All Forum Posts by: Karen Margrave

Asking $175,000 . What could you do with this? Talk about an Airbnb opportunity! Boutique hotel?  Retreat facility?  Fitness camp? This is it! 

Don't miss your chance to own a piece of history! The Historic Westwood Hospital was built in 1914 by the same Red River Logging Company that brought us the stories of Paul Bunyan and Babe the big blue ox. The Hospital features multiple wings of patient rooms, an elevator, a giant kitchen, multiple waiting rooms, large fireplace, a spacious third story apartment, and so many other fascinating features just waiting to be discovered. The hospital operated clear through the 1970s, and is a treasure trove of rich American and logging history. With possible funding available for the restoration of this once glorious building there is so much potential for just about anything you can imagine here. This incredible diamond in the ruff is located in the small town of Westwood California.

Talk about a fixer! Westwood, CA it's a MONSTER!

Karen Margrave

Phone/text: 530-782-1800

Big Block American Real Estate - DRE008848454

Go for it! Real Estate is about building a network of people, getting to know them, etc. If you're in a new place, get involved with things that interest you. Get up to speed on the local real estate market. Go to open houses. Find out if there's any BP meetups there. You might want to get in with an office that has opportunities for training, etc. Another way to learn the business is by working for an agent that needs an assistant, a title company, developer or ?  It let's you learn the process of real estate listings and sales, escrow, title, appraisals, etc. and helps build a foundation under you. Good luck! 

Quote from @Tim Deimer:

@Karen Margrave

I've never heard of ANY auction anywhere with those terms. Of course I've never even been tempted to bid in CA

I wasn't saying at the auction those were the terms. I was stating that if he bid at an auction he needed to check the agreement that he signed and find out what the terms were. 

The rest of the post was addressing all those on the thread saying you never get your EMD back. I was stating that in CA most often, you do. 

Even though someone may have survived through Covid, the materials used on those jobs was probably already being held in inventory somewhere. Now that we've come 2 years down the line, and those inventories have been depleted, manufacturers are having to kick up production with fewer employees that are getting paid more, and everything costs more. Many of the materials used in construction (lighting, plumbing, finish hardware, cabinets, etc.) come from China, and are sitting on ships out in the ocean. Add to that the truckers that have gone out of business due to the new environmental regulations requiring them to upgrade trucks or retire, and you have the perfect storm for higher material and labor costs along with delays in construction. 

Not speaking specifically to this job posted, but new construction in general. It's a very different world than we had 2 years ago, and I don't see it getting better any time soon. 

This market is off the rails! We're getting a lot of people from out of the area relocating here, which puts added pressure on our already crushed market. At the same time, I think the interest rate hikes are getting people off the fence, and it seems like there's more inventory coming on, not at steals but at least there's a few things to sell. The rental market is the same, crazy high rents, which is great for investors, because even at todays prices they can make their mortgage payments. What are your thoughts? Are you getting in or out of the market? 

It will depend on the terms of the agreement that you did when you bid on the house. Go back and look at it and see what it says regarding EMD.

As to all of you saying you don't get EMD back, that's rarely the case in CA. When you put in your EMD you have inspection period, appraisal period, loan contingency, etc. The inspection period by default is 17 days on inspections. If anytime during that time a buyer decides to opt out, basically for any reason, they get their EMD back. At the end of inspections, buyers can do a Request for Repairs for things found in the inspection. The seller can agree to do them, or not. The sellers not even required to respond. However; even then, the buyer can cancel. If the appraisal comes in short, the buyer has the option of covering the gap between appraisal and loan with their own funds, asking the seller to reduce the price, or backing out of the deal.

I would caution people to be careful what you are signing and make sure you understand the terms. Those are contracts, and when you sign, you're saying you will do what is set out in the contract. Do your homework. Know what values are. 

Thank you for your help! Look forward to seeing you there. 

Great floor plans and style. I'm not seeing you getting them done for $170 s.f. though. Materials costs are pretty close everywhere, and have doubled if not tripled on lumber. Has the builder done a take off on a program like Xactimate or ? that actually prices out materials? The good news is, even if you go over, it appears there's a healthy profit margin that can be reduced and still not be underwater. I'd wait until you're doing finish work to actually price and list them, and know for certain what costs are. You can still market and have a website for them to generate leads, but hold off on pricing, just generate buzz. I'll be looking forward to seeing the progress. Best of luck. 

It's pretty hard to sue an appraiser. The cost of suing anyone is usually far more than you'll get, and takes up valuable time. Sometimes you have to know when to walk away.

Your post is confusing. You have tenants but they own their mobiles? So they're renting space from you? Is he paying the rent? Is he doing anything illegal? You can't just evict people because you think they act strange, there has to be an actual cause. If there's too much traffic, do you have limitations in the lease as to parking, etc.? I'm not sure how you can limit frequency of visitors, or time, etc. You may need to consult with a real estate attorney.