All Forum Posts by: Simona Potocar

@Sean Ridlon  The flooring is actually new, but there is one room with carpeting that will need to be replaced.

I've seen the TSP suggestions, just looking for a solution that may save me time and money because I'm working on this on my own.

Is there a shortcut to prepping a home for paint when the previous owner smoked in every room?

The ceilings are textured (stipple) and they have smoke stains on them. The walls are smoke stained. And the home is rather big, 1650 square feet, 3 bedrooms 2 baths.  That's a lot of wall and ceiling to sponge clean!!

It is my own home purchase and I'm a single mom who is not crazy about the idea of sponging down each and every ceiling and wall, priming each and every ceiling and wall and then painting.

I'm willing to pay someone to help me do that, but I am looking at the most cost efficient and time efficient way to do this.

Has anyone ever had the same problem?

Thank you in advance for your help!

@Mindy Jensen I think it would be worth it for $15K - but again that's without knowing the full reno cost.

I am considering that option for sure. Hoping nobody notices the house because it is currently (over)priced at $79K on the MLS. Evidently the bank would not take the suggested BPO eval from the realtor and just came up with their own price.

That is another reason I don't feel strongly about the deal, the bank is severely over pricing it.  The listing agent I spoke to considers it to be worth $30K.

I could not find this in the forums but probably mostly because I need to un-confuse myself.  Does one form a relationship with either an investor friendly Real Estate attorney or a Title company?  Or both?

When would you use one over the other? 

What is the best way to go about finding such a person or people? I know a few title companies but I have not yet vetted whether they are investor friendly.

What sorts of questions do you ask to find out if they are investor friendly? Do you bluntly ask about their thoughts on double escrow, transactional lending, and contract assignment?

Did many of those who have done wholesale deals visit with a real estate attorney to ensure they don't get trapped into owning a property on accident (if they can't sell it to a cash buyer for some reason)?

Sorry I am completely green here and I apologize if this was asked before, but at the moment I do not see the answers to these questions.  And I also apologize if I am all over the map with my questions - just excited to dive in!

@Jake Thomas Thanks for that perspective.  I actually considered what the big deal was since it isn't necessarily living space unless you decide to convert the basement.  The water isn't full on flooding but there are definite pools of water on one wall.

In this area however, square footage is hard to come by so a basement is an asset and people view it as something they can finish and add square footage to their home.  The particular home I was looking at was 988 square feet and so the basement would be a substantial value add.

I don't think I'm going to do this deal just because I don't believe investors will find great value in a home like this.  It needs a full gut job - both the kitchen and the bathroom - plus the basement disaster is just too big a money hole.  But that's my personal opinion, I could be wrong.

@Andy Hudgins  - thank you - that is fantastic advice!

@Rob McFarland thank you! I'll get in touch with Matt to better understand where a home like this might fit into the wholesale world (if at all).

So here in Cleveland, OH there is a many a bank owned home which - in addition to be a complete gut job - also have wet basements and/or cracks in the foundation when looking at the basement walls.

When I look at homes with those sorts of issues, I can't help but wonder who buys them?  Are they nearly impossible to wholesale?

A real life example is a home I visited yesterday, which needs a complete gut job - kitchen needs new everything, house needs painted (interior and exterior), floors need done in almost every room. Plus the basement has cracks in the foundation and a pool of water on one wall.

I think I could possibly get this house for $25-35K and its ARV is approximately $90-$100.

Thoughts?