All Forum Posts by: Chad Huffer

Quote from @Dean Valadez:

It's been 3 years since this post first originated and am wondering if opinions/thoughts have changed. I have a 4 unit property that has forced air heat but no a/c. My tenants just use window units for a/c. The property is in WI so 80-90 degree humid days for about 2 months out of the year, another 2 months are warm/hot but not as bad. 

I talked with an HVAC guy about mini-splits and he would charge $3500 per split. Ugg. So for 4 units that's $14k. He said since there is already forced air for the furnaces, he recommended central a/c, which is $4300. For 4 units, that's $17,200. Either way, I can't see the ROI on either of those options. (This HVAC guy did not recommend minis as he said they can go into disrepair in 3-5 years, as opposed to central a/c which lasts about 20 years.)

Does anyone have other thoughts? Is it really $3500 for a mini-split and installation? I will call other HVAC companies but I wanted to hear from the BP community as well.

 It's hard to say if his quote is a fair price without a bit more detail about the systems they quoted.  Does this quote include equipment and labor?  Were they single-zone systems or multi-zone, if multi-zone how many head units?  What size systems and brand/models?  We actually sell HVAC equipment with 12 locations.  If those are single-zone I would say the quote is high.  As an example, in our area, we could get you a single-zone installed for as little as $1,339 for a 12,000 BTU system and about $1,950 for a 24,000 BTU system.

As far as dependability goes, mini splits can last 20 or more years as well.  The major reason they fail is usually poor installation.  As with any system quality install and regular preventive maintenance are required.  I think the benefit of a mini split system over a central are the energy efficiency the offer, the individual control over zone cooling/heating, simpler maintenance, quite operation.

In the end it comes down to what makes sense in your situation, but I will say that there is a lot of fear mongering among a lot of HVAC companies to push people to either central systems or if they do mini splits, then into the higher priced systems.  The truth is that many mini-split brands now have good support and available parts for any needed maintenance/repairs should you need them.  Just be sure to look into the support offered by the brand.  Obviously if you order a system from Amazon or some other place you may or may not get good support.

Quote from @Joe Martella:

Quote from @Ozzy Sirimsi:

I would go, knock the door and talk to them. 

Offer cash for keys.

Even though it is easier to evict wrongful detainer, it still takes time, especially courts are busy.

I would try to make their life harder than it is.

Just be careful when you knock on the door. You don’t know who you are dealing with.  Perhaps the police officer can sit curbside.   

Definitely,  I finally found their name, just called Comcast and asked for the name on the account for that address lol...  Looked them up in the court records and found multiple arrests/court cases for possession with intent to distribute/sell of narcotics, and multiple charges for 1st, 2nd, degree assault and assault with a deadly weapon.

We've got a situation where someone has moved in with no lease and established residence.  They've even established cable/internet service to the location.  We initially thought they may have been the victim of a lease scam themselves, however, they seem to be avoiding contact.  We have no idea what their name is but we've gotten word to them via the neighbor to contact us or the police officer we were working with and the seem to be avoiding it.  Since they're not contacting us now I'm more suspicious of them and believe they may actually be responsible for the initial break-in.  Looking at the Maryland laws it does seem that removing squatters is much easier that a standard eviction, by filing a wrongful detainer claim.

I would appreciate any tips on good local attorneys with experience removing squatters.  Additionally maybe some tips on trying to figure out the name of squatter, I've already tried the address in places like BeenVerified with no luck.

Just curious if anyone is familiar with this company?  They keep contacting me about a property, but they're very reluctant to communicate via email.  It's obvious it's a wholesaling company and they're using a fake name to reach out to people with a simple text that is simply "Hi".  When you respond then you get the canned response Hey, I'm Katie with simply fast sold inquiring about your property.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone is familiar with them.

I currently have a property held in LLC that was intended to be a flip however it's taken longer than expected to sell. I have a self-employed buyer interested in it and she has great credit, however the bank loan limit for her is 25K short of the sale price. My agent is asking if I would be interested in doing a partial seller finance deal for the remaining 25K. I currently have hard money loan on it, but the amount the bank is willing to loan would cover the HM loan.

Just looking for advice pros/cons.

@Assaf Furman That's kinda what I thought... I thought maybe it was to deter squatters from moving in.

So, I've looked at many REOs and they have all had the Appliances removed; I always assumed that the previous owners took them to salvage what they could before the foreclose.

Recently there was a property in my neighborhood that was being foreclosed on and when the tenants moved out some contractors came in to clean it out; I noticed that not only did they clear out the furniture and other items left behind they also removed all the fairly new appliances from the property as well.

I don't understand why the bank would do this...

Unfortunately we can't inform the tenant I believe he just deployed for a submarine patrol.  The agent would probably go in with the property manager.

It looks as if the best option may be to wait until he returns before the agent views it anyway, since the market could change in the few months that he's gone.

So, we've decided to sell a rental that we have.  The agent needs to get in to look at the condition of the property, however, the tenant is not available and may not be available for approximately 2 months.  Obviously we'll be waiting to sell until the tenant returns and has time to move.

There is no state requirements for access notification, however the lease does provide for a 24 hour hour notification for non-emergency access requests.

My question is:  If the tenant will not be available for an extended time would it be acceptable for the agent/management company to enter the property to assess the current condition for purposes of a subsequent listing?

What I think is happening is he doesn't want to provide either the disclosure nor the disclaimer statement and he is trying to somehow classify it as a commercial transaction using one of the exemptions allowed in the state code, probably number 6 trying to claim that since I plan to use it as a rental that this somehow classifies it as commercial.  I just emailed him and ask him to clarify why he would consider it commercial.

10-702. EXEMPTIONS. The following are specifically excluded from the provisions of §10-702:

1.The initial sale of single family residential real property:

A.that has never been occupied; or

B.for which a certificate of occupancy has been issued within 1 year before the seller and buyer enter into a contract of sale;

2.A transfer that is exempt from the transfer tax under §13-207 of the Tax-Property Article, except land installment contracts of sales under §13-207(a) (11) of the Tax-Property Article and options to purchase real property under §13-207(a)(12) of the Tax-Property Article;

3.A sale by a lender or an affiliate or subsidiary of a lender that acquired the real property by foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure;

4.A sheriff’s sale, tax sale, or sale by foreclosure, partition, or by court appointed trustee;

5.A transfer by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust;

6.A transfer of single family residential real property to be converted by the buyer into use other than residential use or to be demolished; or

7.A sale of unimproved real property.