All Forum Posts by: David Turner

I am starting out in real estate investing and I have been considering attending some of my local REI clubs. Are they strictly focused on single family, or do the get into commercial, specifically multi-family? There is only so much time in the day and I don't want to waste it if they are geared to SFH investors.

Thanks

I agree with Jon Holdman that it is best to walk away from this one. However, if you are dead set on it, I would proceed as if that unit didn't exist. I would only pay the value of the place without the basement. Maybe even slightly less in case you have to pay to have the basement gutted. That way if the building department makes you tear it down you are not out any money. Then after you purchase it contact the local inspector and see what, if anything, can be done to make it legal.

I think you would be lucky for them to let you keep it. Most inspectors will make you tear down an un-permited job and start from scratch.

Your responsible for the condition of the property, even if it happened before the property was yours. If there was a problem with it before you bought, then it should have been noticed on your pre-purchase walk through. Carpet needs to be replaced every so often anyway, plus it is cheap. The thing about it is that if it is damaged it is going to need to be replaced whenever the apartment turns over anyway. Might as well suck it up and do it.

You could use the case to your benefit. Tell her you will replace the carpet if she will agree to a slight increase in rental rate. You could also get her to sign a new lease in the process. This way she doesn't see you as a pushover, and you both get a little something in the process.

You can't let them pick and choose which parts of the lease they want to honor. Tell them that it is required under the lease and if they don't like it they can move after the lease is up. I would even go so far as to charge them for the previous visits that they declined. I am sure you still paid for those visits. If the unit now had a problem with roaches, I would even charge them for remediation.

I second this recommendation. I just finished reading it. Some of the info is a little dated (ie. before the recession), but the basic concepts still hold true.

Raymond,

Without you telling us what is going on makes it really hard for people to give their advice/opinion. You keep chiding people for expressing their opinion after you came to a public forum and asked for everyones opinions. I understand that they might not have all the facts, but this is because you won't give us the facts. I understand that you want some things to remain private, but without giving us the whole story we can only guess as to the best course of action.

In what way do you have the ability to place a lien on the property?

Have you confirmed 100% that the bank has not filed a deed of trust? How have you confirmed this?

Without answering these questions no one can possibly give you the advice you are looking for.

I think the reason that Kitchen and Bath's are so important is that there is that much more to them than the other rooms. Aside from a new coat of paint and maybe new flooring, what are you gonna do for the bedrooms? Most of a house is just walls with some doors and windows.

How else do you set your house apart from the others? You can't change location or lot size and its very costly to change square footage.

When it comes down to it, there is just more "design" that can be done in these two rooms than in the others.

Vinny Giglio, not sure if you are asking me or someone else. If it is me, I don't really know the answer to your question. Since I am just starting out I don't have the experience to answer that.

Joel Owens I think you are illustrating why I am leaning towards doing this on my own. I want the control to run things the way I want. Partnerships can be alright if everyone agrees on how things should be run. Problem is, that rarely happens.

So where do you recommend I start the learning the process? I have a couple books on the subject, read a few working on more. Trying to read all I can on here. What else is there? Any specific books or websites you recommend? I'm not a big fan of guru courses, I feel the only people who get rich is the guru's. I plan on attending some local REI groups.

Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.

Jon,

I will definitely look into them.

I live in Denton County and I see a lot of signs for Scott Brown Realty. Do you know anything about them? They seem to be a pretty big player in the market up here.