All Forum Posts by: Kelly Maestri

I recently remodeled a PDX house with a contractor referred by my mortgage banker (Homestreet, Mark Keysboe).  The contractor is very honest and reliable (RSW Builders, Bob Williford).  He only does permitted work as far as I can tell and has one city inspector assigned to his jobs, so he has a good relationship to get things done.  I used to think he was expensive, until I got a bid for some cement basement stairs from another sub contractor. Bob's bid came in lower and WITH permit.  He works like a flipper in that there are "go to" solutions he prefers to use.  Getting super detailed with unique finishes, tiles, or paints causes him pain. But he's quality all the way and stands by his work. Good luck!  

Thanks, J.O.  I just didn't want to have to be financially responsible in case the tenant was bad news and I had to evict or otherwise.  I was hoping to get the deal AND be off the hook too.  :)  

I found a Make Me Move property on Zillow in a hot market with an an out of state owner interested in selling the property.  Per the owner, the property has a tenant who is moving out in March.

Is there a way to structure the purchase offer so I can get the property under contract immediately to avoid someone else getting it, but somehow avoid having to be legally responsible for the tenant until they leave in March?  If I close on the property before the tenant vacates in March, am I legally responsible for the tenant?

In 2 short weeks, I've been through the grinder learning about solutions to buy and rehab a hot mess foreclosure buried in city liens in Portland Oregon.  In my efforts, I ran across two incrediblely helpful people whom I recommend if you need experts in renovation loans and remodels.

I learned through Bigger Pockets posts that renovation lenders have to work hand in hand with contractors who need to submit gobs of paperwork and accept payment draws associated with this type of loan.  Everyone warned that the lender and the contractor must work together on this type of project or else mayhem ensues.  

I highly recommend the lender and contractor below. They went above and beyond educating me and supporting my efforts to secure the hot mess house. The contractor even contacted the city to discuss the liens and define what needed to be done to cure them. 

I lost the hot mess house (as of now). Beat out by an all cash offer.  But I feel a great need to share the names of these gentelmen with you in case you need their services.  I look forward to working with them in the future!

RENOVATION LENDER

Mark Keysboe at Homestreet Bank

Construction and Renovation Specialist

(503) 883 3832
[email protected]

CONTRACTOR

Jim Kreipe, CR, CKD

Square Deal Remodeling CO.

8603 SE Stark Street

Portland, OR 97216

503-254-4156 Office

503-254-4206 Fax

503-309-0826 Cell

Email – [email protected]

www.squaredealremodel.com

Thanks for the feedback Steve. You're right. It's way complicated!

Update! I spoke to the contact in Portland who has the authority to reduce/remove liens and learned the following (see below). If anyone knows of any threads on this topic of lien abatement or has experience - please chime in.

• I have to take out permits BEFORE I buy the property to fix the problems that caused the liens. This will require me getting plans drafted and permits pulled - the owner and/or bankruptcy trustee will have to sign the permits.
• Getting these permits allows me to ask for a lien waiver which stops time so the liens stop accruing fines and interest.  I'll have to complete the repairs in a defined # of days in order to comply with the waiver.
• Once I have these permits and waivers, I can negotiate with the city to see  how much they'll reduce the amount of the liens.
• Certain types of liens or fines cannot be reduced. For example, liens or fines with a hard cost associated with them such as an officer appearing in court and the owner did not appear or if the city sent a team to clean up a nuisance (yard, etc.). But those are small cost liens (low hundreds to a couple thousand max) compared to the high cost liens (e.g. one lien is $89K for fire damage).  
• The challenges I face are:
  • Can I get sufficient and timely access to the property so the contractor and his team can do the due dilligence?
  • Can the contractor and his team create the plans to get the permits to beat the sales contract deadline?
  • Will the owner/trustee cooperate to sign the permits?  
  • And will the city ultimately agree to reduce/remove liens to make this property?

And all of the above is compiled with the effort of doing this using an FH Renovation Loan. Fun times!

I'm now in the process of speaking with a contractor to learn more about the process from his side (compiling the data to create the plans to submit for permits), so will have an update soon!  

Update! I learned some new information.  

I took Neal Collin's advice and went to this amazing website PortlandMaps which allowed me to find a human at the city who explained the lien process and options. Here's what I learned:

1. The city can take a 2nd position regarding liens for a period of time so sale can go through.
2. I would talk to person X at the city who has authority to lower or remove liens and get a commitment for what that would be.
3. If I do $500+ in repairs, then I can get a renovation waiver for 6 months so the property doesn't generate any more fines.
4. Violations exist beyond the liens and I'll need that list of violations to walk through with the inspector/contractor to ensure I take care of those in the remodel.

So, this is what I've learned so far and will keep everyone posted!

Neal Collins rocks! 

So, I took Neal's advice and went to this amazing website PortlandMaps which allowed me to find a human at the city who explained the lien process and options.  Here's what I learned:

1. The city can take a 2nd position regarding liens for a period of time so sale can go through.
2. I would talk to person X at the city who has authority to lower or remove liens and get a commitment for what that would be.
3. If I do $500+ in repairs, then I can get a renovation waiver for 6 months so the property doesn't generate any more fines.
4. Violations exist beyond the liens and I'll need that list of violations to walk through with the inspector/contractor to ensure I take care of those in the remodel.

Boom! Yes, it's complicated but sometimes the best things in life are.  :)  Thanks, Neal!

Hi Neal,

That's amazing feedback. Thank you!  Yes, I'm under contract. I'll follow your advice and let you know what happens! 

it is a bankruptcy and the trustee asked the agent to negotiate with the city.  The bank is not involved. The agent isn't getting phone calls returned from the city and isn't as motivated as I am to make it happen.