All Forum Posts by: Anastasia Orth

Nice! Thank you @Ori Skloot and @J. Martin :)

@Ori Skloot, where would one even begin to look for 1) experienced, local investors and 2) off-market/MLS deals? My mom (in Pleasanton) has finally come to her senses and doesn't want to keep all of her hard earned cash in her savings account anymore - time to invest in RE. She has tasked me, her youngest, with the job :). Is there a Bay Area meetup you recommend?

@Art Ritter yes of course, thank you for that VERY important reminder.  We've decided to step away from the property - since it's 100% not going to work for personal use, we feel there are better investment opportunities out there.

Thanks everyone for all your insight. Much appreciated! 

@Account Closed,  Thanks so much for your thoughtful response.

Yes, we did get great results from the soil testing - totally normal or below average levels of all heavy metals. But even with the positive soil results, my fiancee still can’t get over the mining history in the area, and the impact that would have on daily living (always questioning the safety of local produce, our dog not able to swim in local waters, hesitance to plant a garden...etc.).

So as for us acquiring this property for personal use, I think that’s probably out of the question. My big hangup is I can’t help but think there is potential to make some money here. About a month ago I saw a 5 acre parcel just down the road go up on realtor.com. Was on for 4 days and already pending. I assume it sold since it’s offline now, and it was listed for $440,000, and not even as nice as the one we’re looking at! Granted it was ready to build, but I can’t imagine septic, water, power, road, and tree clearing running more than $100k, $120k ABSOLUTE TOPS. Am I off here?

An ideal situation would be finding a business partner to assume the financial aspect of it (buy/finance, etc), and I manage the development of the property. I may not have money, but I have time, patience, organization, and diligence. Then split the profits. Do people ever create relationships/partnerships like this?  I'm happy to do it all, just need the money! haha :)

Thanks again - so grateful for this platform and input from experienced individuals like yourselves.

@Sam Stout, thanks for your response.  Good information to know!  Would having positive soil test results protect me from such situations?  Or, do renters ever have tenants sign release of liability contracts to protect them from these types of lawsuits?  We did do soil testing (6 different locations over 7 acres of land), and all seemed fine.

@Anthony Dooley thank you, too, for your input.  Much appreciated! 

@Wesley Meilandt The property is on Cement Hill Rd, VERY close to Hirschman's Pond.  That was such a huge appeal, it being a 5 min drive to Broad St, TOPS.  If I had the available capital to buy and hold for appreciation, I absolutely would hold onto it.  We LOVE the community out there, and like I said I only see property value going up in that area. What are alternative solutions for septic?  Also, if you don't mind me asking, what did your family pay for the 40 acres 10 yrs ago, and what do you reckon it's worth now?  Thanks so much for your input! 

Dear BiggerPockets Community,

I need some guidance / advice.

But first, I just want to apologize for being completely absent on this platform for the past few months. I entered escrow on a property back in mid-April, and the due diligence process has been completely consuming. Yes, we are still in escrow…but after a long and emotional conversation with my fiancee this afternoon, we have decided that although it would be a dream to own this piece of raw land, it just doesn’t make sense to take on a liability at this time in our lives, let alone one that we're 90% excited about.

A bit of context: my fiancee and I have a dream of one day owning a chunk of land that we can take care of and build a nest on. We were planning on finding something several years from now, but earlier this spring we caught word of a 7 acre parcel 1.3 miles outside of downtown Nevada City (30 min walk or 4 min drive to town) for $169k. It’s totally raw land - power and water are only 300 feet away at the main road.The property has deeded access to the county irrigation water (NID), and there’s an abundance of beautiful manzanita, black oaks, cedar, and ponderosa pine.

After $3k of 2 failed perc & mantle tests, $1200 of soil testing for lead/mercury/arsenic/asbestos, and endless hours at the building department, we decided that although this place ticks most of our boxes, we A) just can’t reconcile with the excessive mining history in the county*, and B) can't continue perc & mantle testing at $1500/test to find out whether it will cost ~$10k for a standard septic or more like ~$30k for an engineered system. (wow... so expensive to go to the bathroom!)

(*Note: we waver on the slightly neurotic side when it comes to environmental health - I'm sure most people would be totally fine living in this county, plus our soil tests showed totally normal levels of heavy metal exposure.  BUT it's just a bit unnerving when you see signs that say "don't let your dog swim in Hirschman's Pond" or "don't eat the fish more than once a month").

Before I step away from this property, I’d like to know:

• Is there any opportunity for me to make money from this, perhaps by wholesaling since it’s under contract? Can you even wholesale raw land? Nevada City is DEFINITELY an up and coming town, very desirable. It was in Sunset Magazine as one of the top 5 mountain towns in the West, and there is an emerging tech scene in the area. We’re from the Bay Area and many of our tech community members split their time between the Bay and Nevada City. I can’t imagine this place NOT appreciating over the years… But again, doesn't exactly make sense for us financially to buy&hold something at this point in our lives.
• Is there any opportunity to break even or get back the money I’ve invested during the due diligence process (again, roughly $3k in failed perc&mantle tests, and $1200 in positive soil tests)? Should I try and sell those tests to the seller which he can then include in his disclosure to future buyers, making this property more appealing in an area that historically poses risk of heavy metal exposure? Just trying to get creative here... :) 
• Is there any money making opportunity that I'm just not seeing here?  Is there any reason for me to reconsider stepping away from this?

It's been 3 long months of full on due diligence - time, energy, money, tears. Feels like a second full-time job.  This is my very first experience with purchasing real estate. I went into this knowing that there would be some costs before purchasing, and that I could potentially find myself in this very position.  But I wanted to reach out to my Bigger Pockets community before making a move in hopes that someone with a bit more experience could offer some guidance.

If you were me, what would you do?

Thanks for your time :)

With love,

Ana

@Tim Kunz Thanks for the kind welcome!  Where would I find these local meetups, Meetup.com?  Or are they posted here in BP?  Still getting used to this platform...  I haven't had a "normal" job since October 2014 - was living off savings for a couple years then started down the entrepreneurial path about 6 months ago - UPS AND DOWNS FOR SURE!  haha.  Looking forward to connecting.

@Jo-Ann Lapin, thanks for the welcome.  Here are just a few of my RE goals (I'm sure I'll create more as I gain experience):

- Learn as much as I possibly can about the world of real estate - fix & flip, wholesaling, finance, and ultimately out of state cash flow rentals (my understanding is that currently CA is not the most ideal market for cash flow rentals)

- Successfully Fix and Flip at least one home with my 82 year old father - he hung sheet rock for 50 years, and although he cannot physically do the heavy work anymore, he still has the heart, the passion, and the vision.  He built the home I was born in, and has built many others since then.  He can turn dumps into castles.  I'd LOVE to do a fix and flip with him before he puts down the hammer for good.  I'd say this is my biggest goal.

- Create enough capital/cashflow to cover my very modest living expenses, and then grow from there.  I'd like to get to a point where I can give a substantial portion of my income to charities, and perhaps even create a foundation for the causes I care about - environmental protection, human/animal welfare, social justice, etc.

- Buy a piece of land to care for and to create my dream cabin in the woods

- Learn from a mentor (through reciprocity of course, giving where I can), be a lifelong student and teacher, and ultimately mentor others who are seeking financial freedom through real estate.

I have a LOT of entrepreneurial juice at the moment, like busting at the seems.  I have some pretty big "why's", and I am fully in learning & building mode.  Can't wait to see where I'll be in a few years, and totally ready for the ups, downs, and turns in this line of work.