All Forum Posts by: Anthony Angotti
Anthony Angotti has started 64 posts and replied 1482 times.
Post: Buying a Property from a family member
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
@Laura Lamberth
A real estate attorney or title company can walk you through this.
If you want a value that is impartial then you could hire an appraiser directly
Post: How would you split a flip?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
@Scott Brewster
It really just comes down to whatever you both agree is fair up front.
I like paying both people for their work accordingly as if they weren't partners (lender gets paid points/interest as normal and contractor get paid labor rate that is fair) and then splitting profits 50/50 after stuff laid as normal.
This is the most fair deal for everyone IMO.
Post: American cities with high walkability but low cost of living?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Enrique Kratz:
Hey guys,
Recent college grad, thinking of buying an apartment. I was living in NYC and I really like it, however, it's very expensive, it doesn't seem like a good place to live when you are starting out in life.
I'm looking for somewhere where I can walk around and see shops, stores and dining. However, that it isn't that expensive. I'm looking for something with a relatively lower cost of living compared to NYC.
I'm wondering what you guys have in mind?
Certain neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are very walkable. Additionally Pittsburgh is consistently rated as one of the most affordable cities. Just throwing it out there as a possibility.
Post: Comp Adjustments for Pittsburgh Area
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Brendon W.:
I actually have a follow up question somewhat on the same subject. If the Zillow listing says "3 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms" and County Assessment records say "2 bedrooms / 1 bathroom," what does that discrepancy mean? Square footage is the same on both but I'm seeing a lot of differences when it comes to the rooms. Does this pose any kind of potential permitting issue for a future buyer? It's like watching the news...I don't know what to believe.
It often means that they did work that wasn't permitted if it looks like there's an addition.
If you don't look into this during your contingency period you might have issues when selling it to someone else.
Before buying you need to verify if the bedroom/bathroom is a permitted addition with whatever municipality the place is in. If it's an actual addition I'd be more concerned than if it was a situation where the walls just look to be rearranged to better use the square footage.
Post: Someone using my rental property listing to scam renters
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Kevin Means:
Just listed my property the other day and had some showings but a bunch of people have come due to someone posting my property through Facebook marketplace and Craigslist which I wasn’t using. Telling them they aren’t in town and to look the windows if they want to see it or someone told themsomeone would be there in their place (I was there). Luckily I had caught a lot people and told them what was going on but I don’t want people to fall for this when I’m not there. What can I do about this? Looks like they’ve taken them down now because one person called them out. Could I be in any trouble if someone does fall for it and gives this person a deposit?
In the future you can watermark your pictures. That helps a little bit
Post: Comp Adjustments for Pittsburgh Area
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Brendon W.:
I'm sure this question has been asked 1000 times on this site at this point, but I'm wondering if anyone has some market specific insight for the Pittsburgh Area.
I'm trying to run some comps on a single family home and I'm not sure how much I should be adjusting for extra bedrooms and bathrooms. J. Scott uses 3% of the sale price for an extra bedroom but I'm sure this varies from market to market.
Any rules of thumb to use for 2 bedrooms compared to 3 bedrooms...3 bedrooms compared to 4 bedrooms? 1 bath compared to 2...2 compared to 3, etc. ?
Also, one of the homes I was using as a comp was excellent (same style, general floor plan, age, sq. footage) but it had a pool in the backyard. I just threw something out there and subtracted $10K although I have no idea how much an inground pool would affect the price in Western PA where you get about 4 months a year to use it. Maybe I shouldn't have even used that home as a comp..
I appreciate any feedback.
Thanks!
You need to run comps for an area and control for bedroom/bathroom count as much as you can. There is no standard adjustment, it's based on neighborhood.
Pools are really no value add at all, and in many cases are actually a negative value factor. However depends on the price range like everything else, but I'm assuming this is not a luxury property.
Post: 30 Day Minimum Stay Restrictions
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Lorraine Patterson:
Happy Saturday BP, is a 30 day minimum stay restriction a deal breaker when considering to purchase an investment property in Clearwater Beach Florida?
