All Forum Posts by: Tom W.

@Adam Sechrist 

I'm in the middle of my first REO flip project so I don't know if my situation was the norm or not but in my experience you have plenty of time. I made my initial offer on the REO property on March 22. There were multiple bidders so there was a series of "highest and best" requests from the bank's realtor. It seemed to take a week or more between each request for the bank to review the offers. When I finally did manage to close the deal it took several more weeks for the bank to get all of it's affairs in order. We didn't close until June 6th. About 11 weeks in total.

This was an all cash deal and two things were needed that could have blown the deal if we weren't prepared. 

First was proof of funds. For me this was an investment account that showed a balance higher than our offer. That money wasn't accessible overnight but it proved we had the means to make a cash offer.

Second was a 10% earnest money deposit within 3 days of acceptance of our offer.

I can't say that it's necessarily a code violation to cover the return but doing so will definitely leave you with a system that does not operate. At the very least there will be no airflow through the furnace and it will shut down on its high temperature safety controls. At worst, if the controls fail to operate properly, the furnace could be destroyed due to overheating. Fortunately, as someone mentioned earlier, this is all probably an easy fix. Since you're not in violation of distance to the stove just cut away the flooring that was placed over the return and install a new grill. It should be less than an hour's work plus the cost of a grill. My guess is that would be less expensive than trying to legally go after the home inspector or previous owner.

Residential mechanical code states that return air inlets are prohibited in kitchens unless the system is serving only the kitchen. The open concept may give you some leeway in the eyes of an inspector because it may be difficult to determine where the kitchen ends and the adjoining room starts. Under no circumstance is the return allowed to be installed closer than 10 ft from the stove. If the return inlet was caused to be in violation by a kitchen renovation, even if it was part of an existing HVAC system, it should have been required by the code officials to be moved. I would be concerned that this work was done without permits and has not received code official approval. If this is the case you could have other issues as well. I would suggest checking with your town building department to determine if there have been any permits pulled for this work and if any of those permits are still outstanding and awaiting inspection.

Was this a new HVAC installation? Central return air inlets installed in a kitchen are a code violation.

I'm in the middle of a flip now and have a "Coming to the Market Soon" sign posted in front. The only calls it has generated has been from Real Estate agents trying to get the listing.

Marina Shimanski If you have air blowing out of the electrical outlets that are located on an interior wall of the unit it means one of two things. 1) There is a negative pressure in your unit that is drawing the air in. This could happen from an exhaust fan running that has no other place to draw air in from or 2) There is a positive pressure that is being created either within the wall or on the other side of it. If the other side of the wall is the trash chute and there is air blowing out from it then the exhaust for that chute was not repaired properly. You should be able to determine that by opening the door to the chute slightly and see if air is being drawn in or pushed out. If the other side of the wall is an elevator shaft the positive pressure can be created when the elevator car moves through the shaft. As the car moves up and down in the shaft the air around it must be displaced. Very often there are large vents installed at the top of the shaft that relieve this pressure. If those vents are not functioning or have been covered by some type of renovation this could be a cause of the air being forced from your outlets. Elevator shafts at their base often become collection points for water and trash over the years. This could be a possible source of the smell.

Josh Skogen I don't know about the codes in Indiana but I'm an HVAC contractor in NJ where I think we have some of the toughest codes in the country when it comes to dealing with fuel oil tanks. I have dealt with many of them over the years and the ones that are located in basements are by far the easiest to dispose of. First, if there is oil left in the tank then there is almost certainly someone who will be willing to take it for free. 500 gallons of oil for an hour or two worth of work means a couple of months of free heat in the winter for someone. Even if there is some water in the tank it will not be a problem. The oil floats on top of water and the the point where the two meet is easily found with a paste that can be applied to a stick. The paste turns color in the presence of water so the pump suction will only be inserted to that depth. Second, fuel oil is not like gasoline. It does not give off flammable vapors that will ignite from a spark. It takes a lot of effort to get fuel oil burning. I know a few oil burner mechanics who are smokers that routinely put out their cigarette butts in a can of oil. I have personally cut up many tanks with a sawzall and can attest that they will not ignite. Third, the codes only dictate what must be done to abandon underground tanks or above ground tanks that have leaked. Above ground tanks that have not leaked are able to be drained, cut open, cleaned out then scrapped without any type of certifications. The water and small amount of sludge that is left in the tank is able to be absorbed with Speedi-Dri or Peat Moss and disposed of in the trash as non-hazardous waste. Last, and maybe most important, the codes are clear in stating that the fill pipe and vent pipes must be removed. There have been numerous accidents over the years where indoor tanks have been cut out and removed but the fill pipes left sticking out of the wall. The oil company then comes to fill the tank on an automatic delivery schedule because the customer failed to call and cancel the service. The result is a basement full of fuel oil. That is a problem that no one ever wants to face.

Trent Reznor A 27 year old HVAC system will be operating with R-22 refrigerant. R-22 is in the process of a government mandated phase out. Over the last couple of years production has been dropping and prices skyrocketing. In 2020 R-22 will be illegal to produce or import into the United States. $10k is not an out of line number for your replacement work because the new equipment will be using R-410a refrigerant. Because of this the contractor will be forced to replace both the indoor and outdoor components as well as the copper refrigerant lines connecting them. In addition, after 27 years, there have been changes made in the sizes of the indoor equipment that will probably require sheet metal duct modifications to make it fit. There could also be wiring upgrades needed. I would definitely be looking for price reductions from the seller if the original price of the house didn't reflect the upgrades needed.

Abram T. You need to find out why the rain water is infiltrating in the first place before working on repairs. Very often it is something simple like the ground outside has settled to the point that it is pitched back towards the foundation. This causes the rain water to seep down along the foundation and work its way in. Adding some top soil and grading it away from the foundation is an easy fix for this. Another common cause are downspouts from the gutters discharging next to the foundation instead of directing the water away from the house. Again, another easy fix. The real problems are caused by high water tables in the property around the house. Those type problems will probably require the services of a professional contractor.

Jake Recz Don't forget that a majority of properties in West Milford are using septic systems, private wells and have or have had oil tanks. All of those things can put a huge dent in the budget if not accounted for. High taxes are also a negative factor.