All Forum Posts by: Harry Gamble

Birmingham can be good for investors, many of the cheaper properties are in pretty bad areas and the crime has gotten worse in the last several years, so I would take that into consideration. You can get good rents at low entry points in some of these areas, but there’s the question of finding good tenants along with the downsides of being in a high crime area. And those properties don’t tend to appreciate. For example, I got a house for about 30k in such an area and was able to get 800/mo, but it wasn’t worth it. I had a cage on the outside AC unit but someone got a truck into the backyard and was able to yank it out of the ground. The police told me there was a wanted felon living next door and to “call us if you see him” (??). So I would spend a little more and try to get into a little better than the worst areas. East Lake isn’t the very worse, but they do have some issues.

@Brian Joseph OConnor Be careful with no interest loans, the IRS may impute interest. Best to look at the IRS refs and set it up where there is at least a little interest.

I bought a house for 170,000 with the intention of renting it. I now have someone interested in buying it if I owner finance. I can sell now for 200,000 to the buyer, who will put down 15 % as a down payment, and amortize the remainder at say 7% over 10 years with a balloon payment. However, I’m wondering if I should structure the deal as a lease or lease purchase at least for a year to avoid short term capital gains, or is it not that big of a deal if I can get a 30,000 profit as well as interest? The alternative is to structure the deal differently with the prospective buyer, or to not sell at all and rent. I wouldn’t have a problem getting a good tenant in, and the house would likely appreciate over a rental term. Any input is appreciated.

My understanding is that livenation would be the ones that own both amphitheaters, and that oak mountain would close. But I am all for a new state of the art amphitheater in Birmingham, I think we could use it. Currently Tuscaloosa and Huntsville have better amphitheaters, but the new Bham one would be top of the line and I think would be great for the entire Metro area.

@Philip Hernandez. There are Federal laws too. You may want to check out the EPA pamphlet “The Lead-Safe Certifed Guide to Renovating Right,” if you are renovating. Also be sure the attorney has the right lead disclosures in your lease contract appropriate for your situation.

@Jeff Wirth you shouldn’t have a problem getting a judgment against them, the question is whether it is worth it from the standpoint of executing on that judgment. Some possibilities depending on your jurisdiction: Executing on personal property can be difficult; if they own real estate you get a lien on their property which will have to be paid if they refinance or sell; if you know where they bank you can garnish the bank account;if they have an employer you can garnish their wages. I’m not sure how to execute/garnish for a self employed. I would ask the attorney about these possibilities, what they think the chances of being able to recover in one of these ways, and get and estimate of their fee to do so. Then you can see if it’s worth it.

@Jack Krusinski Requiring someone to be reasonable is probably going a little too far. As others have said, there are different interpretations as to what is irrational. People just aren’t always reasonable. Maybe you could use the term “aggression,” combined with something like “disorderly”, then DOCUMENT everything the tenant does and maybe eventually, with evidence of multiple instances of being irrational in an aggressive or disorderly way, it turns into something that a judge might find more palatable. Just a thought…there may be other lease provisions that can handle this situation if it goes too far. Regardless, I think you probably just have to deal with a certain amount of unreasonable behavior the best you can, but if something else more major comes along and you have documented the previous rude/irrational behavior, it could help in court with an eviction action for behavior that is over the top.

@Steve Balinski. I had a major indoor fly problem one time and I finally discovered that the source was the garbage disposal that had old food it in but had not been run in a while. Doesn’t sound like the case in your situation, but maybe worth investigating if there is a disposal. I got rid of them by spraying raid on them at the windows, and of course running and cleaning the disposal. Maybe try some different indoor traps? For outdoor I’ve had great luck with Captivator traps.

@Jay Hinrichs I’ve had good luck with sloping away from the house on issues similar to this, along with good gutters and extended downspouts. I use a soil that is basically a cross between clay and dirt, then a thick mil liner on top, more clay/dirt on top of that, then cover with whatever is appropriate, topsoil with sod, pine straw, etc.