All Forum Posts by: Jennifer D.

@Demarcus Crump, this deal came to us the way everyone says deals will come: by putting ourselves out into the world as people looking for deals. It is shocking how easily that works once it gets going.

A few days ago, I checked in on a friend to see how she is doing. She mentioned she had bought an investment property and they were just deciding not to buy another one. I asked her why, and she said that it’s an empty lot and they didn’t have the capital to develop it right now. I asked her if I could follow up the opportunity. She said sure. Bob’s your uncle, we are under contract.

If you are new to investing, just be aware that empty land can be risky. It is not an asset. It is a liability. Every month, you will have to pay property taxes and, if you are not managing it yourself, someone to mow the grass and make sure the place is safe.

This is our first venture into owning land, so I am happy to keep you apprised of how it goes.

Hi. We will soon own a nice empty lot in a quiet neighborhood in Stone Mountain, GA (outside of Atlanta).

We at least want to have some liability insurance on the place. What else do we need, and who will insure an empty lot?

Hello, Bigger Pockets. Is anyone else interested in teaming up to create an Australia-focused investing group?

I am an American living in Australia, with most of my investment portfolio in the United States. Being currently stuck in Australia, I have turned my attention to thinking about whether or not te-entering the property market here as an investor is a good idea.

I have found nothing like Bigger Pockets here in Australia. Basically, there are people trying to sell you comprehensive real estate packages, with very little transparency and almost no knowledge sharing until you fork over anywhere from $3000-$12,000 for a mentoring program.

I love both countries, but this distinction is very typical of Australia and one of the strengths of Americans. I think Bigger Pockets could have a strong presence in Australia.

Is anyone else interested in teaming up on a podcast or set of blogs about the Australian property market?

Me again with the same fence dramas.  We are trying to replace a fence in Atlanta, and we keep getting ghosted by fence contractors.  We've had some additional questions and have asked for updated quotes when they didn't get it right the first time. 

Why do contractors ghost, and is there any way to make them want to work with you?

We are trying to replace the fence in a rental property in Atlanta.  I've asked for insurance certificates (general liability and work comp) from a few, and have been told that fencing contractors do not need insurance.

Is this true?  

Hi, Azeez,

We ended up using your recommendation, I think.  Thanks again! 

Do you perchance know any fencing contractors?

jennie

@Jingru Sui and @Naga A,

Same here. I would love to know about your property for sale.

Hi, Azeez. Thanks for the info.  Thanks, also, for the distinctions between boundary and Alta surveying.  I really do not know what we need.  Here's our situation:

We have a ½-acre single-family residential home in Fulton County, Atlanta, and want to replace the fence.  We think that our property line is five or six feet over the current fence line, and our neighbor is amenable to rebuilding the fence.  

We are pretty sure we need a permit to rebuild the fence, even though the City of Atlanta knocked down part of the fence as part of a water and sewer repair project under the active federal consent decree.  

We think we have a site plan, which was provided to us by the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management as part of a package of documents they gave us about the project.  It names the plat and page, and it shows property boundaries, part of the existing fence, but not the whole fence line, elevations, and the trees and buildings on the property.  We are not sure whether the Waterworks document is sufficient for the purposes of moving a fence 5 or 6 feet into a neighbor's side of an existing fence.  We'd like to be pretty sure we've got this right before we put up a fence too far onto their land. 

We have applied for a site plan through FOIA and been notified that there is no site plan on record.  The county FOIA site plan search did not return the Watershed site plan, so the whole thing is confusing to me.

There is also a creek on the property, and there is probably an easement astraddle that waterway.  However, the courts are closed, so we have not been able to get an easement plan.

So... we may just be looking for a staking job, or we may be looking for an overall survey.  

Do you have any advice?

Does anyone recommend a company in Atlanta that will survey and stake our property boundaries? Thanks!

Are there any fence contractors out there that would like to bid on our job? We are looking to install a wood, corral-and-wire-style fence around about a 200-foot perimeter in a residential property in intown Atlanta. Thanks!