All Forum Posts by: Eddy Dumire

Thanks Mark.  I looked and there isn't anyone nearby on that list.

@Mark Ferguson thanks for your input.  The units were stolen before we went under contract.  I knew they were missing.  It's factored into my offer price.

I haven't looked for another contractor because my understanding is that with the 203k I can only have one general contractor for the job and all work has to funnel through him.  I asked about getting bids from other contractors and I was met with a wall of 11 new underwriting conditions.  I asked the lender if there were other contractors they worked with -- no.

So now my strategy is to do as little work as possible to get through the door and pass the FHA inspection. I'll fix all the non critical stuff either on my own or through my friends after the 203k charade is over.

It's also my understanding that I'm not allowed to do any of the work myself -- even if I'm not taking money out of the loan to do it.

I'm working my way through an FHA 203k streamline loan to buy a new primary residence. I think I've got it under contract very well. I fully anticipate it will appraise for about 90k over purchase price.

It is an REO property and while it has sat empty, someone has stolen all 3 condenser units from the side of the house. I've heard from my 203k renovation specialist (aka contractor) that it's not a big deal as long as we have a heat source (we do -- fireplace).

Is it true that we can leave a pile of broken a/c condenser parts in the yard and not fix them  as part of the 203k loan?  I really want to keep them out of the 203k loan because I don't think we're getting good pricing from the contractor. 

1 - 2.5 ton Goodman R410 14 SEER Heat Pump System

2 - 80% 80k BTU Natural Gas Furnace Coils (I assume the A/C condensers are included here too)

He wants over $15k ($9k parts $6k labor) to replace the three outside units and the furnace coils.  I can get full Goodman systems on the internet for about $2k each so I don't know where the other 3k for parts is.  I also know from a friend that this install should take 2 guys maybe 1.5-2 days.  Who in this world makes $1600/day besides surgeons and real estate investors?

Carrie,

Somehow the tagging didn't work so I didn't notice you had tagged me with the question.  I actually have used Amerisave a couple times.  Their fees are really good... but:

1.  I actually got declined because of underwriting silliness on their side.  I'm self-employed and I own investment property so that's already two strikes against me for underwriting complexity.  My credit scores are fantastic.  My ratio was in the mid 20's and I had reserves of about half the purchase price.  My business showed about a 5% decline in revenue and somehow that justified a decline for the mortgage.

2.  My mother got a loan through them on my recommendation.  I asked to use a settlement company that we liked and was basically steered back to their own wholly owned settlement company.  They were going to force me to get a longer lock with a higher lock fee if I didn't use their settlement company.  I'm fairly certain this is a RESPA violation but I didn't take it any further.

3.  Their "settlement" amounted to a peon with a notary seal coming to the house and pointing to lines and saying "sign here"... "sign here".  We tried to ask a couple of questions and she had no answers whatsoever.  The settlement company I use and love has an attorney that explains every line of every document you sign.

So to summarize... yes they're cheap and if you don't need handholding they may be a good way to go.  If you want white glove service, you won't get it there.

Eddy

@Joel Huff As I mentioned above, I'm buying in the Fredericksburg area.  Let me know when you find something.

I'm not a contractor and I don't really know what the cost of workman's compensation is, but 40% sounds ridiculous.

The link that @Dawn Anastasi posted says this:

"HSC Section 7104(a) states, in part, that when no provision is made by the decedent and the duty of interment does not devolve upon any other person residing in the state, or if such person cannot after reasonable diligence be found within the state, the person who has custody of the remains may require the coroner of the county where the decedent resided at the time of death to take possession of the remains and the coroner shall inter the remains in a specified manner."

It's a fair assumption that other states follow the same general concepts.  Call the coroner and ask.

I have to go with the very vocal majority here.  There are some things you just don't do.  There are storage units near me that are $31/month for 25 sf.  if you're doing dozens of flips a year you'll get use out of it for something.  I've bought 3 houses in a year and a half and I have all kinds of crap taking up space in my garage (mostly unused materials).  If you don't have shelves and the urn takes up 1 sf (doubtful) it would cost you $1.24 per month.

Welcome David. The Rappahannock REIA meets this Monday. You can find them on Meetup. Hope to see you there. I'm always looking for new contractors.

I wanted to give everyone a porcine update.  The September rent was paid on the 5th (last day before "late").

Last night and this morning I delivered brand new kitchen cabinets, sink, countertop, and faucet.  My contractor is there now installing them all.  There is still a CONSTANT stream of people hanging in and around the house.  Every time I go I see different people.  They're all very polite and last night they all helped me carry in the cabinets.

I looked very long and hard at RTA cabinets from a slew of the cabinet stores that were posted about in the forums but I just couldn't get it to work.  It seemed that either they weren't in stock, had a lead time of weeks, or were too expensive.  I ended up with cabinets off the shelf at home depot (java shaker if you're curious).  I also got a laminate countertop from HD that's white with black and grey steaks through it (typhoon ice).  I think it will be a very pretty kitchen when we're done.

I just got off the phone with the contractor who was asking if I wanted to replace the sheetrock behind the cabinets.  I told him to go ahead and replace the whole wall since there's also a scorched place in the wall above the stove.  I can't recall which podcast, but someone suggested constructing with durability in mind.  I thought it was really smart when I heard it so I told him to use 5/8 drywall (I know... with particle board cabinets...not very consistent in my thinking).