All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I know Jackson, Tenn isnt that big but can you get another inspector on the phone before Wed? I always hate last minute crap on deals cause it always seems to move slower then you needed it to. Do u have an experienced buddy uncle or anyone in town that is a contractor or has a firm knowledge of the building trades that could do this inspection if you cant find one?

Thats why I thought a call to your agent would clear this up because reminding an agent that a subsequent a call to your attorney would surely set everyone on fire in that real estate office to either get you your earnest money back or some how get u in the back door down to get you in to inspect the property. I am glad you had the foresight to have the inspection contingency in the offer it will probably save your skin.
at any rate I think even though they have your earnest money sitting in there trust acct you are in pretty good shape if they dont even give you the inspection. Any decent judge in the land would see they are not holding up there end of the contract if they dont even have a combo to get the key to let you in right?
The time line btw is arguable regarding days being on the weekends and holidays. Its is pretty easy to shred a real estate contract before it closes with a decent attorney with the particulars I have heard already.
I would be extremely firm with the agent when you do talk to him if he gives u any crap why he cant get u in the house fast for an inspection.

I agree with Zing on this 1k to 3k to rebuild this wall maybe 5k max so long as the problem isnt a grade issue. Get some estimates from contractors and have them talk to you about it. Then you will have more info to go on. If 140k is what your house is worth arv then its worth it to do the work and make some money on the back end. Your exit is a lot easier without foundation problems and this one doesnt look too bad. I have not seen the rest of the property and there are not many pics here. Are there any large trees encroaching on that wall or nearby? I once bought a similiar 2 bedroom w block foundation and walls like this. They built a lot of these homes during ww2 into the late 50's. If you have more pics and some farther back from wall i could see grade issues if there where any. Having estimates will also help you prepare for fix and repair costs.

I would advise the Realtor to either get u in the property or get you your earnest money back. As a licensed agent its up to him to get you in the unit to see it. If you want this deal its up to you but I dont like buying them without seeing the inside unless its under 5k I am risking for purchase price.
What you cant see inside usually the worst is a bad furnace or foundational issues in the basement walls. The roof u can see from the outside is the other thing so your ok there. I have never been deterred buying a property on other details like electrical and plumbing because I can re plumb an entire home usually for under 5k if its just repairs. I know your probably worried about your earnest money so if your inspection is in the offer you should be safe there. That you put it in the offer covers you. Your Realtor by dragging his feet has potentially cost him this deal. I would tell him to man up and take the blame and ask to get inside to inspect it fast or the buyer (you) is going to walk from this deal with your earnest money in hand. The question is this you or your mom that will inspect or a 3rd party inspector. Depending on your experience in this business will determine that. Having an inspector sometimes can teach you a few things you will want to know before closing a deal... especially in an older property!
In the place I live 2 times a year they hold auctions to sell property for unpaid taxes and you get a deed. The homes sell for 1 to 10k and most sell between 3k and 5k. You dont generally get inside them legally but some have broken windows and ajar doors and ect but many you just cant get into. To turn them into rentals I usually budget about 2k to 5k for electrical and the same for plumbing and heating. The houses or duplexes I buy like this are full of risk but I learned something. I can buy a few of these properties and sell the worst of the 2 and keep the cheapest or best one to rehab. At that price the risk isnt so heavy. When you get to 27k its changes, things and I have a tendency to protect my investment by seeing the property before I close. I have walked out of a few closings and ended a few negotiations over things like this. The license your agent has is about the most important thing that will keep your earnest money safe. I would talk to an attorney if you dont get quick resolution to your request to get inside quickly to inspect. If the agent responds maybe all can go forward as planned. You probably want an attorney to help you close this anyways as they can help you in any other problems that arise. Having an attorney always seems expensive until you actually need one. I have them look over most of my deals. If Its simple they will close a deal for a few hundred dollars.
I buy em cheap so if I am off 10k in repairs it doesnt matter I still make a lot of money when I am finished. Thats my business philosophy if the spread isnt wide enough why waste your time when you cant even drive to the store without passing hundreds of properties.
Before I began to buy tax property I was doing ok buying them like you are for 50% of arv like that 27k on a 60k value not bad usually from the world of foreclosures. I wont go back to paying those prices. This last auction I watched a car lot sell for 13k I was astounded and had I thought it would sell so cheap I might have actually unloaded a little of my gold to buy it.
btw Ben I am not that far away from your market in Tenn I sit on the Ohio river in Evansville on the KY Indiana border. I almost forgot have your mom go down town to local building inspector and check to see if there are orders on the property that can tell u something to that might help you in your decision.
Happy New Year

