all filings and documentation on the eviction.  Contact the court directly - and get an update.  If it were me, I would have a real estate attorney intervene and get this tenant out. And, I would get a new PM.  Fast.  

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What price happiness? The best investment you can make is one in you and your family. So, decide where you want to live; then find the best property that is within valuation that has good bones and low to no crime - and go for it. The ROI for a family home has as much to do with the memories you'll make there - as the economics of it all. Stop crunching the numbers and go find your family's home.

Best...