All Forum Posts by: Glenn R.

I'm curious why you choose to say "HUGE" Profit in the resell description?  It seems like pointing that out would encourage the potential seller to ask for a higher price or reconsider selling to you at such a HUGE DISCOUNT?   You've been doing this for a long time, so there's obviously a good reason.  

I would assume that most of the people that choose to sell to a direct mailer / fast cash buyer are desperate, inexperienced, or uninformed about real estate values or procedures.

My father has received a generic postcard almost monthly for years for a property that he inherited.  It's a vacant waterfront lake home that's on a 2-acre lot.  It's worth a fortune, but we have to hold onto it because of the capital gains and the step up basis concerns.  We chuckle at the cards, thinking the sender must be nuts.  But hey, the postage is cheaper than a lottery ticket, right?  I think the tax value is about $1.2M and it would easily sell for 3-4X.  It is comforting to know we have a cash buyer ready to help us out.  ;)

I wonder how many years we'll keep receiving the postcards.  

I'm just telling our story because it's funny from our perspective.  If this was just an ordinary old vacant home and our circumstances were different we would be likely to respond to the mailer.  When the buyer asks "how much we want" I'd probably say "As much as we can get. Why don't you come take a look at the place and we'll discuss it?"  What response would I get to that reply?  Personally, I would be insulted by a potential buyer that made an offer before physically viewing the property, but that seems to be a common practice here.  I guess that's how you gage whether the seller is desperate or not?

Why should you require a higher security deposit?

Ed,

Thanks for the advice.  I met with a RE attorney today and received the advice I was hoping to get.  He said a "recombination" will allow us to create the third lot.  He also looked over the details of another lot that we may want to do a similar recombination with a neighbor in the future and confirmed it was also possible.  It was a very productive visit.  

Btw, he was the third RE attorney I called.  The first two didn't have a solution, but were happy to have their paralegal gather deed info that might lead to a solution.  I'm glad I asked a number of people for recommendations.  It was beginning to look doubtful.

Nevermind.  A neighbor, who is a developer, referred me to a local RE attorney that specializes in rezoning, land use, and permitting.  

Ed,

I have a deed restriction issue that I hope to find a solution for.  My brother and I own 2 adjoining lots on a lake that we would like to divide and create 3 lots from.   The original deed has a restriction stating that each resulting lot created by subdividing contains at least 30,000 square feet.  Our lots would only be 28,096 square feet each.  All of the original lots on the street had the same restrictions, yet some of them were originally created smaller than the 30,000 sf restriction, and 5 or 6 lots were smaller than our 28,096 sf lots.  The city minimum lot size requirement is only 21,780 sf (1/2 ac).  The property has appreciated substantially in the past 50 years since the lake was created, so it's definitely worth pursuing. 

How do we petition for a waiver?  Does it sound like a reasonable request?  Will we need to present it to a judge, or is there an easier way?  

Thanks,

Glenn

I built my own site a few years ago and found Weebly.com was very simple to use.  I didn't have any experience and was happy to find a simple and free way to make a website.

Sounds like political humor?

Mr Money Mustache is a site & forum that you should check out.  

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/index.php

I'd assume that it would be easier to start in a smaller town, rather than a big city & county.  I mean a place where the land costs are lower, the zoning less restrictive, and the inspectors & county officials easier to work with.

Work on smaller projects, with smaller companies to get your foot in the door, and get some experience.  Climb the ladder there, and move on to bigger cities, companies, and projects as you progress.

I used the word "assume" because I don't have any development experience.  I have lived in large cities and also in smaller towns, and know most things are easier to do and friendlier, and slower paced in smaller towns.

Would you experienced guys agree?