All Forum Posts by: Julie Hill

@John Patton thx!  

@John Patton 35205 

Hey party people! We are finishing the renovation of a duplex in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. The goal was to STR it but obviously that won't be happening now! We are going to put long-term tenants in there for at least a year. Anyway, besides the great revenue it was projected to make on airbnb, the other reason we took on this project was because it was zoned commercial so even if Birmingham decides to regulate airbnb (currently it does not), the zoning code allows for a short term rental already anyway.

So now on to the fun.... trying to do a cash-out refi in a coronovirus recession on a super rare type of property (at least in Bham).  So far we are getting a lot of "I won't touch that with a 10 foot pole" answers... mainly because commercial lenders want bigger projects not a little 'ol duplex.  Especially in this market.   

Does anyone know of a lender that specializes in this type of thing?  The lending could be similar to work/live lofts, etc.  Just an idea.

TIA!

I am doing this from out of state and my GC has never had a client that needs granite or quartz installed and doesn't have someone that does non-retail pricing.  If anyone has a recommendation, I would love a PM!  Thank you!  (ps. if this doesn't work out, do people still install tile countertops???  This is for a rental property so could be a good cheap alternative?)

I had one in Pitkin county (Aspen/Snowmass) for about 1.5 years.  It was awesome.  It was rental arbitrage and if we were able to keep it longer it would have made a killing (the first year we just recouped the costs to furnish it and get it up and running) but the owners sold it :(  However I'm very happy we don't have it right now, when the ski areas are shut down during high season and this virus is limiting all travel.

@Jonathan Greene  Does condemning a building come with a bunch of extra hoops to jump through to get the designation taken off when the work is all done?  Furthermore, if I go that route, what if they tell me "well you're the owner so you have to fix it".  Which I am (obviously) but we need the tenants out in order to do that.  Their lease is up at end of Jan and they have made zero progress with moving.  Also are they able to only condemn one side?  the other side is vacant and we are already doing a ton of construction on it.  Thanks for any advice!!!  

Hi everyone,

We just started renovating the unoccupied side of a newly purchased duplex.  We are supposed to start on the occupied side next month as the tenants are supposed to be out by then.   The tenants are 2 sisters in their 60's... total hoarders with a bunch of cats.  In short, the place is a mess.  They are the SWEETEST ladies and have been nothing short of cooperative.  However when I visited yesterday, I asked if they had found a place yet and their answer was... "not yet... God will take care of us".   I'm sure they haven't even looked.  And I absolutely know they can't physically move (they can barely get up to answer the door) so I even offered to come over today and help them sort through stuff and pack and they declined.  I am going back today and will have another discussion with them and make sure they understand that if they are not out on 1/31 they are getting an eviction notice.  But I honestly don't think they care... they seem like somewhat smart ladies and know this would just buy them more time (at my expense).  I am also going to tell them that if they show me a signed lease that starts by 2/1, I will pay for their entire move.  (It will be cheaper than evicting them).   Any other suggestions? 

@Anthony Wick this is a wholesale deal and we tried to have that in the contract but they denied.  The deal is too good to pass up so we are willing to deal with it! 

We are about to close on a duplex in Alabama that will need a full renovation.  One of the sides is unoccupied with fire damage, the other side has month to month hoarder tenants... two sisters.  Right now they are being very cooperative.  I believe they know what's going on because they have been letting contractors into their unit for the past two weeks (so they can get me bids).  However, I know once I deliver the 30 day notice to vacate, they will be very overwhelmed because they just have so much stuff everywhere (they are even storing some of it in the burned out other unit).  They are also paying incredibly low rent so it won't be easy for them to move quickly with their budget.  I would rather incentivise and/or help them move vs. go through an eviction process as this rehab needs to get started asap (the building is really inhabitable & unsafe in my opinion).  Any tried and true methods y'all have used to help a tenant like this move out quickly and peacefully?

On another note... because one of the sides has fire damage, we are needing to get a builder's insurance policy on the house and they are telling us that no construction can begin until the tenants are out.  Again, the building is unsafe and this needs to start right away.  Am I misunderstanding what they are telling me?  It seems weird that they wouldn't want us to start improving the building right away when it's actually dangerous for the tenants.   And I'm not sure we will be able to get a landlord policy to protect our liability with the tenant AND builders policy at the same time based on what they are telling us (I need to call back again this morning when they open). 

Thanks in advance!  This is going to be quite an adventure!

I'm just curious if it is even possible! TIA!