All Forum Posts by: Stone Teran

I found a great deal but it got under contract while I was trying to negotiate.  No harm there.

The other buyer's initial attempts at financing fell through and so I came in with the same offer but much more solid terms (BIG earnest $ amt and no financing contingency) and so the seller dropped guy #1 after the due date was reached and signed my offer.

I have the money to buy it all cash, but I really don't want to.  Is it shady to make an offer with no financing contingency and then pursue financing?  I intend to share this fact but I don't know what reaction I'll get. 

I want to acquire some land (with a damaged house) cheap and the owner wants to sell it cheap.  The problem is that there is a substantial multi-year real estate tax bill that the owner has accrued which he could never hope to pay off.  Will counties generally negotiate in a case like this so they get something or will they generally stick to the formal (slow) tax lien route? 

These are some really good ideas/suggestions.

I have noise complaints about kids running around in upstairs apartments.  The kids are good kids but they are hyper due to their young age.  Whenever I need to redo the flooring, I want to either:

1. Replace old carpet with new but use very thick padding

2. Add backerboard and ceramic tile all over.

Would the soft and squishy or the stiff approach work better?

I'm interesting in purchasing an apartment building with inadequate off-street parking.  The single-family home next door is in bad shape and can be had for cheap.  I know I need a permit to demolish the house and I'm guessing the demolition will cost $15k but I have no idea what else I need to consider.  How likely is it that the city will prohibit me from paving over the land?  Is a zoning change required?  I'm looking for general guidance.  Thanks!

I don't have the building yet and I'm not even 100% I will, but this question is part of my research in putting a budget together.  The renovation is a big gut job with 6-8 workers in there during the day and possibly 3 weeks before I can get utilities turned on. @Stefen Lee that was a good point about mud having trouble setting if we remove the heat source at the end of each workday.

 This is for a building where utilities are disconnected for building code issues, not because I'm too cheap to turn them on :)

What temporary heat source should I use while rehabbing an apt building in the winter?  No utilities are turned on.  I like propane portable heaters but I'm concerned about CO poisoning.  Is that the customary temp heat source people use or is there a better way?

I have a Time Warner cable sales rep that is often visiting my apartment buildings knocking on doors and leaving his flyers on doors which ends up all over the halls and parking lot.  I saw him recently and I told him to stay away and he said he was visiting a customer and blew me off.  Later that day I saw more flyers on doors.  I called him and he said he wouldn't return and hung up but my caretaker sees him back.  I have enough trouble with trash as it is.  Is there a way I can convince him not to come back?

I'm not an engineer but I don't understand why you would want to attempt it.  If you build and either must repair it or the city makes you repair it, unpinning that thing is going to be amazingly expensive.  Organics, debris and wood in the soil you just can't compact it away (to my knowledge).  It will just settle as that stuff decomposes.