All Forum Posts by: John Bergstrom

Earlier this year I came across a 9ac rural ag parcel where a tornado had knocked down outbuildings, but the old farmhouse, grain bins, garage etc were all still standing (but the house was a raze candidate). Long story short- I offered ask but the seller went with someone else (same amount but a local). Am struggling with my searches now- Where do I find small acreage parcels with or without buildings or with buildings in need of rehab? Do counties track these? Other realty sites? (The realtors are asking insane prices, or don’t have any listings.) There has to be some methodology for finding that old abandoned farmland/house that is wasting away that I can refurb. Ideas?

I have one unit in a complex of about 70 and the property management company asked me to be a Board member. We meet every few months via video conference and primarily discuss the management's need to increase HOA fees. (Increased energy costs, new roofs, etc) Im wondering if I have a liability/exposure that I'm neglecting. Assuming a policy exists for such work, is there usually a need for property management Board members? What would a common coverage amount be if it's recommended? (Cost estimate?) Thanks in advance,

Quote from @Steve Vaughan:

Quote from @John Bergstrom:

Wtf is going on here?! Don't normal people just say great, I'll forward a purchase agreement?

The average FSBO homeowner has no idea what offer paperwork to use.
Make a formal offer👍

*She mentioned she was using a local (Iowa) attorney for the closing/title work in the same little town and I told her to have him draft up an Iowa purchase agreement and send it to me via email and I’d sign it. I also said it’d be a cash deal, no contingencies and close whenever it’d be convenient for her! How much more convenient can I make this? There’s only two attorneys in the town so maybe I’ll call both and see if one can draft it and send it to her(?)

I need perhaps some behavioral advice. Have been looking for a few years for land in southern MN/northern IA on which to build an old fashioned foursquare and barn/outbuilding...something about 10ac+. Found a small place in IA -in a very quiet community- where there was a [raze-ready] foursquare farmhouse already on it (but new electrical/furnace)(but sagging foundation); tornado ripped down all the outbuildings years ago, so it's a cleanup waiting to happen. Of the 9ac, 3 is woods (with deer and turkey sign), 1ac is tilled and the rest flattened buildings, but a good chicken coop, couple small grain bins, and an old barn ready to collapse. House -if salvageable- needs LOTS of work. But built well in 1912. After talking/texting/emailing seller, finally said I'd give her the asking price. But instead of starting a paperwork process, she came back with "I thought you weren't interested...." and "You're wanting to move here...?" and "I was planning on doing a new septic system in April....", "I'm sorry I can't remember if I asked your last name. What's your wife's name?" Basically everything BUT an agreement.

Wtf is going on here?! Don't normal people just say great, I'll forward a purchase agreement? I'm so baffled by this seemingly ruse being played by little miss Okie-from-Muskogee. She's unresponsive, yet the place has been for sale for 8-9 months and no one wants to take on the manure pits, etc (except me). I've come out and asked her if she was either A) wanting a bidding war/more money or B) was being sentimental about the place (was her grandparents'). She said "Neither". (Quite frankly I'm really pissed because I've looked for so long and now I've found a place, yet I'm up against this game-player.) Should I put this in the rearview mirror? Or how else can I approach this? I've tried the 'I'll be a good steward of the place' route, met her asking price, even offered to buy more land around the place from her mom (who owns all the farmland around it). Frustrating.       

As a small time RE investor (two properties), I'm thinking it just makes the most sense to 'shift' some of the deductions I used to enter on a Sched A over to the Sched E because of the new rules/deductions with the Tax Cut & Jobs Act. I'm also thinking of renting out half my house and hence the mortgage interest (half of it anyway) could be applied to the E vs the A and I might still be better off by then qualifying for the std. deduction. Am I thinking correctly? (Then there is of course the follow-up questions- Other than yard maint/snow, garbage, utilities, etc. anything that's commonly missed that I can put on the Sched E?)  

I kicked a baseboard off on Friday, bagged it, then brought it home- wife sniffs, says “human pee”. Daughter sniffs it and says “guinea pig pee”. (then I tell her the ‘puddle’ is as big as, if not bigger than a stove footprint) Daughters boyfriend smells it and says “that’s human”. 

How do I prove it’s human? And likely theirs! Argh!

I've got a nightmare on my hands! I have a Sect 8 tenant and have had a few issues (dog, non-pay of electricity, etc) But HUD recently failed my unit twice- once for a ripped window screen and the second time for pee puddling around the stove. The tenant said "it shows up every day". She says it's coming from the stove. Housing Court said I can't evict her yet, even though she hasn't paid her portion for three months. Is throwing pee on a wall to make it look like a leak a new strategy for tenants trying to stall an eviction? She stated "we're not peeing behind the stove!" (Which makes me think she or her 17 year old or her 11 yr old ARE!) Ideas? How does one prove where pee is coming from? (building's drain for waste is a good 30' away and goes straight down, not ‘over'; my unit is ground floor on 2 story building)