All Forum Posts by: Kevin Barrett

I recently mailed out a batch of YLs and received my first call (well, Google Voice Voicemail) today. When I called the seller back he told that he was interested in selling, but he stated the following:

"I've owned the property for over 30 years…Am I going to get killed by taxes if I sell? If you can answer this question for me we can further this conversation if my gains don't take a huge tax hit."

I advised him to speak to his accountant after I asked him if it was his primary residence and he said it was not. He reiterated that if I could come up with the answer to how taxes work for non-owner occupied homes then we could continue on.

I understand that taxes depend on a person's entire portfolio and if the seller has owned the property for many years then depreciation comes into play, but is there any general information people can share on taxes on non-owner occupied residences?

Thanks again @Joel Owens. Agreed that it's a good idea to leave it to legal representation to sort out.

Their attorney replied this morning saying that a certificate of occupancy was issued by the Town so the presumption was that the Building Inspector had inspected and found all construction to be compliant which would include insulation. Also, he mentioned that the limited warranty expired so the buyers are most likely not going to win this argument.

The house was built after it was under contract. The buyers didn't do a home inspection. Their punch list was exhaustive, but didn't mention the fireplace insulation. This is the first time I'm hearing about it. They actually emailed their atty too so I will let the atty handle it and can talk to my broker as well. I'd be curious to know what the building code is regarding insulation around the fireplace. Thanks Joel!

I sold a new construction SF home a few years back and just received an email (see below) that the fireplace is not properly insulated. I'm looking for advice in responding. The picture is the actual fireplace. Happy New Years!

Email:

I was hoping to get your feedback regarding an issue we recently found with our fireplace at our house. We have always noticed a big draft coming in through our fireplace. I was talking to a friend and he mentioned they may not have insulated it properly. We pulled off a little bit of siding and could see that they did not insulate the floor. Based on pictures we have when the house was built (2011) it looks like they probably didn't insulate the walls around the fireplace either. I can't confirm that without pulling down a great deal of siding, sheathing, etc which I am not comfortable doing.

I know the warranty has expired so we won't be covered under that but the walls/floor around the fireplace, as built, were not up to the building code. We know we are loosing a lot of heat due to this and it could impact resale value. Is this something that the builder is obligated to fix or has too much time passed?

Hi @Brendan M. - Looks like you already received some good candidates, but I sent you a PM with my father's contact info as he's been a contractor for 30+ years and provides quality craftsmanship and superior service.

Upstairs bathroom...Beauty and the Beast...

Before:

After (almost completely updated):

Look forward to attending the event. Nice venue too by the way.

Hi @Patrick Hopkins, Welcome to BP. I live close by and am trying to take the next step in real estate too. I have my broker's license and it's definitely beneficial seeing real estate from that angle so I think you can't go wrong with getting your license. Do you plan on investing around the Medford area? Maybe we'll cross paths one day at an investor meetup or even on a deal.

Contact the assessor's office to see if someone has been paying the taxes. This person may have inherited the property.