All Forum Posts by: Greggory Kowalkowski

Hi all,

We have already begun our investing adventure in our home city of Pittsburgh, PA.  When telling a banking buddy of mine all about our goals today he mentioned that where he was living now, just outside of Youngstown, OH is a slowly emerging market that he feels may turn soon but the prices are still rock bottom.  A zillow search today pretty much confirm that last part.  Has anyone ever looked into the area, is it worth the drive to scout some of these properties?  What are the good and bad neighbors?  What are the drawbacks? Is this a veritable war zone?  Any info or tagging agents/investors/contractors in that area would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi,

In doing due diligence on a prospective renter, we are going to talk to her previous landlord.  What questions are going to bear the most fruit in this interview?

On for Next Thursday?

Hey Mike.  I'm new to investing but not to this area.  Shoot me a message and I'll be happy to share my contact info and share ideas.  

On what day do you guys do your meetup?

Here is the website that lists city owned properties:

https://public-pgh.epropertyplus.com/landmgmtpub/a...

I've been through it a few times.  A lot of vacant land.  A lot that say "buildings" but when reviewed are just vacant land or the building has been demolished.  I think what Alex is alluding to is that it is so overwhelmingly common for these to be small lots of vacant land that it's only practical to pursue them if you already own an adjacent property and can parcel them together.  If you have found a building and have seen it in the flesh and know the neighborhood, you are probably on the cusp of a pretty good deal.  

Are we talking about the Manchester/North Side area Ryan?

My partner and I are working on rehabbing a 120 year old property.  The walls throughout the house are painted over top of several layers of wallpaper.  Although it probably didn't look bad when it was first done, the walls now have a lot of boils and the paint job looks crappy.  We are getting a quote from a drywall expert who can peel the paper and mud over the bare walls.  We are expecting this come back outrageously high.  That leaves us two real options in my mind.  Spend several days/weeks peeling the paper and refinishing and painting the walls ourselves OR demoing all the walls and rehanging new drywall altogether.  I'm just wondering if anyone has run into a similar situation and could describe the pros and cons of doing it either of these ways.  Thanks!

My partner and I are closing on our first property today. The bank requires this to be done through a commercial loan since we formed an LLC to buy the property. The home needs plenty of rehab and then we wanted to refi down the road. I heard someone mention on one of the podcasts that his commercial loans can be refinanced almost immediately upon completion of the rehabbing. I just wanted to know if this is a widely held industry standard or something this particular investor brokered through a relationship with a local bank?

Hi, 

My partner and I are purchasing our first rental property.  It's a great deal and everything works out numbers wise.  The one thing that nags me about the home and it's potential resale value is that it is a 3 bedroom home (3 BIG bedrooms, all on the second floor) but you have to WALK THROUGH one bedroom to get to the third bedroom.  I'm just wondering how much of a hindrance other investors think this is and I'm wondering if there is a creative resolution during the rehab process that someone thinks we should consider.  

Thanks in advance!

Gregg K.