All Forum Posts by: Dan Denton
Dan Denton has started 2 posts and replied 23 times.
Post: Cable for a multifamily property - any value to bulk services?
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Post: Upside Down on Rental
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Post: Best flip we've done so far
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Post: Issuing rent receipts for rent payments?
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Post: Found a deal on a duplex! (I think), now what?? HELP!
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Post: When do you drop the price?
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Post: Buying a 2nd lien note with owner in bankruptcy
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Originally posted by @David Dachtera:
Just want to make certain you realize something:
If, as a junior lien holder, you foreclose and are able to force a sale and receive title to the property, you now become responsible for payments on the senior lien(s).
That is, if you are in second position and successfully complete the foreclosure, any 3rd, 4th, etc. liens "fall off", but not the first lien or any tax liens.
Not trying to discourage you, just want to make sure you are aware.
Good insight!
Post: Success in networking story
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
@Pyrrha Rivers I like your idea of trying to meet up when traveling. I am going to work that in to my traveling.
Good story. Thanks for sharing.
Post: Zoning issues Bellingham, WA
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
Something I forgot to explain...
The sellers were able to provide old listings and similar documentation to validate that it had been a 4-plex prior to the change in zoning law. That was what the county based it's decision on to provide the letter and variance. So if you can find that information it may be extremely useful to you.
Post: Zoning issues Bellingham, WA
- Investor
- Olympia, WA
- Posts 24
- Votes 14
@Branden R. I just went through this process on a 4-plex purchase (not in Washington). It was originally a large single family that was converted to a 4-plex and then the zoning changed and would only allow a duplex on that size lot.
Perhaps the road we went down will be similar enough to your situation to be helpful.
In our due diligence we discovered there were no permits for the conversion to a multi-family. We had the sellers obtain a letter from the county building department that changed it from "illegal non-conforming" to "legal non-conforming". The significance of this was that we would legally be allowed to continue to operate it as a 4-plex. Virtually all parties involve, with the exception of us, considered this a valid "burn down" or "build back" letter. I checked with the county to confirm and they said it was not. In the event of a catastrophic loss, we would only be able to rebuild as duplex which would ruin the cash flow.
The sellers then had to go back to the county and petition to obtain a variance. This basically provided a pre-arranged authorization from the city that would allow us to rebuild a 4-plex contrary to the current zoning (but all codes would have to conform to current building codes). The county mailed out notification to people in the area advising them of the sellers intent to obtain a variance. The matter was then presented at the city council, where people could oppose it if they wanted. The city council issued the variance and we moved forward with the deal.
The "legal non-conforming" letter was a fairly quick process. The variance took a few weeks because it had to be scheduled in advance on the council's agenda.
From a buyers prospective, we very much considered it a "go/no-go" issue and would have walked away from the deal had we not obtained the variance.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.