All Forum Posts by: Pat L.

Then we had two half way houses approved by the city (in a nice area) only to find it housed sex offenders etc.
Now the city is filing lawsuits against the operators esp now that the crime rate in the n'hood went exponential & the over taxed neighbors revolted. Failing that the city is pushing building code violations for just about everything.
Go figure!!!

I would just max the CFM regardless of noise. You want the moisture out. We use those with a humidity detector as most people turn it off after the shower & the steam just lingers.

Check to make sure it vents outside & not into the attic as most
do to expedite the job....mold is a nightmare.

Just a thought..

Land Trusts are OK in NJ so it may be another avenue ???

buy it in your name, qualify for the mtg then xfer it to the Land Trust, using your LLC as trustee etc etc.

We have a local contractors oversupply depot here that had a stack of the 'wood look' ones. We got them @ auction for about $2.28 sqft.
It was a light driftwood color & we put them in a 6x12 master bath we did & it did 'POP'.
I have about 100sqft left that I hope to use in the SFH we are currently gutting. However, the wife thinks the impressed wood pattern would collect dirt if installed in a kitchen.

two words....
KNEE PADS .... get a good quality pair :)

Another thing to watch out for in pre'78 properties, is the old popcorn ceilings.....asbestos was used.
Just going through it now with a SFH we are gutting
Lead (+) paint & popcorn ceilings thro' out.

We have the same up here.
Also absentee landlords outside the city radius pay a registration fee & are fined if you fail to register.
The City I deal with also insists on having the landlord contact information on file but after several years they still screw it up.
I hold the mortgage for one of the Building Inspectors (in place b4 he got the job) so he is a wealth of knowledge.

I have picked up several duplexes & SF homes at tax lien auctions up here in NY. These were originally purchased (by absentee LLC's) at a relatively high cost & although winterized etc they sat empty for 3-4 years & they let the taxes go into arrears.
The only reason that makes sense is that it was a tax loss strategy. (Canadians are into a slightly similar but very profitable strategy here in the depressed section 8 Buffalo area).
But my buys were certainly NOT @ the inflated valuations you are seeing in CA, in fact we stole them.

However, if you see them starting to move @ the high valuations it maybe a money laundering scenario rather than a tax loss strategy. (insert sarcasm here :).

Somewhere WARM !!!!
get enough interested you could command a cruise ship lol

Depending on demand I would look into a daycare facility with an educational twist.
I travel 16 miles to my off-sight office a couple of days a week & pass at least 7 of these facilities & they all seem to be full.
Two of them concentrate on teaching a Montessori experience to the preschoolers & they both have waiting lists. However, they are also in predominantly high income areas.

Another idea:
My off-site office is in a high end private gym. The facility is 3800 sq ft & has 24 hr key-card access for some trusted members. The owner is a neighbor & a good friend so when he wanted new equipment financing he showed me his (real set) of books.
The five or six trainers are 1099'd & generate their own clientele (several make over $50,000 a yr). The owner is basically hands off but takes a NICE % of their fees.
Apart from a high turnover in trainers it has been a very successful business since 2005 when I agreed to have an office there.
The owner is about 42 & recently retired & this is his only income stream. He also drives several high end vehicles that I know are paid for.

good luck

Buying properties that do not have separate utilities INCLUDING water.
We have made a lot of money buying duplexes that we upgrade & convert to sep utilities.
I then resell them for a grood profit because the operating costs are more predictable & manageable.
Around here a second water meter is $283 installed by the city, & you can recoup that cost in < 3 months of water bills.
Admittedly the water bills stay with the property owner but unpaid water bills can be recovered via the security deposit. We have taken over duplexes with $1500-$2000 in unpaid water bills.