All Forum Posts by: Gary Libero

@Bo Bond & @Cameron Moore ...

Thank you both for your replies. Everything makes sense and is certainly a tricky situation. So far what has happened is that I submitted a claim and the agent (who is awesome!) advised me to let Claim #1 (small portion of fence) remain as "information only" and we didn't submit it for any kind of reimbursement. I'll get a quote and have the town handle it. 

Now, for potential Claim #2 (larger part of the fence), I'm waiting for responses from the insurance company. I spoke with town's Tree Warden this morning (who was also awesome!) and he said although the Public Works guy told me to "send him the bill" for Claim #1, the Warden said that's not how they prefer to do things. They'd rather see it go through insurance and work that way. What's tough is that the guy who will do the fence work won't be able to get to it until April and didn't want to give me a quote now because of the current financial climate, noting that prices now will most likely not be the same prices in April. So I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. Thankfully, the fence is more cosmetic than anything (no pets on prem), so fixing it isn't at the top of the priority list at the moment (it will just be an eye sore until the spring).

Thanks again for the input! I'll update this post with what comes out of the whole ordeal.

Be well!

G

Hello! I'm a new homeowner who embarked on a house hacking journey about a month ago. Everything has been going great, until last week. Mother Nature decided to drop one medium size tree on a small section of the vinyl fence that runs the length of the property. Not a huge deal and I confirmed the cost will be covered by the town since the tree was on town property.

Last night, a little further down, a much larger tree fell and took out other, larger sections of the same fence. The town's tree warden had to come out to assess other trees along the street and determined he will be cutting down at least two of them (if these two came down, they're definitely coming onto/ into the house).

Have you run into a situation like this before? If yes, what was the impact on your homeowner's insurance? My fence guy is not able to get to this work until the spring and was hesitant to even write up a quote now given the current cost of materials and the supply/demand madness. I'm waiting for a call back from my insurance agent and I will update this post with any new findings, but curious to know who else has been in a scenario like this.

Happy holidays!

G

@Jaron Walling Thanks for the reply! Had a contractor come out yesterday and the 1/2 bath isn't as costly as I thought! I always have bloated prices in my head for everything. 

Yes, being able to pay off the loan is clutch. Once that is paid off, off to the next property purchase!

Happy Thanksgiving all! Thanks for these great replies.

G

@Joe Splitrock Hey thanks for this response! A realtor friend of mine gave me very similar information, so thanks for reinforcing! I was aware of the wait periods and interest rate increases. My buddy also said the same thing about appraisers, they'll never be the same. As you mentioned, there was an element of both luck and a good deal (though it's a 200 year old house, so the major improvement pains are yet to be seen...the house was greatly maintained and updated by the former owner, thankfully). Very good information here! Really appreciate the response. 

@Billy Davidson Most likely option 2. I know they talk about this from time to time on the BP Podcast (and not usually in a positive light)...I took $$ out of my 403B for the down payment on the house WHICH will be repaid very soon after my ex-wife sells the house which we still own (my cut of that sale will more than cover the loan I took against myself...so all good). I'm living in the larger side of the house and have the 1 BR up for rent.

@Maurice D. I hear ya...3% down on loan for the entire house, so roughly 360K. From what I've read, I can at least get 10K out of refi (or HELOC?)....I'm new at all this and still learning, which is why I reached out here. The big ticket items are more on the side I'm living in (at least for a few years, then plan to do this again with a 3 family, or remain here and still own another multi-fam). There is 1/2 bath in serious need of some rehab and kitchen floor needs to be redone.

Thanks for your input and replies gentlemen!

G

Hello! I'm excited to say I closed my first REI three weeks and will be house hacking in a two-family home. I'm in central CT and real estate prices are nutty. Crazy as it sounds, this house I bought was the first one I looked at and went for it. Listed at 370K, bought for 360K and the capper was that it appraised at over 390K! My agent said this almost unheard of (and got a sick interest rate to boot!). Now, I'm walking in with equity...what's the best thing to do here? Sit on it? Refi (cash out refi)? I don't know. The house needs some work, not major work, but some bigger ticket items for sure. I'm not sure what the best move is here. Has anyone else been in this situation?

Looking forward to responses from this great RE community!

Thanks!

G