All Forum Posts by: Joe Cantanzriti

If you're even considering it, it's worth your time and money to have a website. Today with Wix.com or squarespace.com you can create a website in no time and have one for credibility along with some other uses you may discover as you go as previously mentioned by others. A website would be a simple place to have photos and info of all your properties as you buy and renovate them since you will have vacancies to fill in the future.

As previously stated, closing on it would make sense though I'm going to assume you can't financially close so you need another plan. I guess I would really sit down for a minute and come up with a plan to massively market this thing in your short 48 window. Post a flyer for the property on every possible street corner. . Put up bandit signs everywhere (these tend to attract as many buyers or other wholesalers as actual sellers) . . Walk in to every real estate brokerage in your area and talk to every realtor, they all have some investors they work with, offer them a handsome fee for the deal. . . Market harder and more creative than you have been I suppose would be the answer. Or negotiate seller financing with the seller if that's an option. Or find a hard money lender and close, then assess from there.

Been there. . Fannie and Freddie certainly have dealt with this before many many times so they know what they're doing when negotiating repairs. . Plus it also could be the case where if you were to not accept their 10k reduction they could easily just put it back up for sale and sell it to someone else for a similar price.

@Darwin Crawford - The vast majority are lifetime renters which makes this market great as long as you find the good ones, which I imagine can be difficult in any market. The majority of people who are going to buy seem to just do so right out of the gate since it's so affordable, you can easily purchase a home around $50-60k in a decent area so it makes sense for those who will eventually buy to just buy now.... plus there is a major lack of high quality rentals in most of our market as well which I don't blame the property owners for, in this case the majority of renters will take whatever they can find that the landlord will approve them for. 

@Darwin Crawford

Certainly would be a good idea to hop over here and check out the places to be sure you are getting what you paid for, heard a similar story a couple years ago here in Youngstown about an out of state investor buying up "renovated" section 8 property who ended up buying 2 vacant lots since the city razed the 2 homes before he ever made it out here since they were on the demo list.

However.... a good property manager of course can be your boots on the ground here and save you the trip if you don't feel it necessary. Depending on what side of Youngstown you have property on, I would recommend a different property manager. South & West, Steel Valley Homes property management or Demar Realty.... haven't used Demar personally though I've heard she's a great tenant selector. East Side, not sure of managers who work over there... a little rough around the edges over there. 

Absolutely agree, with a walk through bedroom you most certainly need a plan that alters the floor plan. Whether that means creating a master suite out of the connected rooms or creating a larger bedroom. Either way, your market needs to be able to support a 2 bed home at the price you're aiming for. On the other hand, if it's a rental property this could be just fine, but still it's a 2 bed home, not a 3 bed home.

I would make your list specific by the room so their is a literal checklist like the 160 point inspection you have with used cars (not sure if that's correct but you know what I mean). Living Room: Walls patched/touched up Trim touched up Flooring inspected Light(s) checked Windows checked Etc. . . I have a list similar to that for each of my units that way I just walk through and check the boxes. Make the list when you buy the place and you're set for the future.

That's a tough one, you're certainly going to have a hard time with the pitbull mix though there are tons of dog lovers out there who will accept dogs with the above mentioned ideas. I would avoid rental property that is represented by management companies or brokerages as they will likely be much more difficult than a smaller landlord who maybe just has a property or two and handles their own showings and management. I'd bring the dog with you and let the owner see how wonderful and friendly he/she is, hopefully the pup gets to their emotional side.

@Moses Berkowitz Thanks, send it on over...I sent you an inbox message with my email address.

@Moses Berkowitz Any information that you could provide would be great, appreciate it!