My managers always remove tenants without negotiating but in this situation use of local law enforcement is without a doubt a great policy to reduce damage to property and avoid a confrontation. I always go to my property with the writ I get from the Sheriff. Tenant laws vary from state to state. Its always a good idea to have a grasp of your state laws and stay within them. In 23 years of landlording I have lost one eviction and it was because I couldn't show up because I was doing business elsewhere. We reopened the case and had it reversed they were out of our unit as soon as I got home to handle it. I have gone to units that were abandoned but i always take another person along I trust like a manager or a close friend. Having one guy behind you with a working cell phone helps. Those devices have made doing move out condition reports so easy. On larger projects its easy for management to see when someone leaves but if you have a scattered site of apts like I did and still do I will be friend neighbors to my units and things like that to get more information. I am a talker and love to know more about my apts by talking to neighbors. I usually get history of the property if its an older person that has lived there any length of time.
Sometimes when I first buy an apt building or house I will talk for a full hour to a neighbor. The relationships you make in this business can really help later on. I had one lady next to a duplex I owned help me, because i let her borrow my power washer to clean her home. It was win win. when it was time to get rid of the tenant that had abused his girlfriend the lady gave me daily updates on his moving progress. Of course if your too busy for this type of correspondence its understandable not all landlords are full time.

I have a large 74 unit property spread out over 14 acres in side by side brick duplexes as well as other property near where I live and I have not replaced carpets in years slowly but surely I am phasing them out for both hardwood floors and tile. I have never been lucky enough to get carpets to last more then 3 to 5 years even with the best tenants.
The tile floors I put in 15 years ago are still going strong. I have had a few break over the years but very few. Abandoning carpets was great. When I do showings in higher end units I have been known to do a few throw rugs to show the units better. When I rent I pull the throw rugs and use them over and over for the next showing. I had a few tenants ask what happened to the throw rugs that where in here a few times and I just say the carpets are for showing the property how ever they are for sale if that is something you would like. I will sell the carpets at a discount to get there business if I have to but its ok. The carpets are cheap you can get a runner for about 30 bucks and a large living room carpet for 150 to 175 dollars. For 200 to 400 you have your throw rugs for showing units and they roll up easy. Large complexes often have show units that are decorated and sell the unit to a tenant. Decades ago when I used carpets when I was still learning this business I would buy cheap carpet and put heavy pad underneath creating a carpet that feels a lot better then it is. Today I absolutely donot use carpet unless its a luxury unit or a commercial unit that requires it. Over time I have never had trouble renting units with tile or hardwood and the investment has paid off. Right now I am doing a rehab and its a 2800+ sqft craftsman bungalow and all the floors luckily are hardwood under the carpets i ripped up. The entire basement and kitchen and bathrooms will be tile. The living room dining room and 4 bedrooms will be hardwood floors. One bedroom has damaged floors so I am spending the money to put them back. I own the nailer to put down flooring and I have a guy that works for me part time he is a great carpenter for the 14 bucks an hour I pay him. I know this might not directly answer the question but I rarely ever got 5 years out of carpets in my apts. Unit by unit I made the capital improvements.BTW if I have put carpets in a unit it was probably a fix and flip and not a rental.
Happy New Year

Best to find a local attorney that has closed property in that county. this is worth your extra 500 bucks or what ever it costs!

In the old days when I borrowed money they did it several ways. 1st you can have it taken out of your llc at close then put back in llc right away after close. The other thing you can try is to have a dun and bradstreet score tied to the llc so it has a separate business credit.
Experian also has a business credit score system in place. Both of these scenarios are extra work and require a lot of planning and a little extra money to obtain your acct. Dun and Bradstreet I am told does not do a very good job anymore of helping you make changes to your acct. Also you need to ask each of your lenders which they would prefer in order to make your loans happen. when I borrowed in the old days of my business my banker used to say he loved it when i brought him deals because I had basically done the underwriting for him. Learn what each lender you plan to use requires and get it ready ahead of time. LLC's can also manage other llc's in case you wanted to have a basic llc hold a deal during close then have it quit claim to another entity. A lot of lenders now arent going to let you do deals unless you personally guarantee the loan. At some point you can get no recourse financing but its tricky and your property must have a 2 year history of showing good profits and you should show strong reserves in place as well. Todays rules have changed but the basics are the same they just require you to show you can pay back the loan and are able to handle short falls financially with reserves. LOC's are also still out there for those that can prove there financial ability to pay them back.
The management of credit had been such a night mare to me over time I have completely washed bankers out of my life. All they do is drag my feet through the mud. I pay cash for my deals now or use hml and owner financing. While its reduced the number of deals I do my profits have expoded. I wish I had done my business this way when I 1st started I would not have been playing such games trying to please bankers when I could be chasing profits instead.
when you search out bankers find a smaller commericial banker that is whats called a portfolio banker. He will hold his loans in house and isnt subject to the exact same rules as a banker selling your loans to Fannie and Freddie or the market. Portfolio lenders sometimes are more relaxed when it comes to criteria for lending.

Do any of the larger investors here have shingles drop shipped to there apt buildings
I will be doing a large roofing job on one of my apt buildings and dont want to pay the prices that menards and home depo and lowes charge. shingles have exploded in price over the last 3 to 5 years and I am doing my best to keep my maintenance costs down. a link or a business name or ect would be great. Happy Holidays to all and have a profitable New Year