All Forum Posts by: James Wilcox

@Rob Beland thank you. I do realize that every state is probably a little different. Your opinion is helpful and IK that you can't put the clean outs inside your home anymore here because of the sewer back up that could happen in your basement, for example. They are normally located outside the home for ease of use and so it would not cause problems like a back up into the home. However, I was unsure about a garage. I would probably wager good money that it is wrong and there is no permit for the garage either. I was told the first house on the lot burnt down and the former owner built this house on the lot and built the garage at a separate time even after the initial build. 

I am not a contractor or home inspector, but if I notice things that seem off I would say they are probably wrong. The sellers agent is looking into the permits for the home for me at least. :)

Was looking at a place that has had a garage built into the home. It appears the sewer clean out that is normally located outside the home is in the middle of the floor in the garage. The garage is a concrete slab. Is building a sewer clean out in your garage against code or illegal? Also there should be a permit for the garage correct? What are the issues if there is no permit and the trap is not up to code?

Maybe a contractor will know the answer to this.

@Brandon Turner If you need anymore information let me know.

Specs are:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601

Browser: 

Google Chrome
43.0.2357.124 m

It might be a Google Chrome issue. What browser do you use?

@Robert Perry I still get the problem but have not tried different browsers.

Thank you all for the help! Just with 4 owners and a larger disparity in the price I was second guessing myself. I am going to re-look over the numbers and make sure it worth the money I have in mind. It will take a lot of work/money to get this place into shape. I want to be working on my business not in it. I have a meeting tonight with an agent with 8 possible deals they are bringing me so my money maybe better put elsewhere. 

@Jesse T. they have a mortgage and won't do seller financing or acquiring the lease. I made sure of that.

@David Begley Yes it is some beautiful country here and I do like the way you are looking at the deal. They are listed separately but they seem to be partial to unloading both at once. Try to work a deal one then bundle, once a price is set. I also like the chances of one swaying the others (12 Angry Men scenario). I might modify this a bit and actually tell them they can't give me a yes or a no till 48 hours has passed just to force them to talk and think about it. Large EMD is a nice strategy.

@Mark Gallagher you do have a good point. I will be doing my best to sell myself because I will be attaching a letter about myself and the values I have. It is a small town, tight knit community, but I went to school in this town and I think that will be to my advantage. I will meet with them if need be, but I feel this deal maybe one that the sellers will not accept at first. If it sits on the market longer, they may come back to me down the road like @Doug W. mentioned. It has only been on the market for around a week, so if they accepted a lower offer that soon would really surprise me. 

@Lars Henrik I would keep an eye on the HELOC part since mortgage rates are probably going to go up very soon. It may throw off your numbers more and make the property a worse cash flower.

I am a little green, but yeah if it is cashflow negative this get something else. However, what @Tim Ehlers suggests seems a really good solution if you could find someone to do the lease option. When/if you sell do the 1031 exchange and kick those taxes down the road. :)

So I was looking at maybe putting in an offer on two duplexes both listed at at 104.9K a piece. Total $209,800

I have run the numbers of where I want to be and really the max I would want to pay is 75K a piece. Total $150,000

Should I even bother? There are 4 owners with these properties but they are all older and looking to get out of the REI game. Yet I asked them and they said that their asking price is what they think the properties are worth. I disagree. There rent is too low for the market IMO and the major expenses that these units need is pretty high (new carpet/flooring in all units, new hvac, and one new roof). I think the inspection may come back with more. These units have potential, but I feel the deferred maintenance and asking price seem way too high to me. Thoughts on how to approach this situation? I usually just make an offer on what the numbers say (ends up with no deal most of the time), but in this case we are very far apart.

When do you determine if an offer is worth submitting?

Welcome @Seth Switzer from out of the shadows and into the light! I am glad to see more people out of the central Kentucky area! Great job on your "house hack" and good luck in the future!

@Adrienne Herrenbruck good job on recommending the local REI. Good luck on your first deal!

I also get this message when I hit calculate which pretty much breaks my reports. I have to make new ones.

"An unhandled lowlevel error occured. The application logs may have details."

Anyone else having the rental property calculator having their Estimated Repairs field keep switching to zero? No matter what I put into it when I click calculate results it is zero on the results page. Sometimes I will go back and click edit from the results page and my estimated repairs cost will appear back in there and then it will calculate correctly after the second time through.