All Forum Posts by: Susan Maneck

Quote from @Michael Rost:

Appreciate your feedback! I'm looking in the northeast part of Jackson right now.  I'll look into the flood risk and I'm always getting an inspection which includes a foundation check.  

Have you had good success with tenants?

You likely won't get good tenants in the northeast. 39209 is the worst area, followed closely by 39213. Then probably 39204. My properties have usually been in the 39206 and 39212 zip codes which are a mixed bag. I mostly bought properties near where my own home was located in south Jackson. Most of them are in a flood zone, but they didn't flood back in 1979 when most of the city was under water. The best and most expensive areas are 39211 or the Fondren and Bellhaven areas. In the latter two areas you can even do some STR, not with tourists but visiting nurses, etc. I also like the Byram area. It is rather nice, but not as pricey as Madison and Rankin Counties. Clinton is nice as well, but be careful, lots of foundation problems there.

Okay, Texas is probably different. I thought your property was in Mississippi. My property manager's husband is a licensed in AC so that isn't much of a problem. He also does a lot of my handy man stuff. He finds the contractors for the bigger jobs. Sometimes I have to ask him to get a second or third bid. I'm guessing he probably gets a cut, but he's done as good as I was able to do on my own when I lived there. One thing I like about my property manager, though, is she doesn't nickel and dime me. 

Well, it sounds like you’re one of the members that has replaced more roofs than me. Lol.

 Joe, I've replaced five roofs in Mississippi and the most expensive one was 10K and that house was over 2200 square feet. BTW, last I checked property managers in Mississippi are supposed to be real estate agents as well.

Quote from @Joe S.:

Quote from @Malcomb Stapel:

@Joe S. can you give more details? Where is it leaking, roof composition, pitch, etc? 

The roof is composition.  It has a pitch, but not a very steep one. The property manager had someone go out and give an estimate for around 11k to replace the entire roof. Two different handyman have already went out there and supposedly fixed what they considered to be the cause of the leak in the past. I live out of the area so it’s harder for me to get my eyes on the exact situation. 

First off, if you have have leaks that keep coming back, you need to replace it, especially in Mississippi. Take it from someone who has lived there for 20 years. But I think you can get a better estimate. I had four properties that suffered damage in Mississippi last year as a result of a huge storm. My four bedroom had a tree fall on it and required a new roof plus some rafters replaced. It cost me about 9K. I would think you could do a 2/1 for about 5K. Mind you, this is in the Jackson area. 

I'm not sure, because what you get is not a clear title but a quitclaim deed. 

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

@Jamie Bateman

BasedOn the hud hecm pool looks like a lot of people wanted to buy foreclosures….

The nice thing about buying from HUD as opposed to in auction is you do get some idea as the condition of the property. Most of my properties were either bought from HUD or Fannie Mae, but HUD does at least a cursory inspection.

Quote from @Sylvia Castellanos:

No, I would not want to close on a property without title insurance.

That's pretty much what Title companies do, they search and insure your title. IMO, real estate agents and lawyers are optional, title insurance is not. Luckett did prevent us from buying one property whose title they couldn't clear and it was being sold by HUD!

Quote from @Sylvia Castellanos:

Susan, let me ask you something else.  We see so many Youtube videos with instructions on how to do self-closings/seller closings, and this saves a significant amount of money.  That said, some states have laws that say if a title company or a lawyer has to do the closing. If not, then of course the seller is free to do it.  Can you comment about Mississippi?

I suppose it is possible to do it yourself but do you really want to close on a property without title insurance? 

I've used Luckett Land Title for a number of closings. Very professional. Another person I've used is the attorney Steve Young. 

House-hacking is what I recommend to all young investors, especially those in college. You can do it for even less cash invested with a FHA kiddie-condo loan. If you do the math it makes much more sense than paying dorm fees And your kid gets a good education on property ownership and management in the process.

But @Colin Leach the age of majority for contracts in Mississippi is still 21, but I think you can co-sign for him. That's what FHA kiddie-condo loans are all about.