All Forum Posts by: Christina Carey

PM me - I'll dig up my contact.

This thread could get amusing.

A couple of these were bad luck, the rest were expensive tuition. Top 5, in no particular order:

• Built a house around 2006. Shortly after we began, the price of copper went through the roof, blowing the electrical and plumbing budgets. Then the market began to tank before it was done, and killed the possibility of refinancing out of the construction loan. In the end, someone got a nice house, but it wasn't me.
• Had a flip that I'm pretty sure Murphy was running the show. Raccoons, thieves, bad contractors, short appraisal, surprise tax assessments. Before it was over, I was wishing hard for a tornado or lightning to strike.
• House burned down, thanks to an arsonist. It was empty, fortunately. Insurance paid to demolish it (that's not the bad part). Now we're stuck with an empty lot that we can't even give away because of the neighborhood.
• Was checking out a vacant, boarded up house one day. Had been that way for a while. Went inside, walked through the living room and kitchen, and turned around and walked back outside (it smelled like death) - might have been in there for 10 seconds, tops. Ten minutes later, as I'm standing on the porch talking, I suddenly realize what I was feeling was in fact not a persistent mosquito, but instead it was fleas. They were everywhere - up to my neck, under my clothes. If you've never had the misfortune, let me tell you, you will do anything to make it stop. Including stripping in the middle of the street. For all I know, I may be a source of amusement on some neighbor's Youtube channel.
• Knew better and did it anyway - let a contractor get ahead on money over work completed. Probably don't need to explain what happened after that. With that, plus needing to have some of the work redone, that flip ended up as a 5-figure loss.

@Eric Adobo I may or may not be the first person to call this out, but subtle isn't my M.O. You've been on BP for less than a week, and from what I've seen so far, I wonder: do you have anything NOT negative/critical to say about anything? Are you posting everywhere like mad to actually help other people, or is it just to make yourself feel like you're a better person? Because the tone of your posts say it's the latter. If BP had an award for "Most Negative Attitude" you'd be a runaway winner.

Repairs on a roof are typically short-term bandaids, and depending on how old your shingles are, sometimes trying to make repairs often causes bigger problems. Most roofers I know hate even doing repairs because of the whole "last man in" theory - fearing blame and time wasted on a call back if the roof leaks, regardless of whether the roof leak is his fault or not. 

And you're correct - an old roof may cause issues for the financing, not to mention the inspections. The last thing you want is for a buyer to come back post-inspection wanting a $20K credit because they called the guy who pays to be the top result on Google and that's how much he quoted.

I agree with your agent. Put on the new roof (a complete tear-off, not a layover), and make sure the warranty will transfer to the new owner. The roof is one of a homebuyer's biggest concerns. A new roof will result in more potential buyers, a faster sale, and it should easily pay for itself. 

Assuming updated finishes appropriate for the neighborhood, your rents on the 2BR are probably a tad low. I would expect more than a $50 premium to go from 1 to 2 bedrooms.

As far as water goes, I'll assume it's one common meter since you're paying. Is it common in the neighborhood for your type of building to include water in the rent, or no? If yes, you'll be hard-pressed to bill the tenants for water and still get market rent. If you can get away with billing for water, you can install a RUBS system, but the cost upfront can be pretty high, depending on how much work it entails.

Hi @Matthew Edge - welcome to BP. If you haven't already, check out the meetup @Darrin Carey and I host in Fairborn each month: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/57...

The next one is August 13th, 2018.

Good for you getting an early start in your investments - most people your age are still growing up, and passive income is not on their radar.

@Derek Meehan they are in the link near the bottom of his post.

With regard to the previous water bill, the water company will not pursue the previous owner. In Ohio, the bill stays with the property, so they have no incentive to chase anyone for payment. Considering that most water utilities in the region only bill on a quarterly basis, it's often wise to get a final read on the meter far enough in advance of the closing that the final bill can be calculated. That way it can go on the HUD to be paid from the seller's proceeds. It's better to eat a week's worth of water usage vs. 2 1/2 months' worth if the seller chooses not to pay the final bill.

To further convolute the matter, if a property sits vacant long enough and there was an outstanding water bill, it will be assessed to the property taxes. Additionally, water/sewer charges continue to accrue even if the service has been shut off (you pay for the privilege of being connected to the public utilities). So even with a vacant property, it's critical to check for past due bills, as well as any pending assessments, as most companies will not check for these issues.

First of all, in Ohio, not all title companies in Ohio are owned/operated by attorneys. I can think of at least two here locally off the top of my head that have no attorney involvement. Attorneys still handle deed prep and any other legal matters of basic process, but it is outsourced by the title company.

Secondly, the 7-page Realtor purchase contract template used by Dayton (and Cincinnati) has roughly 3 lines of text regarding security deposits and prorated rents in the section entitled "Other Prorations".  More importantly, in this case, the line that states "Seller and Buyer acknowledge that prorations are based on the information provided at closing and that actual amounts charged and/or collected for prorated items may differ; however all Closing prorations shall be final." Now, I'm not an attorney, but to me, that means the numbers on the HUD are what they are, and the seller is under no obligation to pony up any extra cash after the closing. The indemnity clause may also protect the agents involved, however, a good portion of brokers/agents will often be willing to make good out of their pockets anyway, because it's easier and cheaper in the long run vs. a civil suit or an Ohio Division of RE complaint.

Lastly, before your next deal, take some time to comb BP and Google for investor-friendly agents (and don't just take the agent's word for it), as one who does more with investment property will be more likely to catch missing/incorrect prorations, and better assist with due diligence. Based upon what I've read thus far, my opinion is that the agent in this case didn't know what he didn't know.

Again, the above is just my opinion - I'm a broker, not an attorney, and you should probably consult with a real estate attorney for advice on what you should (or shouldn't) do. I'm local to you, so if I can be of any assistance in referring one, feel free to contact me at the email address below.

+1 for the  @Lucas Atencio referral. Ryan is responsive and reliable. He's also an investor.