All Forum Posts by: Blair Poelman

hopefully your agent was optimistic because that result should give him or her a pretty handy negotiating tool to take to the seller and beat the price down some.  I wouldn't expect an enormous discount (because there's another investor that would probably take it with a positive test), but it is reasonable to ask for some kind of concession to help offset the cost of cleanup.

I've walked away from countless deals, but Personally I have never ran away just because of a positive meth test.  All it means to me is that I've got another line item on the rehab that has to be considered in the entire deal. Meth is getting more and more common in pretty much every community - if you're in this game long enough you're likely going to run in to it.  

UT is an appreciation market right now - has been for several years and I wouldn't be surprised if it stays that way for several more years.  Rents vs. ownership / acquisition costs are ok.  Cashflow is not incredibly amazing, but appreciation here is good.

You may want to take another look at your numbers. $350 monthly expense increase for taxes and insurance sounds really, really high - especially on a $235k house.

Finding a deal that makes sense to flip is getting more difficult - as if it wasn't hard enough to make a deal work here.  And I agree with you that the numbers are getting slimmer.  People are still going to play the game, but as margins continue to disappear, those losses will be mitigated by lowering quality, both quality of goods and quality of construction - but building crappy units is nothing new (see any Ivory home ever built)

Go look at literally ANY of the brand new condo or townhouse developments that are getting built in UT or SL county.  I've walked at least 25 different developments in the last month - every single one that I've been through is a solid 50 footer  (look good from 50 feet away, but when you get close they're obviously slapped together with less than A-grade materials by less than A-paid subs).

That being said, people will continue to buy flips from investors, so the game is not over... yet

@Ki Lee You're a unicorn If you have any debt and you're hitting 1% in Provo - 1% in Provo is not a realistic expectation - SFR or multi. Even back in the early 2010's, if you were getting 1% you were the exception - there are people who are doing it, but the majority of those owners have no debt and/or have owned the property for decades. We're an appreciation market right now (been that way for a very long time) and even janky old dumps are getting premium prices.

Depends on your state, and in some cases your contract.  You really need to consult an attorney about this since every situation is different.  Also, just as a matter of practice, you really shouldn't be asking for (or accepting) legal advice on a forum. 

You can ask for whatever you want on a contract / offer, but I don't know if I would call it normal (or not normal) to ask.  Commercial is a different game and I've never had a commercial seller agree to give any kind of substantial closing costs.  

I don't think an airBNB would be the best way to monetize in your neighborhood.  Provo is getting bigger and bigger every month, and it seems like our homeless population is hitting a critical mass right now. And with your proximity to the liquor store, you are smack-dab in the middle of where our homeless folks congregate - some live over by the river, but many are on those streets by you.  Based on the number of homeless people who live in the bushes on your block, having a short term rental is going to end up with enough vacant nights that eventually you'll have bums breaking in - and those guys can do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. I've had squatters do $10,000 in damages in 1 night.  Provo is not the sleepy little town it once was, and we're going to start seeing more big city shenanigans.

However, if there was an affordable place to live in Provo, you're probably in it, or at least close by - so I would hold onto it as long as possible, as affordable housing is becoming harder and harder to find. Those older homes (even the super SUPER junky ones) are getting more and more expensive.  There's a decent amount of development going on over there, and I can see that parking lot north of the liquor store being converted into yet another apartment building - and if you're already zoned for commercial it's only a matter of time until you get approached by a developer too.

quit claim will transfer ownership rights, but it may negate some or all of the provisions of a title insurance policy.  I believe this is a state-by-state issue so best to check with your title/attorney before making the change.

I did several deals in NY, and if I recall correctly, NY does not require disclosure of murder, death, or suicide at the property.  it's been some years since I've played in that area so check with a local broker to make sure.