All Forum Posts by: Dennis McNeely

Now you have enough to pique your interest further, but it still gives me the hee-bee-jeebies.

Next step is to ask to see the offering documents regarding the syndication. If this is for real, I strongly suspect you'll need to be an accredited investor.

Ask to see the approved final site plan for the first phase. They should also have proposed or preliminary site plans approved for the remainder of the development. If you're still interested, take a trip to the site once ground has been broken.

The flashy marketing material for a new development is great, but don't put your money at risk for something that's likely to vaporize.

My 2 cents @Bobby Paquette - if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. I fell off the wagon when I saw a bullet point that indicated all second story apartments have an elevator and their suggestion that it was possible to get 1000% Plus Potential Cash-on-Cash return in the 1st Year.

Where has SCDC built? Check with the municipality where construction is being done to get their take on the development.

Who is handling the syndication related to their raising money? What institution is financing the land development and construction?

No, I've not invested with SCDC, and it's not likely I will without evidence they can do / have done what they've claimed on their web site.

There are a lot of site-specific issues you need to investigate before deciding what the land is worth to you. For example, what is the current zoning - does it meet your needs? If not, is there a master plan in which the municipality has indicated a desire to have your property zoned as you'd like to see it?

Than there are off-site issues such as availability and capacity of utilities and the capacity of access roads, and on-site issues such as depth of bedrock (is it diggable or will you have to blast?), whether there's a high water table that encroaches on any underground utilities or foundations (and does that water table have significant seasonal water level variations), encroachments by roads or other improvements on your property, limitations imposed by easements or rights of way, etc. Beyond the bedrock issue, soil conditions can be costly if the property has problematic soils such as too much silt, deep topsoil, or extensive wetlands.

You'll also want to know what ordinances are going to affect your budget - things like tap fees, tree ordinances, storm water retention policies, etc.

Bottom line is that you have to investigate ordinances, off-site conditions, and on-site conditions before you can even begin to budget your development. Finding an engineer that's highly regarded locally can help slipstream your efforts.

God luck going forward!

Four thoughts:
- Make the applicant tell you if they have a service or emotional support animal in their application. Ask for its breed, weight, and name, and have them attach a picture.
- Make the application part of the lease, with the stipulation that if they've lied in the application or in the lease, they can be evicted.
- Tell them they have to provide documentation of the animals service / emotional support (as allowed by your local ordinances), and that they have to provide documentation that the animal is current with its inoculations, etc. as well as its local license before you'll permit the animal in the unit.
- Tell them they'll have to provide you with a copy of their renter's insurance naming you as additional named insured, with a minimum of (I use $300,000) liability insurance, also before they move into the unit.

It's not perfect, but it's a start toward a tenant transparency.

I've been a broker forever, and remember the early 80's with 16% interest rates. Ughhh!

I absolutely agree with @David Krulac. The one appeal that sticks in my mind was a single story house that the appraiser noted as having a balcony (!!)

Spend the time, make the effort, and (hopefully) reap the rewards.

Consider hiring a paralegal well versed in leasing, renewing, and evicting. As noted earlier, most evictions are rinse and repeat, and even if you need to find local attorneys to sign off on paperwork, it's likely less expensive if the paperwork is prepped ahead of time.

Just a thought.

I own one and use it from time to time, @Kevin S.

The base of the Nix sits flush against the painted surface, and it has it's own internal light source. It doesn't care if it's day or night, or whether you have low voltage task lighting or office lights.

It's worked well for me.

Take a look at Nix, a paint color sensor. It's a little device you pair with your cell phone.

You then put it on the wall to sense the paint color, and it sends the color to your phone - adjacent to the manufacturer's color that most closely matches the wall color. If the manufacturer doesn't have a color that's close enough, you can change to another manufacturer and try to match against their stock colors.

Good luck with it!

I had a tenant that wanted to renew a lease, but only for 6 months - which would have left us in the middle of January (in Michigan :)

Apparently they may inherit a somewhat run down house, and wanted to keep their options open.

The solution was to suggest they renew for 9 months. They wouldn't have to move out in the middle of the winter, and we wouldn't have to re-lease in January. Win / win.

Stay warm!