All Forum Posts by: David Roberts

it was definitely a it yourself basement remodel. 

Investors on here talk like they find homes with mostly properly permitted homes,  and I just don't see that,  even in kept up homes.  It might just be my feeling on the subject but I tend to think most people do their own basements based on labor and all the costs of doing it legally.  Makes for regulatory hazards for investors though. 

I'm going to go to the building department tomorrow and see what kind of help I can get for free. 

The carpet isn't tore up,  but it's used for sure.  You are probably right about it.  I factored it into my up front costs anyway,  better to over estimate. 

Hi Mike,

Are you talking about going to the building dept and chatting someone up about it?  That's a good idea.

I definitely don't want to sound like I want to be a slum lord.  I live 3 minutes from my 1st rental, and will be 2 minutes from this rental.  I stay ON TOP of my homes.  But, government meddling bugs me, just because I'm a tax payer and I don't trust them, and I know this isn't about safety, it's about cash flow for the city.  But, I also know it is the cost of doing business.

Mike, I inspected the house tonight, and in my evaluation, I feel the home will need interior paint in all rooms 1000 sq ft home, also MAYYBE will need carpet, maybe not.  It's decent.  Has a brand new roof, but the furnace is original (38 years old), and the water heater is 14 years old, so those things are going to be costly in the next few years.  Would you suggest that I deduct those off my starting price, and then offer that price?

Other than the issues I mentioned in my first post and this post, the house is perfect.  I'm starting to think a finished basement for a rental is nothing but a liability.

I'm looking at buying a home in Brownstown Township.  I have 1 rental that was my primary and converted into a rental when I moved in December 2010.  Apparently Woodhaven instituted a certificate of occupancy in April 2010, but I only realized this, this week after looking up local city websites.

I see that Brownstown requires a rental to be registered in 30 days, followed by a rental inspection (180 bucks).  

I have no experience with these inspections.  They have a 15-page checklist on the website, very thorough, looks as thorough as a home inspector would be to me.  This particular home I know I'm going  to run into some kind of problem because the basement is mostly finished, but even I know it's not to code just from what I can SEE (let alone vapor barriers and whatever).  Ther'es a sectioned off room with door, no egress, so I know I would catch flack on that if the inspector is paying attention.  Also, near where the laundry area is, they put a toilet over the cleanout and built a separate walkin shower right next to it.  It's not a 'bathroom', more like a toilet, with a walk in shower.  There is a wall with door that closes over that area (toilet, walkin shower, dryer/washer, furnace, etc, but the 'bathroom' isn't sectioned from the furnace and dryer/washer.  I have no idea what an inspector would say about that one.

The house was build in 1976 and has no GFI's or anything.  That stuff i would need to install, probbaly a coupole more smoke alarms also, but not worried about that.  Everything else looks mostly ok, but that basement scares me.

Codes change alot, and so I don't know how it is expected to have every home up to the latest and greatest.  Safety stuff, sure, but buildings were built differently through the decades.

It looks like I could be tied up for 30 days minimum to get the first inspection, and then fix whatever else, but if they tell me I have to gut the basement or something, that would be a nightmare.  The website also says they require an inspection every 3 years.  

I'm starting to think it's simpler to just lend out my pile of cash lol.

I can't imagine what some people go through with homes build 1950 or earlier, 1900!

I guess, if anyone knows the area, how anal are they?  Do they even audit records?  Woodhaven has never contacted me about my rental and I non-homesteaded it 4 years ago, so they're aware I'd asume, that it's a rental.  But this other I'm interested in is in Brownstown, different entity.

What is the definition of an A property, B, B-, etc?  Can someone direct me or explain it?  Thanks so much.

This might be  a silly / stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway, because frankly, I just don't know the answer.

In the area that I'm looking for a rental property, using Zillow as the source, the property tax info is listed, and the SEV value is lower than half the selling price.  Is it accurate for me to say that the city values the home less than people are willing to pay for the home?

Example, one particular house 2013 SEV listed as 33,400 which was 4.8% lower than 2012.  I would assume property values still may be falling a bit in this area per the city assessor.  This particular house was listed in June at 130, and is now down to 112, and they are moving south and need to sell (they say so in their listing).  I am going to look at it tomorrow, but I don't want to overpay.  I drove by it last night and it looked nice on the outside.  Brand new roof.

A  very comparable home of same type and sqft on the same street just sold for 105k yesterday.

I am thinking to start at 100k and then subtract all repair costs that I find, but this is just a guesstimate without seeing the inside first.  Might even start lower, but I don't want to start at something unreasonable.

Opinions are appreciated.

One other thing, do you find that finished or partially finished basements fetch you more rent than unfinished basements?

Thanks guys.

This will be my very first actual buy for investment properties, and I'm nervous as heck, but I think after I do one and critique my strategy, the ensuing ones will get easier.  I'm just trying to be very cautious.

thank you very much all for the advice.  Going to look at a property tomorrow.  Looks nice from the drive by,  but up close always surprises. 

I think Detroit needs industry to come back.  You can put all those homes in but there isn't the economy to support it.  Dan Gilbert and Mike illitch are trying to help but quicken loans and little cear are. 

there was and still is a mentality in Detroit going on that residents were not paying their water bills for whatever reason and then the case was made that water should be free.  Property taxes are not paid and the city ignores it.   And you think people are going to just change?  Leigh has it best.  These homes,  while beautiful at one time,  are so old and outdated, its probably best to bulldoze and start over.  What do they do with these people then? 

You can buy those homes for cheap but I think you have to pay all the back taxes on them as well.   What makes you think anyone wanting to rent one of these homes will be reliable? 

Detroit has been on the decline since I can ever remember.   The are just islands of decent areas,  but it's like driving through Iraq to get to one. 

Thanks for the tip.

Ironically, the tenants that got placed in my rental in late 2010, I found on  december 21.  They moved in and signed the first lease on the 23rd.  Go figure that one.  I think I got super lucky.  

Hi,

It's october now, school year has started.  Is there more difficulty with finding tenants at certain times of the year than others?  Seems spring/summer would be best, and then fall off toward the holiday season.  

If I were to initiate a purchase of a property right now, then best case I'm looking at right around Thanksgiving time to START finding a tenant.  I wonder if I might want to wait until just after Christmas and hopefully let potential purchases and their prices keep falling.

But, I don't know if this is accurate or not.  Can someone clue me in from their experiences?  I'd hate to have to spend 3 months vacancy just because of the time of year.