All Forum Posts by: Jessica S.

@Jay Hinrichs and @Mike Nuss, thanks for taking the time to offer your advice.  From what you're both saying it sounds as though we should proceed with our original plan to rehab the existing structure.

Good to know! 

We recently acquired a dilapidated 5-Plex in a hot Portland neighborhood. Our original plan was to rehab it and hold. However, it turns out that the SFR next door is also going on the market soon. Both properties are on standard 50x100 lots , zoned R2.5. I'm wondering if a developer would be interested in combining the two lots and demo-ing the structures for new construction of a larger plex.

Is this a feasible scenario?  I don't know much about zoning, how does that come into play here?  

@Jay Hinrichs, and anyone else who know about developing apartment complexes, particularly in Portland, can you please weigh in?

Thanks!

Did you recently get your real estate license?  (I read your earlier posts.)  Why don't you just help them sell the house for market value?  I'm sure you would prefer to buy it yourself with owner financing but I think you would be putting yourself in a vulnerable situation.  The heirs may welcome your help now while they're in distress but they may view the situation differently in the future.  If they were to sue you down the line, sick old lady vs real estate investor probably wouldn't go in your favor in court.

That said, if you did want to pursue this, maybe you could pay her an option fee.  An option fee gives you the right to buy the property at a later date for a set price.  You can search BP for more info on it.

We had a slug problem in our duplex when we first acquired it, as well.  I guess indoor slugs are a NW thing.  You probably haven't seen the slugs when you've been there because they usually only come out at night, early morning.

Our slugs were a symptom of moisture in the crawl space caused by leaking pipes.  They were getting in through a gap where the shower had been poorly installed.

My opinion is that you should take her request seriously.  Nobody should have to live with vermin (especially slugs, gross...) regardless of what class of neighborhood they're in or how much rent they're paying.  The fact that she mentions her fear of slugs only confirms this for me.  Have you ever gone into your bathroom in the middle of the night and stepped on a slug?  Yuck.

Nate's Heating and Cooling has done a bunch of work for us over the past few years and installed our mini-split system last year. Please PM me for contact details.

The process isn't any different from getting a regular mortgage: you go through the same qualification process (W2's, bank statements etc.) and then you have to pay to have the property appraised. The only difference is that the APR will be a little higher than the rates you're seeing advertised for home loans because it's an investment property.

I've found that mortgage fees and rates are negotiable.  Get three different quotes and then start bargaining.    It can be an uncomfortable process but it will save you thousands of dollars.

 You can't.  You'll have to use one in Michigan.

5% sounds a little low to me, you might consider bumping that to 6%. Everything else sounds fine. 335 on a FSBO = about 350 for an MLS sale (no commissions) so that should be good.

I highly recommend getting all the same inspections you would get if you were working with a real estate agent, especially sewer and underground oil tank locate.

Good luck!

Hi Chris!

Our new 5-Plex needs to be roofed and it has a flat roof as well. I can send you the three bids I got from the seller.  I haven't worked with any of them but it's a good starting point.

Will you let me know what you come up with?

Congrats on the new project!

Hi James,

It sounds as though you want a real estate agent who can also do some mentoring.  Instead, I suggest you obtain your real estate education from another source and then find a good agent whose only role is to find a property and negotiate the transaction for you.  Don't rely on an agent to show you the ropes of investing, the results could be disastrous.