All Forum Posts by: Karen O.

I used Quicken Loans. Now Rocket Mortgage. The smalles loan they'd make was $75k a few years ago. And I don't recall the LTV requirement.

Don't assume these ladies have been living the high life while paying $300/mo. I have one such relative (near 80) who lives in a 4th fl walk-up.  Been there 55+ years and the LL wants her out so he can raise the rent to 500%. She's covered by rent control, but if she gets ill she'd likely have to go live with someone because despite working for over 50 years, her monthly take home is such that she couldn't afford much more and hasn't qualified for other subsidized senior housing.

Your ladies may be on fixed incomes. They may qualify for small pensions + miniscule SocSec benefits which have not kept up with true COL since they now pay for part of Medicare. They may have worked in jobs that didn't pay much or didn't require SocSec withholding and so may not be eligible for it. And with the

 cost of phone, food, insur and medicine, even tv is no longer free, they may be living on the financial edge.

So speak with them and let them know what the rent should be and how you plan to get there. 

You're in business to make $, but you can do good while doing well. And ask yourself how you'd want a new investor to treat these folks if they were your elderly relatives.  

Good job, Anthony.  

You're doing great.

Ouch!

Have you considered hiring an appraiser of commercial properties? 

The offer was likely for as-is.

Look at your contract. If it allows you to withdraw without jeopardizing your deposit within a set time and you still can, then do so.

If your walkthrough found something off but you still want to buy, see if the inspection offers some opportunity for negotiation and use that.

If the appraisal comes back less than asking, a lower price may be required to get financing.

And until you have the experience, don't offer on properties sight unseen unless you really want to face the challenge. I did once and while it was a challenge to turn a lemon into a beauty worthy of a family, it's time consuming and a money drain.  Everything takes 2-3x as long as you expect. 

One of the cornerstones of one's financial life is to have an emergency fund. Between 6-12 months of living expenses is recommended. It should be very liquid, very safe and easily accessible.

Remember that while an index fund is very liquid, it's less liquid, less accessible and less safe then other options.

Proceed with caution.

If you're footing all the bills -purchase, reno and staging- (presumably also carrying costs) what's the "partner" contributing other than their time for errands and design advice?