All Forum Posts by: Kevin Degnan

Excellent responses everyone......seriously, THANK YOU!!

@Shaun Reilly, regarding limiting the # of bedrooms due to size of lot....since the lot is so small and contains a well and septic, the town BOH has told me that that I need 10,000 sqft of land per bedroom.  This lot is under 10,000 sqft, so the existing system could be considered grandfathered.  If I really want to go to 3 bedrooms, it would require getting credit land, which I know nothing about, so I'm staying away from that.  I've looked into alternative nitrogen reducing systems (such as Bio-Microbics MicroFAST) which look promising, but I can't count on them. 

@Ann Bellamy, you made a ton of great points, and yes, it's the house on Pond Rd.  I do plan on getting it financed (I can put 25% down) and my lender told me that I will need to have at least a septic engineering plan for the new system prior to close and town permit.  So it sounds like I will have to pay for the engineering plan up front, prior to closing, but the actual septic repair/replacement can be financed (need to confirm that, of course).  I already checked with the town Conservation department to make sure it's far enough away from the pond and there are no wetlands nearby. 

Still more research to be done.  Keep the comments coming - I welcome all opinions!

Hi folks,

I'm thinking of making an offer on an REO in Massachusetts (Middlesex County). This house has been on the market for a while, with a couple price drops. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1000 square foot house, on a small lot (under 1/4 acre), and definitely needs some major updating. The issue is the septic system....I have no idea what kind of condition it's in. I contacted the town Board of Health and there is no record of any previous Title V inspection. There is also a private well on the property, and no town water available nearby.

I see a ton of potential for the house, but I'm worried about the septic system.  I know the lot is too small to accommodate a new construction, but I believe the existing house will be considered "grandfathered" even if the system has to be replaced.  I would love to expand to 3 bedrooms, but the town might restrict me to 2 bedrooms because of the size of the lot. 

One idea I had is to make an offer about 20k lower than asking price due to the likely need for a new septic system.  I thought about including a contingency for MA Title V approval (or at least a remediation plan), but that might not be necessary because I already suspect that the septic is failed, so why waste money on an inspection, right? 

So, my fellow investors/rehabbers/etc.....what would you do?  I would love to hear from anyone, especially local gurus like @Shaun Reilly, @Justin Silverio, @Ann Bellamy, and any other awesome folks out there.  Should I just save money and skip the inspections?  Or, worst case scenario - is it possible that the town will never approve any new septic design, thereby leaving me stuck with a house I can never sell??

Thanks!

Hey @Nick Noon thanks for the info.  I should be at the Chelmsford meeting too, so let's chat and exchange ideas.  I've been to a couple meetings there and it's really a great group of people.  

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the warm welcome to the community. I've joined the New England REIA and already met some great people there, including @Shaun Reilly.  Also, kudos to @Justin Silverio and @Ann Bellamy for the great podcasts here on BP. 

I know that I can't do this on my own, and that rehabbing/flipping is a team effort.  As I mentioned in my original post, my hope is to do new construction, but I realize that might be tougher to finance, plus it's a longer project (months instead of weeks).....so maybe rehabbing an existing home is a better approach for my first deal. 

So here is a fun question for you all.....to LLC or not to LLC? Seems like most people here have an LLC, but I talked to my attorney who suggested that an LLC might not be necessary for me since I'm only doing one at a time and that banks might prefer to lend directly to me. What's your take?

Thanks!

Kevin

Hi folks,

I’m new to the real estate world, but lately I’ve been doing a ton of research on rehabbing and flipping distressed properties.  Personally, I love the idea of new construction.....yes, it requires more financing, but you can start with a clean slate and build from the ground up, so there should be less surprises for the investor.  Specifically, I've had my eye on modular construction for a couple years now.  I wanted to build a modular home for my family last year, but between finding a suitable property and the trouble of selling our current home at the time, it just didn’t happen. 

Lately, I’ve been thinking….why not do this for another family?  Seems like a profitable part-time venture, and something that I would actually enjoy doing.  I can design a floor plan and hire or partner with a reputable builder/contractor, and I'll secure financing and work with a realtor.

My target market is northwest of Boston, along Route 3.  I live in Westford and I work in Bedford, so those towns as well as Burlington, Billerica, and Chelmsford make the most sense to me.  I'm not quitting my day job either.....just one property at a time for now, as supplemental income.

By the way, I had never heard of Bigger Pockets until I started searching around to see if other people were doing this….then I stumbled onto a modular flipping article by Mike LaCava.  This site is awesome!  It’s really nice to see people helping each other out in what I initially thought was a really cut-throat industry. 

Thanks,

Kevin