All Forum Posts by: Karin Crompton

Welcome, @James O'Connor. Lebanon is one of my favorite towns in eastern CT! Quiet, affordable, scenic.

Spend a bunch of time on this website reading and listening to podcasts, and ask questions. That will give you a great foundation. Good luck!

@Michael Hicksour attorney always strongly recommends against this, for many of the reasons already stated. He also points out that once someone moves their stuff in, what happens if the sale falls through? It could be difficult to get their stuff (and this case, them) out.

One concession we made recently was to allow a buyer to move items into the garage only, with no access to the rest of the house; we provided garage door openers and had the rest of the place locked. Our attorney wasn't crazy about that idea, either, but it seemed a low-risk idea to us (their items were consolidated should something fall through, and remainder of the house was still show ready) and it worked out ok. It was about 5 days prior to closing; the closing had been delayed from a Friday until the following week and the buyers had wanted to use the weekend to move items in.

Anyway, we use our attorney as the "bad guy" and politely decline, blaming him. He's happy to play that role. :)

@Claudio Golia, I found North Conway to be a great place for vacation rentals because it was practically a year-round draw. I'd love to do others in the area if I could find any deals. We sold our house there last summer, only because three families went in on it together and the agreement was that it was essentially a 5-year plan. We knew a little something about rehab but next to nothing about cash flow at the time and were looking to learn the VR business and then sell for a profit, a plan that worked well for us (it wound up sort of like a long-term flip in a cool location that we could also visit and use ourselves). Anyway, I say go for it!

Hi, @Tom Fontaine- when we started, I read "How To Rent Vacation Properties By Owner" by Christine Karpinski and followed her plan pretty much exactly as written. I believe there are a few more books and a lot more resources since then.

Here's a link to another BP discussion on vacation rental books that might help. Check out Matt Landau's podcast here on BP for more insight as well.

Are we talking about an actual earnest money deposit or an option fee here? These numbers sound more like an option fee. I've honestly never heard of a serious buyer putting down $100 EMD. It could be a bit of semantics, but there might be a miscommunication here. As a seller, I would expect a MINIMUM 3% EMD and the more, the better. We've even offered 100% EMD to demonstrate we were serious (that was an MLS property w/competition, though).

Congrats, @Jonathan Makovsky! It's been fun watching you ramp up your business in such a short amount of time. I need to take better notes...

Hi, @Kim Handelman- a few thoughts on what else to consider. First, what's the market like for condos in Madison? They're a pretty slow sell here in southeastern CT. Do you have Days on Market included in your comps? Seeing as you plan to wholesale it, do you know any buyers who flip or otherwise invest in condos?

It's hard to tell whether the ARV is accurate because I don't know whether the comps are coming from the same building, similar area, etc. Here in East Lyme, which is not as affluent as Madison but still considered an upscale town, the condo complexes can vary widely. You really need to know the nitty-gritty about each.

You mentioned that it had flooded during Hurricane Sandy - could be a big red flag. Are potential end buyers going to purchase a property that flooded? How about the cost of insurance?

And finally, concerning the HOA, I personally would view it like taxes: if I bought it low enough and the monthly payment makes sense, then who cares? However, many buyers do balk at these things. But if $650 is aligned with similar condos, it might not matter so much. How does it compare to the HOAs of your comps?

Hope that helps. I'm not trying to talk you out of taking action, just pointing out some things that caught my eye! Good luck!

Hello, @James Marie, from a fellow Viking! There's a wealth of info here on BP and a growing number of people from our little state. What type of r.e. are you interested in, or already doing?

Nice work, @Karen Margrave!

Hi, @Jason Lawrence. Good advice from previous posters, above.  Also, grab a copy of @J Scott's books on flipping houses and the one on estimating rehab costs. Those will give you detailed info on the various categories of repairs and the associated costs. Just keep in mind that CT tends to run at the upper end - and beyond - of those estimated repair costs.