All Forum Posts by: Alex Washburn

Update: The semi truck and the two non-commerial vehicles were all owned by the person who owned the house and were all transfered to the same estate.

We are contemplating a cash offer for the three vehicles as a gamble... We have no idea what the truck could be worth or how old it is. 

I don't think they are currently un-authorized vehicles. I believe the owner(s) of the vehicles are relatives of the owner of the house and them being in jail would explain why they haven't moved. But - obviously once we take possession of the house they will no longer be authorized. We are having the selling agent tell the seller the vehicles need to be moved by the closing date. 

Right now my plan is to run DMV checks on the cars to see who the owners are to hopefully serve proper notice? I'm unsure what to do if the the registered owner of any of the vehicles is verifiably incarcerated. 

Hello... My husband and I close on what will be our first long term rental in Chattanooga Tennessee on the 9th of August.

Walking through the house today I saw someone's work ID laying on a desk so I took a picture of it to google later. Turns out the person whom the ID belongs too was arrested in May for Domestic Assault. I also believe this person is the owner and driver of the big rig parked in the driveway (yes, a semi truck).

There are 3 vehicles total parked at the property that haven't moved at all in 2 weeks and I assume one of the regular cars belongs to the truck driver.

Has anyone experienced taking ownership of a property in Chattanooga with vehicles on it? If given appropriate notice to move the vehicles after we take ownership and the vehicles are not moved (one is inside the garage) do the vehicles eventually become ours? 

The other 2 vehicles are not cheap cars either and all 3 together would probably be worth more than we paid for the house. 

@Mike Lambert I do appreciate your thoughtful reply but the attitude I was referring to was in reference to people not willing to invest their own money in Latin America because of what they perceive as the difficulties of doing business there. I was not referring to US lenders or banks with that commentary - just pointing out how hard it has been for me to get other people to realize the potential a lot of these places have. 

In 2008 I was still in college so I lament the fact that I wasn't in an investment frame of mind before the lending rules changed. I arrived to the decision to invest in CR because my husband and I at the time were located in the San Francisco Bay Area and I felt pushed to get more creative with our considerations. 

Regardless, I am determined to find a way to change those rules because while I agree with a lot of what your saying about LTVs and the disconnect I don't want so much of my capital to go towards individual properties when I buy down there. 

@Mike Lambert so then how do you propose someone like @Micah Ng and I raise funds? Private investors without those lofty corporate connections can't effectively buy in Latin America because it's a cash only game. I've been trying to encourage people for years to buy in CR and most just get overwhelmed by the same attitude that keeps many out of Real Estate investment in the first place even though the cost of many properties is significantly less than a down payment in some USA and Canadian locations it's still equal to 4-5 down payments in many mid-western markets.  Once my property has been on the market for a full year as a vacation rental I am going to re-evaluate if it makes more sense to hold onto it or sell it and reinvest back into the USA turning into 3 new properties. 

@Mike Lambert I bought my first property in Costa Rica back in 2017 but found the inability to finance purchases frustrating. I decided I didn't like the political climate of property laws in a few other countries you mentioned when I was narrowing it down but of course we are likely looking for different things. 

Do you have a portfolio lender that is amenable to loaning for property purchases in CR? It's my understanding that flexibility dried up in 08' but I would love to be wrong about that. 

@Marcia Maynard I completely agree with your ‘place of fear’ commentary.

San Francisco is a scary place to rent and anything changing to a renters situation is enough to send anyone into complete and utter panic.

I’ve had several friends earning over $100k a year get displaced overnight by some crazy (yet legal) rent hikes - everyone in the city knows people who have been displaced.

@others - San Francisco has probably one of the most educated populations on rental laws in the US because of how expensive, competitive and ill say it... vicious the market is. <— it’s for all these reasons I left behind my STEAL of a 1 bedroom ($1,700 a month) last year and moved to another state.

They are trying to intimidate you yes but you need to hand the issue over to a management company and start taking classes.

I don’t agree that lawyering up and kicking them out is a good solution. If they’ve been good just tenants recognize their place of fear and bring in a professional before you do something you actually could be sued for.

I think I replied to your query in another thread.

I own an investment property in CR (it’s a vacation rental) and the biggest thing you need to be aware of is that you need to be an all cash buyer. You will not be able to be a loan from an American Bank to buy down there - If I could get a loan I’d own 2-3 places down there! 

If you get serious about a place I worked with an excellent retired American home inspector I’d highly recommend.

I own a CR property and my biggest tip for people interested in buying there is you need to go in with the expectation you will be buying in cash.

Banks in Costa Rica do not do home loans with great frequency (especially to foreigners) and American banks won’t loan on property purchased down there.

We bought our condo 1/3rd personal savings 1/3 family loan 1/3 high interest loan from Wells Fargo.

Hello All,

I am very excited for tomorrow as it will be my first BP meetup and I just moved to Chattanooga this week! I sign the final documents on my first Chattanooga property Friday!

Best,

Alex Washburn