All Forum Posts by: David DuCille

if it is a Fannie Mae owned REO there are deed restrictions on reselling the property in the first 90 days though I think wholesaling would be fine, it more applies to flipping where you are reselling for more than 20% above what you paid if I remember correctly

*why *aren't* they explaining

In lay terms, because sometimes an appraiser doesn't know his *** from his elbow! You could apply with a different lender and get another appraisal and see where that comes in at. Appraisals don't stick with the property unless it is FHA/VA financing in which case that appraisal sits on the books so to speak for 6 months. If you are buying for the rental cash flow, I agree with others, just bump up your down payment. However, if you are concerned about appreciation and resale then you need to another appraisal or walk away. BTW, where is the listing agent in this transaction? Why are they explaining this all to the seller and getting them on board?

found it.  not sure this applies to your situation but this is only one of many potential shady practices that can be going on.   or you just are dealing with an incomptetent agent.  http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/rapid-fire-house-flipping-brings-in-big-bucks-for-a-few-players/1232013

do you have any specific excuses that they gave you? This sounds like a gross breach of the code of ethics. Agent has a fiduciary responsibility to give offers to his client. Is this an REO property by chance? Plenty of shady agents that try to steer deals to their own investment partners in illicit manners. There was an article on this shady and downright illegal practice that I will see if I can dredge up

here in Florida we have homestead laws that give a significant deduction on property taxes as well as limit increases for your PRIMARY home. Investment property is subject to market value assessment. Fortunately, taxes are still very low here in Tampa. If you are working with a Realtor, they should have plenty of insight into the historical tax records but if there are specific laws in your jurisdiction regarding taxation for investment property you will definately need to research it. I would start by calling the assessors office.

I was a long time renter. I'm 36 years old and was a renter up until 10/31/2013. since that time my fiance and I have moved 1000 miles, bought our primary home, and just last month closed on our first investment property. I've had great landlords and I've had some real azzholes and there is no other way to describe them. I was essentially evicted one time about 9 years ago. I came upon some hard times. I was in the fitness business and tore up my knee requiring surgery along with going through a messy break up. my income was dwindled down and it was a struggle to pay rent on time. I was in and out of housing court 3 months straight always managing to scrap up the money to present to the judge and save my ***. My landlord was understanding; he knew I was a good guy, he didn't judge me as a bad person, he nicely asked me to just give up the apartment, swallow my pride and go rent just a room or something even cheaper til I got back on my feet and ultimately that is what I did. I would rate him a solid B+ landlord. I understood that he was doing his job. Then I had my last landlord who I thought was good until we moved out and she started trying to charge us for lightbulbs, alleged water stains on the sink cabinet and other ridiculous things that clearly fall under the category of wear and tear. I would certainly rate them a D now.

Now that I'm a landlord, I hope to be understanding of my tenants yet firm because I understand that being a landlord isn't about keeping them happy, it's about providing a quality of life for me and my fiancee through these investments. I too am trying to make our places nicer and go after higher rents than average in our area and it was a huge success in this first rental and I think by being understanding and accessible to reasonable requests since the tenant is paying a premium price is only fair.

Agreed, Granite can be a bit too busy and funky for some people, plus with the masses all seeming to go for it nowadays, the higher end people want to set themselves apart from the peasants! Quartz gives you so many options to customize an exact color and look. Also you do have to seal granite or it can stain very easily. not too big of a deal if you choose a dark color though.

I got the slab for my own home for $585. It was in the "clearance" section but I'm not sure about exact fabrication costs as it was all bundled in from my contractor who subbed out the fabricator. if i can dig out my invoice from him I'll post back with exact numbers. I feel like all in I was around $30 sq ft

certainly no reason to not try and go through there with a contractor. as for the unlevel floors, you said "one level is approximately 8 inches off level" sounds like it's not the first floor. could be that when they chopped it up to 3 units they took out load bearing walls and didn't support properly. may not be a foundation issue at all. I was also thinking of the idea of doing a total teardown and rebuild. As for offering land value only a wise man once said "the answer is always no when you don't ask" Go through it with a contractor, try to get a real good idea of what it's going to entail to renovate, add 20-25% on top of that as a contingency and then make your offer accordingly based on what you think you can get in rents post rehab. If they say yes, great! if they say no, move it along.