All Forum Posts by: Edith TenBroek

If a seller states "SELLER WILL NOT ACTIVATE ANY UTILTIES" in the description on Trulia.com, does this mean they will not even activate them for inspection after a contract is agreed upon? If so, it's not even worth looking at this property right? This is a bank owned property.

Thanks for any insight!

Edie

@Renee R. I just had a long discussion with my lender about Homepath. I am working with Regions Bank in IL. Regions also handles hompath in some other states.... you can look them up on the homepath site.

My lender said homepath.com has some homes that are NOT eligible for homepath loans. They have homes eligible for regular homepath mortgages. They have a sticker in the listing that states this. There are also homes that are eligible for homepath renovation loans. They have a sticker also. There are some homes eligible for BOTH regular homepath loans and homepath renovation loans. They have two stickers in the listing.

Regions Bank only handles the homepath regular loans. On those properties Owner Occupied buyers can get 3% down. Investors must pay 10% down. Homepath has no PMI and no assessment required.

From other research I have found out that the Homepath renovation loans require 15% down from investors. Also, all renovations MUST be completed by contractors. It's a more complicated process to get the renovation loan, but may be worth it for some.

Hope this help!

Edie

Just a quick share...

If you are looking for cabinet knobs and hinges, check eBay before hitting the homestore. I found several option at half the price of Home Depot.

You can also find deals on faucets and fixtures.

Cheers!

Eie

So, in looking at some properties eligible for these loans, I was wondering....

I know you have to have professionals do any of the reno work paid for by the loan. I'd like to do some of the work myself (like painting?) Can I structure the loan so in includes some of the work that I would hire out (carpet, drywall), but does NOT cover the work I can do myself like painting and tilework?

Just wondering if this is an all or nothing deal? Any thoughts?

I know you have to go through a real estate agent to make an offer. I've heard of some people bargaining down, but it's not as easy as working with a regular seller. They may come down, but not as far.

@Dawn Anastasi I know she has bargained them down some!

that sounds interesting! I'll have to learn about land contracts next. I haven't learned about that one!

@Dawn Anastasi was that the deal gone bad with your cousin that you mentioned during your podcast? What did you end up doing with that house?

We REALLY don't want to get into a total gut job for our first.... hopefully we won't have to have a contractor. Just handle it ourselves, and hire out a few specific jobs, like carpet.

From our own homeownership of a 1870's big old victorian, we have become proficient in painting, trimwork, basic kitchen/bath updates, basic tile work, landscaping etc. I can even patch holes in plaster! But I don't want to do to much with electric, plumbing (except changing out fixtures), roofs, or drywall replacement.

We'll see what's out there I guess!

I have a recommendation on property management from another Bigger Pockets member who lives in the area. I checked them out on BBB and Yelp and they get glowing reviews, so I feel comfy there.

We haven't found the house yet, but I know we will only want to buy something that needs a cosmetic rehab. We will verify with an inspection. We can do most ourselves by going and camping out a few weekends, or even having DH take a week off work, but there will be a few things we hire out. I will look into the lockbox.

I'm a work from home mom, and have flexibility. So if a drive up for a weekday is necessary, I can do it. I just don't want to if I can avoid it. ;)

Thanks! Any more suggestions are appreciated!

Hey all!

We are looking at properties that are about a two hour drive from home. That's where the cash flow is!

So if we need to renovate how do I handle the distance? We are looking at fairly simple renovation a lot of which we can do ourselves. However, how to I let the carpet guy from Lowes into the house when I'm down here? Do I have to drive up, do I need a person locally who can help out, or could I do some sort of lockbox or something?

We will have property management after we renovate, but I was hoping to wait on hiring them until we were ready to go.

What have you done in the past?

This is an old thread, but I had to add something...

We painted the inside of a store for almost free. I took paint from my basement, my family members etc and mixed it all up in a five gallon bucket. Then I took a paint swatch to the hardware store (it was a light blue) and asked them to have their computer create one gallon of paint to tint 4 gallons of paint. We left with one gallon of baby poop dark green can of paint, mixed it in, and got 5 gallons of awesome sage green!