All Forum Posts by: Josh Thomas

Two contiguous triplexes (total of 6 units) located on main thoroughfare. Steps to restaurants, shops, bus lines and short walk to metro. Each apartment on separate gas and electric meters, hot water heaters, central heat, window AC, and interconnected smoke + co2 alarms. Renovations include new roof (complete tear-off with 20 year warranty), windows, flooring, paint, and appliances. Potential to increase income by adding water meters to bill back tenants. Vacant commercial space in front of each building - one could be leased as office space, the other converted to on-site laundry facilities. Fully occupied with professional property management in place. Seller financing available. Message me for more details.

@Rich Baer Good to know, thanks for sharing.

@Account Closed You mean the supervisor at the permit office? Or the housing inspector supervisor?

Sounds like I need to physically go into the permit office with pictures, sketches, and specs of exactly how the rails will be installed. Are there any guidelines I should follow for that? Or examples someone can share of what they will accept? 
I'd rather do it myself since my contractor will charge at least a grand to do it for me, and I doubt he would negotiate at all if they raise scope. 

So I received a citation for under the Fire and Related Codes of Baltimore City for improper egress. Basically on my forth floor unit, a resident must walk a few steps along a very wide and flat platform to an existing fire escape. The inspector said it needs a safety railing that connects the building to the fire escape, and a permit would be required to do the work.

I'll spare you the details, but a phone call with Baltimore permitting revealed they would love to turn this simple task into VERY expensive enhancement (of which I could find no basis for in all the MD, Baltimore, or International Building Code books).

So, I'm curious if any other Baltimore City landlords, rehabbers, or property mangers have ever had a similar experience? Where you may have resolved a simple citation quickly without a permit, even though an inspector would be asking about it later? And if so what was the outcome? Would they go so far as to require a tear down of perfectly good work and then rebuild again with a permit? Or would it a a hand slap / relativity small fine?

I recently bought my first NPN, of which is only behind two months and back taxes. I'd like to get involved by calling the borrower to introduce myself and get a feel for their intentions before taking legal action. I have outlined a script below to make sure I get all the info I need, offer all possible options, and don't break any rules.

Does this sound like a good approach? Can you comment on what I have so far? Anything I should change or leave out? Any other possible workout scenarios I am missing?

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Intro
When phone picks up, ask for Mr or Mrs X. If they ask why, I have a private matter relating to their property at X location.
When borrower is on the phone, introduce myself that I work for the company that now owns their mortgage and make sure they understand and got the intro letters sent by my servicer.
Ask how things are going for them (in general / weather / life / work, etc), let them talk, try to build rapport by chatting about similar interests, keeping it professional.

Collect Info
Ask what they plan to do about unpaid taxes from last year that are going to tax sale very soon.
Ask if have plans to get current with the mortgage.
If they indicate they are in hard times and not sure how they can pay, ask if I can help them by better understanding their situation, since I’m a bit of a 'financial planner’.
Ask who currently occupies the property (since they live in a nearby city). If it’s a rental ask how much they gross.
Ask what they do for a living, how much they make, what their expenses are.
If possible collect info on their other assets such as retirement accounts, cars, boats, etc.
Calculate how much they can afford to pay per month.

Propose workouts
1) If the numbers look close, ask how they would feel about possible repayment scenarios that may fit their budget.
2) A forbearance or loan mod is probably not an option for me, but look into it anyway.
3) If we can not find common ground, ask how they would feel about a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Explain that this will not affect their credit in a negative way. Explain how it’s similar to a short sale, and may get some cash back for their equity.
4) If they again refuse ask if they have any other ideas since I have exhausted all of mine. Explain that non-action will force the property into foreclosure. Ask if they know what foreclosure will do with their credit. Explain how bad it will be if they are not clear.

Check out the Millionaire Real Estate Investor's bonus content you can download from this link. They include some great P&L and Balance Sheet spreadsheets.

@Jason S. Just curious what you mean by 'force insurance'...  are you referring to the lender's title policy or actual homeowners insurance?

I'm working through a new note myself. My servicing company will take care of the foreclosure process by selecting a full service plan with them. However they will not start foreclosure until the borrower is 120 days past due. The borrower was already over 1 year past due from the previous lender, but they said their clock 'resets' upon assignment. :/

@Brian Eastman @Dmitriy Fomichenko Sorry for the confusion! Everyone should obviously do their own homework on the subject. I'm admittedly not an expert in this field, but I have done a fair amount of research.

http://www.barthattorneys.com/Publications/Member-...

@Dmitriy Fomichenko A single member LLC can have either a Managing Manager or a Managing Member.

Managing Managers do not own any part of the LLC, which is what I'm saying to use here.

A Managing Member would own 100% of a single member LLC.

See the difference? Yes you own the IRA, but your Custodian is the sole owner of the LLC.

@Brian Eastman Ah yes an LLC inside a Solo 401k is a much different animal. I wish I could have one, but I'm still W2 for now.
I'm glad to hear the audits you handled went well. I guess I'm a bit overly careful, just in case they decide to scrutinize these types of entities in the future.

@Dmitriy Fomichenko Right, well it's actually your SD IRA Custodian who will be the sole member of the LLC. I'm simply recommending you avoid naming a non-qualified person as Managing Manager in the Documents Of Organization or any documents signed on your entity's behalf. Non-linear family members are qualified. I agree you should not have any issues if you do name yourself and follow all the formalities... just a word of advice since a self-dealing judgement would wreck your retirement plans.