All Forum Posts by: Lance Queen

Hey everyone!

I have a small commercial lot in a great high traffic retail/commercial area 42’ x 70’. It’s a corner lot so access from two sides and is flat. I’m not quite sure what the highest and best use is for it. Here’s what I’ve considered so far.

Good options -

40’ x 40’ all steel building. Possible renters contractors, supply house, office, dance studio, etc.

Graveling the lot and putting a fence around it to rent as a staging lot for a contractor or a business needing storage. Maybe no fence and rent to a small used car lot.

A small drive thru

Not so good options -

Residential multi family - the area is all commercial and quite busy. Not the best fit.

Self storage units - there is a huge complex within 1000’ of the property.

@John DAmbrosio In my area the smallest banks that you hardly even know exist are most likely to lend on something like this. It’s hard to get the money without a solid experience. New construction is very risky in the banks eye and they would rather lend on an existing structure. Since you won’t be living there it makes it even less appealing to them.

The approach I would take would be private or hard money to build. Get it rented out and refi into a long term lower interest loan.

Hello everyone, I am looking for new recommendations for a training course geared towards new home construction. I already build and sell new construction but looking to level up my sales process by going direct to buyer. I’m interested in knowing how to sell the home before ever breaking ground, financing, design, and selling upgrades. Thanks!

I found a great potential flip driving through a nice neighborhood. I researched the title to contact the owner only to find he had unfortunately passed away 4 weeks ago. I contacted our court house and they have no death certificate and nobody has come forward to start the probate process. After going back and researching him a little more it appears he lived with his mother and when she passed in 2011 the home became his. He does not have a will on record and I can’t find any heirs or next to kin. After coming to a dead end no pun intended I contacted a friend in the neighborhood and they were able to tell me he had passed in the home and was there for almost a month before anyone found him. I looked up his obituary and it was only a couple sentences long that said where he was from and that there would be no service held for him. It looks like he has no family and not many friends. The person at the court house said to check back in a few weeks and maybe they will have more information then.

What will happen with the property?

Will the state take over his estate?

How does the state liquidate someone’s estate?

I sent a letter to the house.

What would you do?

@Todd Fullerlove I would start with creating some positive drainage away from the house and getting the overall elevation of the bottom of the house off the ground. Most of the rot has been caused from water splashing off the ground on the siding and the tree shade keeping it moist and not letting it dry out. I would do vinyl siding only because its little to no maintenance and is easy to repair. 

There are many different ways to accomplish this depend how much time and money you want to spend. The cheapest prep would be get a piece of plywood the thickness of the siding probably 5/8" or 3/4" cut out the rot and attach new piece of plywood directly to the studs. If you are doing vinyl siding they make a 1/4" or 3/8" foam board that you will attach to the house with button caps giving the siding a flat place to lay. The foam can be bought at a siding supply house and is 4' x 50'  If you are doing Smart side or Cement you'll want to sheet the house in 7/16 OSB or plywood. I have been using the zip system lately and it seems to preform well. 

I would consider doing the windows the same time you do the siding. In a perfect world you would pull all the old window trim and install new construction windows with built in J channel for vinyl siding. They are easier to waterproof and it will be muuuuch cheaper. It can cost a fortune to cap all the old trim with trim coil. 

@Michael Bennett I like to call the material yards around the area and ask them. The people at the counter usually have a good idea of who's who and what is what. Look at the contractor yards instead big box store like lowes, home depot,or menards. I only look online to check their reviews and see if they have pictures of their work.

@Kathleen McCabe here in WV it's the appraiser that inspects for all FHA requirements and they would call for a structural engineer to issue a report if they think there is problem. Been there on there selling end. It took almost three months to close.

If there is a problem I would bring in a trusted contractor and use their estimate to re negotiate the purchase price. If they won’t re negotiate I would walk away unless it’s a unbelievable deal.

Hey everyone, just wondering if anyone else is selling their new construction or rehab projects with out an agent before completion.

I have done the typical things such as list on our Facebook, instagram, and spread the property by word of mouth to people I’m close to in my sphere agents, builders, industry professionals, etc. New housing is in demand in our area and I have had some interest however nothing serious. I feel like I’m missing the mark on getting in front of serious buyers. I know buyers are out there and I would like to maximize my return by getting it sold solo.

The house will be done in about another month and I would REALLY love to have it under contract by the time we finish. Should I spend money on things like Zillow, online advertising, traditional advertising or just go ahead and list it right now. I am planning to list either way if it’s not sold by the time it’s finished.

Any guidance is much appreciated!

@Carl West Lend it if you can afford to gamble and lose 5K, if not run far and fast. He should consider seeing if his contractor will carry the invoice and offer the contractor extra money. If he isn't using a contractor credit cards or a short term lender. 

@Greg Dickerson Thank you! I’ve heard you on a couple different shows. You are definitely someone I look up too in this business and flattered you would respond to my post. 

Very encouraging words it just blindsided me people would be so negative on positive for the community. Now I know I need to better position myself to expect and deflect this sort of thing.