All Forum Posts by: Ana Marie B.

You're right @Steve Vaughan... thanks for waking me up.  I needed that.  We'll look elsewhere to put our hard-earned money.  Thanks so much!

Hi BP Fam!  Have a question for any experienced investors out there.  How do you approach a multiple bid scenario in a competitive market like the SF Bay Area?  I've never encountered such low inventory in my life!  I can literally count on 2 hands the # of houses for sale in a given city.  My husband and I are looking for a new primary home, while adding our current house as another rental. 

Just this past weekend, we placed a bid on a fixer upper with termites, extensive water damage, dry rot,  you name it.  Current owner appears to be a pack rat.  The house is not worth its $1.2M price tag, but we went in anyway at above asking.  We're going with 20% down payment, 30-yr. fixed financing, and other niceties thrown in. Then low and behold, our agent calls and says someone placed an all-cash offer for $1.3M w/ no contingencies.... My jaw dropped.  There are also 2 other bidders, one of whom offered 25% down payment, but rest of offer was similar to ours. 

If this house was in decent condition, I wouldn't mind dropping contingencies, but in its current condition, I just can't logically remove inspection contingency. We're willing to increase our bid if we receive a counter, but we just feel this person can just as easily throw-in another $100k+ in cash....

Anyone have any good stories of how they stuck it to an all-cash buyer? :)

Just an update....my husband and I put an offer on a fixer upper with termites, dry rot, you name it.  Current owner appears to be a pack rat.  Then someone comes along and makes an all cash offer of $1.3M with no contingencies.  *Sigh*  I can totally understand why people are leaving the SF bay area in droves.  This fixer upper is not worth more than $1.1M in its current condition.  I'm assuming this person is from out of the country and has never even stepped foot in the house.  

Oh well, our search continues!

Thank you again, @Jared W Smith.  Can't wait to start this process!

Wow this is why I love BP!  Thanks for all of the amazing tips, everyone. 

Special thanks to @Jared W Smith for that excellent process description -- that's exactly what I was looking for! Will definitely reach out to a few architects to check pricing, services offered, as well as availability.  After a lot of thinking last night, we're now looking to rent out our current primary home and move into this future home.  So in other words, we will be interested in the high-end finishes.  I especially like your suggestion about construction administration services, since you are correct that we don't have any construction experience and this would be a big load off of our shoulders. 

Would you recommend we begin interviewing architects once our offer is accepted?  Wait until inspections are done? 

Thanks again!

Hi BP Family - My husband and I are looking into purchasing another single family home.  We've always purchased turn-key properties and are now thinking of buying a true fixer-upper at a lower cost and renovating (i.e. adding higher, architecturally interesting ceiling, ripping out walls, and designing a modern space, etc.).  I'm wondering if anyone can give a high level description of steps to take for renovating a house.  Namely, I'm wondering what's the order for interviewing/hiring a general contractor vs. an architect vs. an interior designer.  If we contact one, will they generally put us in touch with the other professionals they typically work with, or do we go out an find our own?

I'm basically trying to make sense of the big picture.  Any help would be much appreciated.  Thanks in advance all!

Point well taken, @Gareth Fisher.  Real estate investing is not easy and it is not for everyone.  Your post is a good reminder that every post and article you read on BP and elsewhere must be taken with a grain of salt.  

For instance, I always sigh and shake my head disapprovingly when I read posts that exclaim, "How you can become a successful RE investor without using any of your own money!" Seriously, there are very slim chances of making this happen (unless of course you inherit a good chunk of change from a deceased relative or something).  

@Amanda B. - To help answer your question, you need to decide and weigh potential outcomes.  Is your relationship with your brother worth salvaging?  If so, the cleanest way to handle this would be to do a quasi-buy out.  Since you now own this house, you and your husband can decide whether giving your brother some money for him to move out is the best option.  He may still resent you, but at least this option provides some hope that you all can once again become friendly in the future.

If maintaining a relationship with your brother is not a priority, then yes, you can technically issue an eviction notice via your housing attorney.  Since your brother has lived in this property for some time, receives mail there (I assume), etc. he has tenant rights.  At least in San Francisco, this is the way things work.  So you must tread carefully. 

First off...what a mess.  Obviously this is a very complex issue.  From a cultural standpoint, having a 24-ish year old child still living at home with the parents isn't unheard of (I'm Asian).  It's common in my culture for one's child to live at home until he or she is married and has enough money saved to move out (even if that means late 20's, 30s).  Plus, it's expensive in CA where I live.

Now, for the house situation. As others questioned, is the house in fact legally under your ownership? (I apologize if you've already answered this, but I didn't read through the entire thread.) Your younger brother (and perhaps even your other brother in his 30's), may feel that they are entitled to a portion of your parent's estate...even if you did make the decision to move-in after your father died and pay the mortgage and other needs for some time.  

Your brother (at least the younger one) may be acting out because he feels you are taking the house from under him.  If you haven't taken steps to legally to transfer the house under your name, then your brother may have a valid claim. 

Perhaps buying him out would be an option in that case? Anyway, just my $0.02, as I'm trying to see this from a differ. angle. 

You lost me at, "Hi hi, My name is MSOOTKAUG"...