All Forum Posts by: Michael Stole

You are absolutely right, Joel.

I believe the hardest part is the market value. Neither the assessed or appraised value is accurate.

Thanks, Jon for your reply.

Anyway, I don't see any benefit to the buyer of using a dual agent. Dual agent can not do any thing because of the dual agent agreement: they can not provide suggestions and can not reveal any information about the seller.

An independent buyer agent can at least help me negotiate and give me private information if he has any.

I just submitted an offer through the listing agent, hoping that can save me 3% on the price and make the negotiation easier.

However, I am wrong. When I signed the offer contract, it explicitly said that this is a dual agent case and the listing agent will still be paid the 3% as a buyer agent. So I fail to help the seller save 3% and therefore fail to make the offer sweeter to the seller.

Next time, I will prepare the offer contract myself, let my lawyer review it, and just hand it to the listing agent.

Thanks for the replies. After a drain system and sump pump is installed, then I what to do the following before putting on the drywall and insulation.
1) fill any holes on wall by Dryloc fast plug
2) paint the whole basement wall by dryloc
3) install the special water proof drywall used for the shower area in bathroom.

Does this sound good?

This is an unfinished basement. I want to finish it to make it livable.
The basement, however, has some water damage caused by mold. I was told to do a water proof system from exterior, by digging deep around the house, which is very expensive: $50k for a 1200 square footage area.

I am wondering if there is any less costly alternative option for the water proof system? Like from interior? Thanks.

Can anyone give me a recommendation?

I have a single family house in Greenwood, IN, and would like to get any recommendation on property management company or agent who can help rent and manage my property. Thanks.

I am in Ottawa Canada, but used to live in Indianapolis, and my family is still there. In Indianapolis, houses are cheap but rent is ok. A 100k house can rent for $1500.

I have some cash in hand now ($300k), and am thinking of investing in some SFHs in the US, for cash flow right now and hopefully also for capital gain in the near future.

Ottawa fails in terms of cash flow. The price is too high compared to rental. Indianapolis does not stand out in terms of capital gain. Still a lot of foreclosures every month. And I do not expect the house price to increase in at least 3 years.

What are the other places would you recommend for RE investment? I saw a lot threads about Vegas these days.

What is the budget range of a home buyer?
For instance, if my list price is 100k, will my potential buyers be with budget of 80k-120k?