All Forum Posts by: Katrina M.

Jim, it is a bit unclear what happened.
An easement generally attaches to a property, whereas license to use attaches to a person. The original owner could have sold the easement. But the way you decribe it looks like it was a license to use and it was not given to the next owner.
Can you find out what it was actually?
You are right, you can't be landlocked. Court will give an easement if a property is landlocked.
And yes, if right of way had been in use for a certain time (set by your state), it will be permanently fixed in court.
It would help if you add a plan drawing on the property because on the photo it is not very clear.
Note: All the above is based on my knowledge from Texas real estate license course.

@Ali Boone, would you be able to expand a bit on who are the pros you rely on in selecting turn-key providers?

Hi Sergey

As this is your first post, I'd like to say welcome! Also you might get more replies and interaction on the forum if you fill in your profile page with some information about yourself, what you do, what you would like to achieve. 

If you search the forum for "Australia" you might find a few recent discussions on how foreign nationals buy properties in the US. Maybe you have already done it. If so please do let us know. 

My former boss (an architect) owns maybe a dozen properties. He and his partner always managed themselves and used the secretary at this architectural firm to do some PM tasks like calling tradies and advertising vacant properties.

One day, when the boss and his partner were overseas and without regular phone contact, a tenant called and said his skylight over the bed is leaking, it's horrible and a disaster. I thought it was quite an emergency and called the carpenter and asked him to have a look.

The carpenter went there and decided the skylight must be replaced. He took it out and covered the hole in the roof. 

The boss came back next week and wasn't too happy with my decision to call carpenter. Turns out, the skylight had been leaking for a while and he just ignored the tenant's pleas. He also wasn't happy with the carpenter's decision to replace skylight. 

Anyway, he had to install the new skylight now and asked the secretary to order the same model. She did. When the skylight arrived, it did not fit the opening because the model sizes changed over the time. So he had to buy another skylight. Overall the expenses were some two thousand dollars (things are very expensive in Australia), which was probably half of the monthly rent.

I think the lesson/conclusion for you @Jerry N. will be to tell your trusted relative what decision they can make on their own, what they should consult you about and not try to save money on international roaming. :) You can also instruct your contractors to consult you if they get a call from your trusted relative.

Hi Adam

Good on you for joining Bigger Pockets and for having the courage to share you family's tribulation. Your being young and having the drive might help your mom to overcome this hardship. 

Welcome! 

Got cut off...
For primary residence to be an asset it needs to be sold. 

The other thing is our health gets worse as we age, people get sick. Just some time ago there was a post here where a businessman who was earning $1.5 m a year got sick, couldn't work for many months and is now going bankrupt and short selling his house.

@Eric A.
As I see it, one thing could be added to your scenarios - time.
What is better: a steady but smaller flow of money from rental properties now or a big chunk of money 10 years later?

Even if you take HELOC in 10 years to invest you effectively delay investing for 10 years.

As per Robert Kyosaki, something is only an asset if it puts money into your pocket. For primary residence to

@John Weidner

The main thing is in Australia property is too expensive. Median house price in Sydney is over $1m, Melbourne is close, towns nearby (1-3 hours drive) also cost over $250,000 to buy (if at market price) and will not cashflow. Most people invest for appreciation here.

@John Verduzco

There is a community in Australia, albeit smaller, called propertychat.com.au.

I learned about BP from it.