All Forum Posts by: Christian Carson

The key card setup is standard these days. 

We have installed systems on three different buildings, using both the DIY method and hiring a security company to install a Bosch system. For frequent usage and a lot of doors and users, it's worth it to go with the professionally installed system - it might set you back about $1,500-2,500 per door, and will integrate with your security system and fire panel. However, for a few doors and low usage, it might be worth it to go with the DIY method if you can do it in-house. You can buy access control kits on Amazon (seller name "mengqi-control") - the documentation is absolutely awful but once you figure it out, it functions as designed. I have had three of these boxes in one building for about three years without any failures, although I am the only one who knows how to program it.

Right. Again, let me reiterate that the use of old reports would only be relied upon to terminate a contract for purchase. I would never suggest purchasing a commercial property without performing the appropriate due diligence yourself. However, if a prior phase II indicates that the indoor air quality violates carcinogenic risk standards, there is no need to perform another phase II before exercising your right to terminate the contract. Being able to review the old work would have saved a lot of wasted time and money on a property that couldn't be purchased.

I of course have always requested prior phase IIs from property owners and in only one situation has one ever been produced. More often, the new phase II discloses that several phase IIs had been performed by prior owners. The fact that the certified professional was able to review a phase II from 1996 indicates to me that there's some kind of private data exchange out there. But if there isn't, I guess it will simply remain a black box.

By old studies, I mean prior phase I and phase II investigations, not the underlying reports. The most recent one I reviewed identified two Phase II ESAs conducted in 2015 and 2003, respectively, by different companies. Where are they getting this information?

And I don't mean to suggest that you can substitute an old Phase II for doing your own investigation. The law is clear on this point--you must make all appropriate inquiry to invoke the innocent landowner defense. However, you can't become liable under CERCLA for walking away! Being able to review prior ESAs would aid in determining whether to spring $30k on a new Phase II or terminate the contract.

Pretty much every Phase I or II environmental site assessment I've ever seen references past studies, and not just studies done by the same company. Does anyone know where they find that information? It would be really nice to be able to find these old reports before wasting money on an ESA for a contaminated property. I'm sure there's some kind of proprietary database but I was wondering if anyone has successfully accessed them without paying for the new ESA itself.

I form an LLC for every separate line of business, including real estate rentals. I follow a rule of thumb to use an LLC for everything unless it is otherwise made impractical due to some outside influence.

Quite frankly, the unincorporated sole proprietorship strikes me as unprofessional. From a marketing perspective alone, a business entity lends credibility to the operator (at least in my eyes). I'm willing to take some operational penalties to achieve this separation.

Secondly, if you're ever sued personally, that record is attached to your name forever. If a plaintiff manages to obtain a default judgment against you individually without serving you properly (and believe me, it happens more often than you think), it can prevent you from selling your personal residence until the matter is dealt with--and it may well require you to pay off a bogus judgment just because you're under pressure to close the sale. 

That sounds like a pretty standard Right of First Refusal. You should be able to find some examples googling around. I found a plethora of examples at this website:

https://www.lawinsider.com/clause/first-right-of-refusal

The previous owner of the parcel probably challenged the market value based on a recent, lower purchase price.

Property taxes in Cuyahoga County are determined by the fiscal officer's assessed value and the community tax rate based on levies that are passed by taxpayers. 

You can find the community rates listed here: https://treasurer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-us/communit...

This is a calculator for taxes by community. I don't know how reliable it is because there are multiple taxing districts in a few municipalities that significantly affect the rate. https://smartasset.com/taxes/ohio-property-tax-cal...

As a rule, taxes are assessed based on the market value of the parcel, which is most accurately determined by the most recent purchase price. Every three years, the fiscal officer analyzes the aggregate sales for a neighborhood and applies a percentage rate change based on the sales trend of an area. For example, I bought a house for $6,200 in 2015, and the following year the market value of the parcel dropped to $5,800.

If the purchase price of the house is lower than the market value on the tax duplicate, the owner can challenge the tax valuation at the Board of Revision and have it lowered immediately.

It should be noted that the fiscal officer doesn't do a very good job of actually appraising each parcel individually, so they won't automatically lower the value based on the new purchase price. That $6,200 house above was valued at $85,000 before I bought it.

After too many bad experiences with PMs in the Cleveland area, I self-manage now. It's not as hard to do remotely as one would think -- you really only need tenants that are compliant enough to follow your rent payment instructions (sorry, no cash) and a maintenance guy on the ground who you can send for calls. I also have a secretary who can call tenants at will, and you could easily hire a virtual assistant to perform this role. Even though I live around the corner, I haven't personally visited most of my properties for a long time, because the systems allowing me to send someone else to do it are now in place.

I've come to the conclusion that for 10% of rents, it is not possible to effectively outsource property management in Cleveland. The rents are simply too low to make it worthwhile for honest operators to participate. There are a few outfits around town that do it as a loss leader for their real estate brokerage, but even they are expensive and most of them aren't even compliant.  I've yet to see a property manager's lease that doesn't violate the Cleveland landlord-tenant ordinance, even from the big brokerages.

I wrote a blog article about this a few years back: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4643/47008-why-the-quitclaim-deed-might-void-your-title-insurance

Long and short of this is that a warranty deed can be the solution to the issue by maintaining the chain of "warranty" liability through yourself to your LLC.

You may also be able to rely on the "without consideration" conveyance mentioned above.

Info sent!