All Forum Posts by: Janice H.

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience working with Locklear Real Estate Partners in Jacksonville, Fl.  If so, could you share your experiences.  Did you have a positive experience working with them?  Did you purchase a property through them and were you happy with your purchase?

Thanks,

Janice

Thanks, Jeff, Ed and Carl for your advice.  The basement is unfinished and consists of a concrete floor,  There was about an inch of water when we saw it this weekend.  

Jeff, might you share some of the mold or wet basement companies that you mentioned you were thinking of in ME?

Carl, this might be a stupid question but can we ask them to put in a new sump pump prior to closing so that we can see if that'll solve the problem but even more to decrease the chances of mold starting to develop?

Thanks all,
Janice

Hello fellow BP members,

My husband and I are interested in a duplex in a small town in Oxford County, ME.  It is in a nice part of town on a dead end street and the units looked like they were recently renovated (new windows, carpets).  The only issue is that when we viewed it there was water in the basement.  There was a sump pump in the basement that was not working and the owner had a dehumidifier running and draining into the sump pump hole.  Our first concern is for mold. Is there an accurate way to test for mold before closing on the property (if we were to make an offer)?  I know that the DIY test kits have to sit in a spot over a few days and my husband fears that the owner might move the tests to prevent mold from showing up.  If we were to hire a professional would their tests not have to go through this process and thus not be able to be tampered with?  Also, how much might a professional mold inspection/test cost?  Our second concern is how difficult and expensive it would be to stop the water from pooling in the basement.  The realtor thought that the basement might be too low for the ground table and the water was seeping in from outside.  He thought the basement floor might need to be sealed or raised.  A friend who lives in the area believed the issue could be solved with a new working sump pump (He also asserted that there probably was not mold since this area of ME stays cool and dry most of the year).  Is there a way before purchasing the property to determine how bad the problem is and how costly it would be to fix it?

Thanks,
Janice

Lien,

Thanks for your message. We are looking for a CPA who give us some advice about the different tax benefits available with a LLC, and available with owning rental properties. We'd then love to have this CPA be part of our team and help us with our taxes once we've formed a LLC and begun acquiring properties.

Thanks,

Janice

Hello all,

My husband and I are new to real estate investing and are hoping to obtain our first deal in the next 6 months. We were wondering if anyone could recommend a great CPA  in the northern MA area.  We live in Wilmington.  Ideally we'd love a CPA who has experience with doing taxes in regards to real estate investing and LLCs.

Thanks so much!

Janice

Hi @Matt Lefebvre, thank you so much for your message and your feedback.  While it's unfortunate to hear that prices in our area are currently too high to make a rental property profitable, I'm glad to hear that my consideration of deals these last couple of weeks hasn't been completely off.  I actually have been learning something from all the podcasts and blogs I've been reading =)  

Would we do better to look at duplexes?  And if so, what would be the best communities to consider (I saw some duplexes in the Lowell, Haverhill and Nassau area that looked like they might produce better numbers)?  Or would we be more likely to get a good deal looking in other states?  What do people think of newbies buying their first deal from a considerable distance?

Thanks again,
Janice

Hello BP community,

My husband and I got interested in REI after listening to Rich Dad Poor Dad. Over the last month we found Bigger Pockets and have been building our knowledge base listening to podcasts, reading posts and discussions on the forum and recommended books. We both have full time jobs but would love at some point if our real estate investing took off for him to be able to leave his job and focus on our investments.

We're intersted in getting into REI investing in the buy and hold rental area with most likely SFH or condo/apartments. We live in the Woburn/Wilmington area in MA and are interested in finding our first deal within our area in northern MA or southern NH. I've started looking at deals on online sources, such as redfin.com and realtor.com. From the forums I've read I know that experienced investors say you can find a deal in any area. However, when I try to run the numbers the rent to price ratio is always way below 1. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong. Also, what are the best ways to figure out rental rates and vacancy rates? I've seen some averages based on # of bedrooms but wonder if there is a difference in rent possibility for a SFH vs. a condo/apartment? I'm also wondering how to pick the best town w/in our area to start with. If/when we find a good deal we were thinking mostly likely of using a conventional loan but are open to alternatives.

Thanks for all suggestions and sharing your knowledge with us,  Happy Fourth too!

Janice H