Thanks for the question! Thinking about buying a long distance property to have for vacations and rent to pay for it when we aren't using it. As a newb to vacation areas didn't even think about minimum stays. Probably stupid, but realized this is now a consideration I should have. I assume this is an HOA thing and not a city wide/neighborhood wide restriction or is that wrong?
Post: Rules of Thumb for a Bidding War?
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Neil Polehn:
Hello All,
I found a SFH that fits the formula I have for buying property and the asking price is good. Unfortunately since it's in a hot market, there are already multiple offers. I dont want to dramatically over pay and win, or underpay and lose. Last time I was in one I know I overpaid so I dont want avoid that. I am hoping you'll might know some rules of thumbs or guidelines for how much over asking price you are willing to pay?
Right now there are 4 offers and they close offers and pick tomorrow at noon. Thanks!
Neil
- You're realtor should guide you, but: Escalation Clause, Waive Inspection, remove appraisal contingency, provide the best possible financing/waive mortgage contingency, Make Deposit nonrefundable, higher than average deposit, as few contingencies as possible, quick closing, and a few other things, but basically just think about everything that reduces risk to the seller and put those in your agreement. It's not always just the highest price.
Post: Long Distance Investing in Hawaii Waikiki
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Tyler Henry:
A few years ago I visited Waikiki, an easily immediately, it became one of my favorite places on Earth. I could see living there at some point in time, it could be interesting just to own a condo, and rent it out, but use it on occasion as well. All the same I find it interesting that actually you can find some relatively affordable condos. https://www.zillow.com/homedet... I live in Florida at the moment, but I was curious about anyone's experience, or if anyone invests in Waikiki knows any common pitfalls. I've ordered the 'long distance investor' book and going to read the advice from there. I'm wondering also if contractors/renovations are super expensive there, like everything else. I know condo's aren't traditionally the best investment, but regardless I do like the simplicity of them.
@Duc Ong do you have any insight?
Post: Pittsburgh Area Multifamily Zoning
- Real Estate Agent
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Posts 1,538
- Votes 845
Originally posted by @Brendon W.:
I've been trying to find an area to purchase a home as a primary residence with the goal of increasing my savings rate. My target area is the South Hills / Northern Washington County area. As a wanna-be investor with no experience, ideally I'd like to find a relatively turn-key duplex that I could leverage an FHA / low down payment conventional loan on. I've been analyzing the small multifamily properties on the market within the last few months, but I haven't found anything suitable so far. I've also been considering the option of buying a single-family home that has potential to be converted into a duplex, however, the zoning laws vary township by township regarding leniency towards multifamily zoning. Some of the areas most conducive to this type of thing naturally seem to be the areas with exorbitant tax rates (Brentwood, Carnegie, Dormont, etc.) and being as that I would only be collecting rent from one Unit, a $500/month tax bill might make it more beneficial to just try and find a small single family further from the city in a nicer area that can't be converted. Renting out rooms isn't really an option for me either.
I have a pretty decent paying job, but I've been renting in Upper $aint. Clair like an idiot for the last 4-5 years before I caught the RE bug and now I'm just trying to figure out how to tackle my housing expense but this is the issue I've been stuck on. Anyone have any insight or knowledge as far as zoning in the area?
Thanks !
Trying to convert from a SFH to a duplex is a nightmare. Also, Dormont is actually pretty average tax rate wise across Allegheny county. . . .so it's just kind of a Western PA things (and PA as a whole) to have garbage tax rates.
Sounds to me like you are torn between high cash flow (which means buying in a C class area/or buying a beat up property) and buying something turnkey in a B class and up area. My advice would be to work that out first. Personally I have bought a lot of units in Dormont and although the taxes go up and the purchase price is high the area has been appreciating well rent wise and value wise, the tenant quality is good, and I've added so much to my networth over the years by being invested in a good/appreciating area. I still cash flow, but at this point as long as a building makes money after all expenses I'm not hung up on it being a home run cash flow wise. I'm really just looking for something that is most likely to grow my networth substantially, and after running the numbers a bunch of different ways that's been B class properties with a moderate amount of value add.
I also still house hack in Dormont and really the house hack deals that I've done the numbers have worked out after we leave, but they aren't home runs cash flow wise, however the ROI is gigantic considering the low amount of cash needed to get in.