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All Forum Posts by: Wenyu Zhang

Wenyu Zhang has started 4 posts and replied 20 times.

Post: Water Started to Leak into Basement but no evidence of leaking in Seller Disclosure

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12
Quote from @Drew Sygit:

Many basement foundation leaks can be addressed via:
1) Proper gutters & downspout extensions
2) Regrading around the foundation, so ground slopes AWAY from foundation
3) Seal the driveway-foundation seem every year

$20k sounds like an insane amount, would gget another 2 bids to compare.

You don't seem to have enough evidence to prove the seller knew about the water issues. You would need to find a company the seller hired or get something in writing from a neighbor that witnessed the water in the basement or repairs during the seller's ownership.

Confused about your statement, "If my lease wasn't about to end after two weeks, I would hold off and negotiate with seller for the issue".
- Did you move into the house or did you rent it out?


I tried to spray water to the gutter using garden hose and it actually works great. The leaking area is around the back patio and the concrete is sloping away from the house. That's what makes the seepage mysterious.

The lease I was talking about was my apartment lease while I was shopping for properties. I didn't want to be homeless so wanted to close the deal and move in the house before my lease ended.

Post: Water Started to Leak into Basement but no evidence of leaking in Seller Disclosure

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12

So I just purchased an older home in Michigan and need to deal with a water seepage issue. I know basement is prone to leak so I did some homework.  But still, I have made a couple of stupid mistakes here. 

1. On the day of inspection, the inspector used moisture meter to check the foundation and it reads 97%. I didn't know that actually mean the moisture was dramtically high until now, because the meter showed it as green color. It was raining pretty good on that day but no leaking found though.

2. On the day of final walk-through before closing, I noticed a small water puddle around the cove joint in the basement. If my lease wasn't about to end after two weeks, I would hold off and negotiate with seller for the issue. But my agent told me I could just seal around the foundation to stop the water which I also thought it should be a simple fix. So I closed the house.

3. After having a water proofing company do a free inspection, we found many patches around the basement foundation, which is a significant sign of leaking previously. And I was told patching is more like a bandaid and every company needs to do drain tile which costs a lot.

Now I checked the seller's disclosure again, they marked NO on the basement evidence of water. However, I found a bucket of concrete patch in the garage so I assume they must have done some patching. Some facts about the home: cinder block foundation, previous owner lived there for 10 years, but it was a HUD before that. Checked with a few neighbors with block foundation and they never had such issue. Seller already gave me $2000 concession for some other issues around the house. But a full water proofing cost about $20000.

Do you all think there are chances that I take some legal action against the seller? How do I argue they failed to disclose the water issue in the basement? Thanks everyone.

Post: How to get around with 75% rental income rule?

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12
Quote from @Patrick Roberts:

If your existing rental properties reported their financial performance on your most recent Schedule E, then your lender should be using a net cashflow analysis based on the Sched E figures for your DTI for those properties in most scenarios. If they have not reported on your Sched E yet, then 75% of the gross rent is appropriate. This is specifically for conforming loans.

If youre referring to the rental income from the new property that youre buying, then 75% of the gross rent for that specific property is what's used in almost all cases. 

If DTI/income calc is the only thing holding you back, I recommend looking into DSCR loans. Most programs will use the full gross rent for the new property, not 75%.

I dont know all of the specifics of your scenario, but this is a general overview.


That's a great answer. But what if I have "negative" cashflow on the tax return since I'm taking advantage of property depreciation? Would the lender still consider my net cashflow as negative?

Post: How to get around with 75% rental income rule?

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12
Quote from @Wenyu Zhang:

I have three rental properties and am looking to purchase a fourth one. I have been using conventional mortgage for my properties. The three rentals all have okay cash flow which is at least positive. However, as many of you know, most lenders only use 75% of the rental income so from their perspective my cash flow would be actually negative. Also, I'm taking a huge pay cut for my new job. As a result, my DTI ratio is now greatly reduced due to this calculation method and my lower income. With that being said, I'm seeking for advice and tricks on gettting around with this 75% rule to allow me purchase my next property.

If anyone know lenders that are flexible with this 75% rule around Detroit area, please let me know. Thanks.


 Forgot to mention that, I’m actually buying the fourth property as my primary residence because of the new job.

Post: How to get around with 75% rental income rule?

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12

I have three rental properties and am looking to purchase a fourth one. I have been using conventional mortgage for my properties. The three rentals all have okay cash flow which is at least positive. However, as many of you know, most lenders only use 75% of the rental income so from their perspective my cash flow would be actually negative. Also, I'm taking a huge pay cut for my new job. As a result, my DTI ratio is now greatly reduced due to this calculation method and my lower income. With that being said, I'm seeking for advice and tricks on gettting around with this 75% rule to allow me purchase my next property.

If anyone know lenders that are flexible with this 75% rule around Detroit area, please let me know. Thanks.

Post: Tenant vacates property before december 1 without notice. Lease is till August 2025

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12

The same incident just happened to me too. They left my property before the lease ends next year because they bought a new house. Based on my understanding, I could file a small claim but the court will not execute it, which means if the tenant decides not to keep paying rent, I couldn't anything with them even if I won. Is this correct? Would a collection agency be better for this incident?

Post: Cost to build

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12

@Account Closed Mind share your builder/GC? I have a land around Ocala and want to build a duplex too. Appreciated.

Post: House hacking at 22 - What I regret...

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12

Wow while your story is really inspiring, I found the most impressive part is your credibility and reputation. Because the key is you were able to borrow a large chunk of down payment rather than doing generic house hacking. Based on your numbers, it turned out to be around at least 50k? Who would lend 50k+ to a grad fresh out of college??? What I found these days is that most of the time people's success is not based on the hardwork or intelligence but they personality. If they are credible and let people like them, it's easier to get enough funds and start to be successful.

Post: House hacking at 22 - What I regret...

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12
Quote from @Scott E.:

Great post Jake. I love that you shared all of this detail about your experience.

My first deal was also a house hack (I started a little later than you, I was 25). And I had a similar experience.

It was cool that my tenants (roommates) paid for my mortgage. But after a few years, I got really sick of being kept up late, dirty dishes always in the sink, having random girlfriends or other people come through the house, A/C running colder than I'd like, etc.

In hindsight I wish I was more organized like you were. Had I set better expectations from the beginning maybe my experience wouldn't have been as bad. But I'll still never have roommates again :)


 I had a similar experience. Whoever I found as my roommate, they always had random person sleep over in the room, they always preferred to keep the AC lower than I do, etc. An interview or questionnaire is the key when looking for roommates. Now I will always ask a bunch of questions before letting someone in the house to be safe than sorry.

Post: Is anyone buying right now?

Wenyu ZhangPosted
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Orlando, FL
  • Posts 20
  • Votes 12

I'm in Orlando as well. 250k for a 2b/2b seems to be high. Is it a SFH or apartment? Also, your can buy points to lower down the rate. I would say as long as you can make rent and expense (mortgage + maintainence) equal, go for it.