All Forum Posts by: Mark Elliott

hello, aleko. i am a home inspector from the western new york area. the old cloth, 2 wire wiring is kind of dangerous, in my opinion. as stated earlier, the cloth gets brittle and can crumble with the slightest of touch. with rehabbing the place, you are going to disturb it, for sure. then, you have exposed wiring. fire hazzard. not to mention, a lot of this old wiring is made of aluminum, not copper, therefore, the heat it will carry without fail is far lesser that the copper type wiring. if you have an overload somehow, and the breaker doesn't trip, you are going to have a fire. the gfi's have to be grounded, thats the whole idea of a gfi. the g stands for GROUND. with the two wire system you have, where is the ground???? you don't have one, hence, your gfi's could not be hooked up correctly. 

i agree, the $15k sounds a bit steep for the total rewiring job. i would shop around for the best deal you can find, but i would definitely do it. yes, of course it would " pass inspection" as is, if a home inspection was about pass or fail, but it's not about pass or fail. its about the condition of your home at the present time. and at this present time, the wiring is working as designed. is it safe??? no, but it's working. a good inspector would have told you that it is in working order, but has many potential dangers.

chris has the right idea. i have seen people do that

give it to a charity like habitat for humanity. they will build a house on it for the needy people, and you can write off the entire market value from your taxes

putting the " feelers" out again for an hml in the western new york area. i have a 3 bedroom, one bath house i would like to flip in the lackawanna, ny area. i have it under contract for $6000. i estimate $12,000 for the rehab as i will be doing most of it myself. needs some extensive work, but nothing i haven't done before. not a lot of money here, AVR is approximately $40,000 when completed. anyone interested?

 i currently own 3 houses in the area but always looking for more. i usually don't hold them, i just buy them, fix them up and flip them, but i do have one rental house

all great advice. i don't really think much of the list from the title company. basically, as mentioned, they are kind of too busy to do this, and if they do have a list, how outdated is it and how accurate is it? whats the cost? personally, i like to get as much info as i possibly can for free. first, look up your local property tax authority, that will give you a " somewhat" accurate list. the owner listed on the house, most likely is still the owner. next, look up anything you can find at the local county court house on that person. anything filed like a judgement, or anything that has to deal with that person and in that court is going to be public knowledge. the reason for this?? if the house is in foreclosure, the foreclosing bank has to file the proper paperwork with that court in that county that the house sits in. find these papers and you will likely find the CURRENT address for the owner. the property tax records will show the owner as the guy or lady that bought the house with the bank UNTIL  the bank completes the foreclosure. if the vacant house is in foreclosure, you need to know what bank you need to deal with, right? well, any papers filed by the bank foreclosing will include the name of that bank and the property owner and probably the property owners new address. there, you have all you need to know. if it is not in foreclosure, ask the property tax authority who is paying the taxes and maybe where they are paying them from. lastly, ask the neighbors. every neighborhood has the " neighborhood busy body" that knows everything about everyone. find that person. then look up the owners name on the computer in google. i personally have found several people this way. 

i am always interested in networking with new and experienced investors here in the buffalo area. i have been investing in real estate here in buffalo for 11 years now. i am also a licensed home inspector. please feel free to contact me anytime

hi micheal. i am a licensed home inspector and a real estate investor here in the buffalo area. i would be happy to take a look at it for you. please contact me at my cell number given in my profile

i would give her the benefit of the doubt, but clearly lay out your future expectations to her. if she cannot meet them, then i would find another agent. in this business, you have to rustle and you have to have an agent that fully understands that

i am looking for a private lender for a smaller project here in the buffalo, ny area. here is the deal. its a great rehab house, 3 bed, one bath, basement, used to have a garage. in an area that the city is revitalizing. the city just built and sold 48 properties in this same area. i have the place under contract for $6000. ARV is estimated at $40,000, i anticipate $12,000 in rehab. anyone out there wanna help me out here?