All Forum Posts by: Just Don

determine what the 'market' rent is for these units. Whether they WANT to stay or not is irrelevant. Raise rents to market or slightly less if you want to give them a slight break.(no move out-redecorate-move in-vacancy loss and costs)

"MY" guess would be the 675 is the first floor footage,,,then you have to add second floor to that.

Most assessor sites have measurements available,,,look there.

Most realtor info here comes straight from assessor sites,,,even the pictures.

IF its a true 2 story 675 foot house I would pass,,,just too small.

BEFORE you commit to one,,,better check to see how much in back taxes are owed.

MOST around here owe more taxes than they are worth.

Not much value in a gut job MH. Even less if you have to tear down and haul to the dump.

if the foundation isnt good, your up a creek without a paddle.

if it needs a new roof and paint/carpet, might work

electrical or plumbing replacement might be more than the house,,,how is furnace and since its winter,,,,insulation???up to par???

2 families definitely will impact a septic system and MAY well overload it.

I would not allow it based on same. they are expensive to replace. And regulations out the ying-yang.

Heard a local guy lost quite a strip of expensive ground because the neighbors mowed it as the owner didnt,,so they wanted it to look nice,,,a few years later they sued for adverse possesion and WON!!!

Where does the water go after the waste water treatment plant?? Reason I ask is locally it goes to a holding pond/lagoon.

IF you cant control the tenants faucets and water useage it will overflow. Its hard to control others faucets.

Family size is important. Extended family living in the same house, with many houses at once will impact water use,,,alot!! 3 families per house adds up fast!!! Have and enforce occupancy limits. Till you get hit with this problem,its hard to understand.

How hard to connect to city sewer if your treatment facility wears out or ages out?

Make a limit as to water useage,,,excess will cause excessive treatment costs also.

Vacancy and collections are harder on this type of property,,,you arent dealing with rocket scientists as tenants.

I would stay away from park owned homes for rental. LOTS of upkeep, expense and vacancy, moving in and out.

Check out who permits these parks and speak with them. They MAY already have there sights on closing this place. Better to know now than just after you buy and are committed.

Try owner financing,,,most banks unless a small local will want to lend on it.

Good luck, but this is a rather small park. Same work and less return than a larger one. If you live that far away you may need an on-site manager.

why not buy this property with about 10% down on a long term contract. Find out if the sellers will finance for 20-25 years.

IF there motivation is to spread there tax income into a form of annuity they probably dont want you to refinance anyway.

AND why pay closing costs, fees etc.,,,,cheap and easy way to buy and finance.

IF it will help screw it tight. The storm door will help and a few screws out of the junk drawer and your good to go.

Put more blankets over drafty windows.

Old houses are like that,cold and drafty. Other option is look for a better energy efficient house in town(less drafty) and natural gas is half the price of propane. You can always find a place to park.

Your paying a high price for your location and your out of your comfort zone. Walk away.

But remember the lesson learned when you buy,,,old houses, -midwest winters,,,,dont mix.

Either that or a complete house make over is the ONLY way to go. Insulate, windows, doors, siding, caulking, weatherproofing all go hand in hand to make a decent house.

Buy this house from the owner and show him how it 'should' be done!!

Have lived in the country with propane heat,,,not any more for this veteran,,,unless I wood heat a home again.

Corn burning stoves were good economical heat till that got high priced fuel also. Dont know economics of pellets.

one way to warm it up is to put an air tight wood stove wherever a chimney is located and go cut some of your own firewood.

It is certainly not NO cost, but low cost. Lots of old groves that need the dead wood cleaned out of. Might even have some given to you on Craigs list sometimes.

Buying firewood is pricey,,,but when I burned wood for heat my house was closer to 80 degrees than 48 and keep the propane furnace as a back up.

It took alot of wood and dedication but we kept warm getting it, hand splitting it, and hauling it. Lots of good excercise to boot.