All Forum Posts by: Leah Roberts

I have been talking to a wholesaler about a property that my husband and I are trying to buy. We have never dealt with a wholesaler but this particular one seems very inexperienced and we have some concerns. To start, we know the property went through probate and may not have been taken care of correctly. I know the individual trying to sell the home is not the individual on the deed. He is the son of the owners. Both of his parents are on the deed, both deceased, and he has been living in the house the last 9 years and quit paying taxes on it 3 years ago. The wholesaler sent me an assignment contract that I took to my real estate attorney along with an EMD check, but the assignment contract wasn't filled out correctly and I haven't even seen the original contract between the seller and wholesaler. My attorney informed me the wholesaler has a quit claim deed with the seller. There also has been no sort of title search done on the property. My questions are:

1. Is it common for the seller to quit claim deed to the wholesaler? 

2. How do I verify the son even has the right to sell the property?

3. Who normally does the title search? I thought this was something the wholesaler generally started once he has it under contract with the seller.

My husband and I are very new to real estate investing and I've always done my own taxes. It seems all of these posts are geared towards buy and holds. My plan was to wait and hire a CPA once we start getting rentals. We did one flip last year and are working on our second currently. Would it be best to hire a CPA now even though we only did one flip or should I continue with the plan to do my own taxes until we actually acquire buy and holds?

Good Morning,

My husband and I are currently in progress on a flip and I have a question regarding the location of the hot water heater. The main electrical panel is located in the same closet as the hot water heater and I'm wondering if we are going to have issues come inspection time. I am not familiar with the code to know if they will try and make us move it. There are no issues actually accessing the panel but the hot water heater is about a foot and a half away from the front of it. This is how it was when we purchased it and planned to just leave it the same. I'm looking for guidance on whether or not this will be an issue when we go to sell. Thanks!

My husband and I are looking at a set of 4 townhouses to purchase as buy and hold. The 4 townhouses are all one building but listed as separate parcels. My question is about the financing. They are listed on one deed but they are each separate parcels. Will we have to get a commercial loan or could we get a single conventional loan? The current owner has a single conventional 30 year loan for all 4 so I'm assuming we can do the same but I'm not sure, especially since the mortgage industry has changed so much since the current owner purchased it in 2006.

Thank you for all the advice and great ideas! I will keep everyone posted with what we decide. 

Thanks for the great advice. Price point of this house is 115k. Houses in my area generally do not have upgraded kitchens at that price point. I am leaning towards @Mike Wood's perspective, I think buyers will notice. This would be a great selling feature. But I'm caught between this and your point,

@Jake Thomas, of not over rehabbing. We purchased the house for 50k and will have 20k into the rehab. If we replace the cabinets we'll be at 22k invested into the rehab. 

Hello,

My husband and I are about to close on our first flip in NC. We have all of our contractors and work lined up to start when we close March 4th. We are a little hung up on the kitchen. The home was built in the 70's and the cabinets are definitely original. The boxes seem pretty sturdy and one option is just replace the doors and drawers. I have priced out shaker mdf paintable doors and drawers with concealed hinges for $700. I also priced out new expresso shaker cabinets from a local supplier which would obviously be beautiful once installed. They come to $2790, which includes adding a cabinet above the fridge, a lazy Susan corner cabinet, a pullout trashcan, 42" uppers and all trim pieces. Either way we are doing granite countertops. I've priced out cabinets on a couple of websites and none of them come out as cheap as the local supplier. That price does not include installation and they come in flat packs. They are plywood boxes with solid wood fronts. There is room in the budget to add the new cabinets, but I would like advice whether or not it's worth the extra $2100 to replace them. My husband would be the one to install them. Thanks in advance!

My name is Leah and I'm beginning my real estate endeavor with my husband, Brad, in our home state of North Carolina. We have no experience in real estate investing outside of our personal home purchases. We have been doing research for quite some time, including stalking the BP forum and listening to the podcasts. We are both active duty military and are looking for a way to supplement our income once we retire. Our plan is to do some fix and flips to fund purchases of long term holds. We are currently under contract for our first fix and flip and look forward to talking to everyone here and seeking advice from the huge wealth of knowledge on this site!