All Forum Posts by: Joshua VanName

Quote from @Scott Mac:

The way I look at it, the owner is aware the three prong outlets are not grounded.

Potential renter looks at the outlet sees a three prong outlet in the old house it assumes it is grounded- because the third hole is for a ground.

Potential renter assumes he can use standard modern equipment with a ground- that requires a ground or it wouldn't be there.

If I were the potential renter I would ask to be let out of the lease and move to a residence that has ground available- and ask about the ground before signing the lease just to make sure it is grounded.

I don't think they make two prong plugs anymore for the wall so replacing the old worn out ones with three prong ones seems like being a between a rock and a hard place- what's the owner to do if upgrading the electric is not affordable.

Maybe some electricians can weigh in on this dilemma of using three prong outlets when there is no ground on the 3rd prong.

Good Luck!

 Its possible to find ungrounded receptacles, usually off the internet, but distributors don't carry them typically. You're 100 % correct, at least here in CA we cant install grounded receptacles on a 2 wire system...its a code violation. As others have mentioned installing a jumper from neutral to ground is also illegal. The ground is bonded to neutral at the main only, the overall premise being ground is a backup should a neutral fail. A person getting shocked by the power wire is bad, getting shocked by a neutral under load is very bad.

It sounds like you will be looking for hard money loans, which are a better alternative to conventional loans when you are looking to flip a deal. With hard money, you will no longer be limited to turnkey properties listed on the MLS; you can start buying distressed properties and closing on them in 48 hours.

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Joe S.:

Quote from @Tom Gimer:

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Tom Gimer:

@John Underwood  I read what I believe to be the new SC legislation. Please provide the full new definition of “wholesaling” and reconcile the conclusion of your post with the last sentence in the definition.

  No need. After listening to several Attorneys, they are not going to risk closing these deals goin forward as they have been done in the past.

OK then I will. The definition of wholesaling (a new term under SC brokerage laws) reads as follows:

"Wholesaling" means having a contractual interest in purchasing residential real estate from a property owner, then marketing the property for sale to a different buyer prior to taking legal ownership of the property. Advertising or marketing real estate owned by another individual or entity with the expectation of compensation falls under the definition of "broker" and requires licensure. "Wholesaling" does not refer to the assigning or offering to assign a contractual right to purchase residential real estate.

Since every word of a statute has to be given meaning, the last sentence is a clear carve out for investors who assign contracts and offer that interest to the end buyer. Sounds like more business is coming for local attorneys who understand the new law.

Good catch. A lot of what people consider wholesaling is contract assignment for a fee anyways. 

True.
You just can't advertise a property that you don't own as it is now highly illegal is SC and no attorney is going to close these deals anymore. You will have to buy it out right or be buying.it under an installment contract. This is what the attorneys are saying. 

Not sure if I already posted this or not. I so I apologize.

This just confirms most attorneys will not want to mess with this. Too much risk.

I guess they could always be a paralegal when they lose their law license.

@Kevin McKittrick Well in my opinion an electrical upgrade should be paid for by the owner of the property.

When we buy a property if we know it has ungrounded electrical outlets we go through and put a GFCI plug at the beginning of the circuit in each room as opposed to rewiring the whole place. This is much more cost effective and should be considered up to code unless your town has codes that are stricter than the nationally accepted building code.

That being said I don’t allow any portable dishwashers or portable washing machines because we have experienced too much damage from operator error.

Quote from @Kevin McKittrick:

We are moving to a rental property in Seattle next month and the lease is already signed. After signing we mentioned using a portable dishwasher and the PM said it wouldn't work because the outlets aren't grounded.  It is an old house, so we went back through our pictures and videos during the tour and found that the outlet covers are 3 prongs, but not actually grounded. We are worried about a potential fire or getting shocked. We requested the change and they said we would need to pay for the update. After coming back with a solution of taking it off our rent if we paid for it, they said they would pay half. After some research it seems that this property isn't up to code and presents some valid safety concerns. I am wondering if any experienced landlords or property managers in Seattle have ever come across this issue before? We want to be respectful of the landlord and the property management, so any advice on how to handle this would be great. We ultimately feel like this shouldn't be our financial burden.

 The key here for me "after signing, we mentioned using a portable dishwasher". If you wanted a house with a dishwasher you should have rented one before you signed. The way I see it, you rented the house in as-is condition, which contains wiring that isn't code now but was code when it was built and a property owner has no obligation, if the law doesn't require it, to upgrade homes to meet new building codes. The fact that you want to use a portable dishwasher isn't really the landlord's problem, and I think their agreement to cover half the expense of updating the wiring in order to meet your needs is generous. How is taking it off the rent a solution for them? That's the same thing as them paying for it. 

On the other side of that, 3 prong outlets that aren't grounded are supposed to be labeled "not grounded" because you can't buy 2 prong outlets any more. So the outlets should all be labeled as such and I think if you wanted out of your lease because they were not, that would be a fair solution. 

Quote from @Jack Akim:

Did this every happen? 

Does anyone know of any container homes for section 8? 

 I find it unlikely that one could build a house out of a shipping container cheaper than one could build a stick framed house.

Quote from @Joshua VanName:

Quote from @Collin Hays:

Quote from @V.G Jason:

This need for perpetual growth will cause the crash.

Colin you say the recession is here, it's knocking. It's not here, it's coming if folks keep pushing the envelope. But if you look at other global macro trends you see other things forming quicker and I won't get into that, but that doesn't mean this isn't coming.

I'm very tempted for the first time ever to sit 100% cash and watch, I may do this as we enter first business week of June. Tap out of all short-term plays. I am not a market-timer, and a time in market person so just for folks calling that out that is with this considered. We are month 27 since the rise of rates, and month 11 of the expected peak of rates. I have still of a ton of investments that will ride the course, but that's because I can weather those storms.

 I have thought seriously about investing heavily in long term Airbnb put options.  I believe they’ve crested and will not be able to sustain their revenue growth.  Both them and VRBO have about squeezed the turnip dry.

 I have been investing in options for about 10 years now.  Mostly long term puts against stocks I think are highly overvalued.  I personally feel about 90% of the market is due for a major correction but I agree that these have a great chance of being at the forefront of that correction.

Not to hijack the thread. The entry point though is everything though, do you buy puts on the Nov24, Jan25, earlier/further?

Implied vol is high 30%s on both of these. That gives me enough traction to make a large wager. $220/$300 per $10k upside is very enticing. The Tesla put was wonderful, this won't be as great but I think this will be a very good one that Collin pointed out. 

Markets are getting more sophisticated and truly pricing in a lot more premium on any angle you take. It pays to be a bear now, and it pays even more to be a bull. It's kind of weird.

Hi All -

Anyone have experience creating an LLC for building and managing a new ADU construction? Did you find it beneficial vs not creating the LLC or any type of pass through entity?

Listed some of the tax benefits you can receive while building an ADU and once the ADU is built from my research. Happy to learn if there are other tax benefits.

Tax Benefits While Building

- Create an LLC and pay start up costs through the LLC (architect fees, permit fees, etc.). You can also deduct the cost of creating the LLC. Up to $5K (Source: https://www.adugeeks.com/post/...) 

Tax Benefits Once Built

- Deduct depreciation and cost of maintaining the property 

- Deduct mortgage interest if a loan is taken out