All Forum Posts by: Mike M.

I'd say move on and put your time in on something more likely to come to fruition. Mike

John Semanchuk Hope you get good feedback. I'm considering a floating floor on a property I'll own next month and would like to get feedback on how the floating variety holds up. It seems to generally be a higher grade flooring than the peel and stick. Mike

Rafael Floresta I'm new too, and have invested way too much time on a "fair offer" when the sellers had no intention of selling the house at anything reasonable. Now I try to fish the waters ahead of time. As a buy and hold guy I use a rent number to back into a price range but always qualify my offers by saying I need to see the house. Sometimes you can weed out the unmotivated ones when the numbers are way too different. Mike

Keep at it partner. I have been working with one landlord for just about a year now. We're close, and he wants out, but is basing his "get-out" price on his original cost basis instead of market value minus repairs minus my desired equity. She'll be back - sounds like too much work for most retail buyers. Mike

The asbestos roofing and knob and tube wiring are items that would put a healthy scare into me. I'd rather have properties with less significant liabilities and less cashflow than a property like that. The seller's need to bring X to the table doesn't have to be your problem. Mike

If you think it will be, discount the price accordingly and see what happens. Perhaps market it as a 2 bed with a really huge extra closet. Mike

At low down payments, sellers may have some concern about winding up upside down if the place gets trashed and you walk away. Most sellers I've talked to want more than 20%. What about having him hold a short term note, perhaps interest-only or no payments, until you get it rehabbed and rented? Then you proceed with a bank refinance and pay him off. Seller gets some money up front and a shorter risk duration. You get in for less than using a bank, can bring it up to market rent, and if all goes well, get it refi'ed at 75% LTV and perhaps have to come up with less of a DP than you would if you bought through bank initially. I would punt on a ten year term. I finance at 15 year and cash flow is tight, but you're negative basically with just your base costs. If you believe in the 50% rule you'll be bleeding much cash, even if you can afford it. Good luck - Mike

I have a 720 sqft 2/1, recently rehabbed, window A/C and wall heater, rents for $750. As said, it'll rent for the right price, just be prepared for some seasonality if you rent to students. Mike

Was it disclosed to you during your purchase that asbestos was present? If it was, I assume you built abatement into your price. If it wasn't, and you have to disclose it to future buyers, expect that they'll ding you on purchase price. If your this far into it already, could it save you long-term to remove it now? I understand the low risk it currently seems to present. Akin to Murphy's law, when time is of the essence (future reno, repair, etc), be prepared for abatement to slow you down. Mike

I have a 10/5 arm but it's only on 28K. It'll be gone before the first adjustment. I'm about to buy another but it'll be on a 15 year fixed. Cash flow not real high but having an asset produce $15K a year when I'm 50 sounds good. I'd go fixed as well. Real estate is a nice hedge against inflation, unless your mortgage is not insulated against it. Let us know what you do! Mike