All Forum Posts by: Tom C

Yup, it appears that they are going to try and keep people in homes that they should have never qualified for to begin with. Once they reneg their contract, I am sure those same people will go out and pull another 10K out of their house to buy a flat screen.

Mike makes an excellent point. Just like with any law, the more complicated it is, the more loop holes people can find. I have a one page app and 3 sheet lease agreement. One other thing, if they are responsible for the utlities, make sure you call and verify they have been place in the tenants name before you give them the keys.

Will,

You don't need to know all of the code requirements for a specific area, but you do need to be able to tell the difference between a fuse box and breaker box. You need to be able to look at a furnace and hot water heater and determine how old it is and if its going to need to be replaced. You should be able to look at a basement foundation and tell whether there are cracks or bulges in it or termites in your walls and you should be able to climb in the attic and see if the roof has leaked in the past or is still leaking. All of these things just require taking some extra time, getting dirty and looking beyond the basic cosmetic enhancements you have to do.

You will make a few mistakes and miss stuff from time to time, but as long as you know that you have a problem structure, then you know what to offer. As long as you find the big ticket items, all those other things can be fixed after you take control for minimum cost. I am a firm believer of doing your homework before going to look, then you go look and be ready to make that offer then. I don't want to have to wait on an inspection, nor do I want to pay for one. The appraisal is bad enough. When I finally get the lights, water and gas turned on in a house that has been sitting vacant for a year or more, trust me, it's scary. A broken gas line in the front yard cost me 800 bucks to repair, but an inspector would have never found most of the things that I find after the fact any way.

On two different houses I've had the water turned on only to find my kitchen ceiling pouring water through the ceiling fan because of cracked pipes. These are little things that are not expensive to fix, just time consuming. The only thing that a inspector would have found that I missed so far in any of my homes were termites and that would not have changed the deal in the end. I would have still bought the house for the same price.

Before you buy it, know what Section requires, you may find that the rehab will cost much more then you expect when dealing with Section 8.

Yes, you can do it part time, but you will need some flexiblity in your schedule or have someone who can meet with inspectors and others during the day. My wife works nights, so she is able to do the day time tasks for me.

Will,

I think we have touched on this before. In my opinion, if you are going to be in this business, you have to be able to do your own inspections. You shouldn't have to rely on someone else coming out to a property and doing an inspection. It takes too much time and is to costly.

I've got a lender who "says" seasoning is not an issue. Rates are high and so is the closing cost. PM me if you want his info.

I agree with Jon, 35K is the most I would pay for it, maybe 40K if you have a lot of equity.

Tim,

I would have to say it's an investment. It saves me a lot of taxes and it continues to appreciate while I pay down the principle. On the land where it sits we make money from an egg business and we raise cattle for beef. It's an investment.

I agree.. Not that I would support it, but for public service.. How would one do it illegally.?