All Forum Posts by: Paul Winka
Paul Winka has started 83 posts and replied 312 times.
Post: Painting basement ceiling black a good move?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Originally posted by @James Mc Ree:
I would paint white instead of black if you are going to paint. A black ceiling will make the basement darker. Maybe that is just my preference. One of my favorite restaurants has a black spray painted drop ceiling. It looks nice in a restaurant as a "night sky" kind of look. I am not sure about a home's basement joists. I prefer the natural wood color, but paint might be better if it is unsightly.
Jim.
The concern about white is that all the dark cracks would show and the wood is darker so it would not appear so uniform. It would seem some of the aesthetic would be lost but I can see how black would make the basement seem smaller/gloomier. In any case, the basement in what will be a rental someday is a good place to experiment.
Post: Painting basement ceiling black a good move?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Paint a ceiling black??
Just bought a 3/2 982 s.f ranch built in 1966. The basement is partly finished but will need demo of the current drop ceiling. The ceiling is around 7 feet without the drop ceiling. Not keen on spending for a new drop ceiling and was considering painting the ceiling black on the suggestion of a colleague..but I dunno...can't exactly undo that back to bare wood once that's done. Is there a better color, or is this a mistake altogether?
Post: How to avoid wasting time showing the house to buyers?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Originally posted by @Russell Brazil:
First thing I'd check is to make sure it is legal in your state to show the property to prospective buyers. Some places it is a no no, as you are selling an interest in a contract and not a property.
What would be the best source to find that out normally? Call a real estate attorney's office with that quick question? For the state's real estate commission, I would expect at knee-jerk "no!". Thanks!
Post: How to avoid wasting time showing the house to buyers?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
@Paul Winka Easy. Stop marketing it before you own it. Close on the property and then show it to whomever you'd like.
Thanks for the advice, but I prefer to keep my money out of this and just assign the contract since this is my first deal. If I eff this up, I may not get to my second deal. Are you saying that the average deal you do is to do A to B with the seller and then do B to C with a buyer possibly weeks later to be able to show the house?
Post: How to avoid wasting time showing the house to buyers?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
If I have a property under contract and I am marketing it (craigslist, REIAs, etc), what's the best way to handle all the requests to see the property on the inside? After all, it's not my house yet, and my seller will find it quite vexing to show it time and time again.
Post: Meet seller at house with potential buyer a good idea?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
As a wholesaler, is it a good idea to meet the seller at the house for a walk-through with a potential buyer/assignee? Is it generally a best practice to not let the seller at the end buyer until the closing?
Post: title insurance
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Originally posted by @Robert D.:
I buy properties on judicial sale and sell them in as-is condition to investors/rehabbers . I don’t know conditions of properties. I disclose that in the state required disclosure form. I hold the property couple of weeks maybe a month before I sell them. I operate mostly in Chicago area. My attorney advised me not to provide affidavit of title. He says that affidavit of title opens up a seller to liability and that affidavit of title is done only in Chicago area anyways. I close at the title company and provide title insurance. My problem is that I don’t want to give buyer’s attorney any grounds to dissuade the buyer from pursuing the deal due to “lack of affidavit of title”. If I was a buyer and seller did not want to provide the affidavit of title ..I would think that the seller is not sure about his ownership of the property. I always record the deed before I transfer a property, all is legit. Judicial sale wipes out most of the junior liens anyways ..where is a problem then ? Would somebody give me an example of a situation where I could get in trouble providing “affidavit of title” ? Is not the title insurance designed to take care of all the title related problems that might arise to a new buyer after the property is sold ? My attorney said no : the title company will come back to me if there is a problem. So I pay for an insurance and if there is a problem they come back to me ? it does not make any sense.
I think that he does not want me to provide affidavit of title because this is he who prepares the deed, does title search, etc. he is a title agent (title agents get paid by title company at closing, not title agents attorneys do not get any kickbacks from the title company). I think here is the real problem. I buy and sell properties that have higher risk of title problems due to the judicial sale and since he is doing all the legal work he wants to limit his exposure …
what about REO sale? do bank provide affidavit of title. it's been a while since I bought REO property so I dont remember
Hey Robert, did you ever sort this out? Let us know!
Post: Corporate owned excluded by default on listsource?
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Just curious as to why (by default) corporate-owned properties are excluded from listsource lists? I am guessing they are almost never fruitful for direct mail marketing for the majority of list purchasers? Won't many tired landlords own their property in a LLC?
Post: Closed Code Violations
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
HI Frank,
Maybe you know what a FOIA request is. Learn about what a FOIA request is if not. FOIA is for federal inquries of government records. I suggest learning about this first because there will be a lot of information out there about it. Each state has a law that serves the same spirit and intent as FOIA does for federal records. For example, here in MO, there is the "Sunshine Law". I can invoke this law when making a request for code violations at a city hall for any jurisdiction in MO. Find out what NY's equivalent is to FOIA and the Sunshine Law and that can be a start. Or...you could always start by asking nicely the clerks in the city hall! If being nice doesn't work and you have the persistence, you have the law on your side to get what you need.
Post: Help! I purchased a $232 Membership; I can't find the free books!
- Rental Property Investor
- St Louis, MO
- Posts 317
- Votes 72
Send that email to support @ biggerpockets.com. No matter what the issue is, they are empowered to handle it and will get it done in < 24 hours.