All Forum Posts by: Stanley Okazaki

You're supposed to hire professionals to remove it. Be careful with Lead paint. It's so easy for people to file a lawsuit regarding lead paint. I've heard of cases where people place lead paint flakes in their children's hair then sue their landlord for endangering them. This was back in CA where they're all about saving the environment, driving hybrids & gluten free diets & I've heard it differs from state to state. 

Yeah, not much info in this comment. This is more of a warning.

@Kevin Wright If you're not so concerned with making commissions from sales I would try to find a 100% brokerage. These brokerages are typically less involved with their agents (don't provide training, luncheons, parties, business cards, etc.) but don't require a huge commission split like Keller Williams does with their new agents (65%KW / 35%YOU), although KWs does offer a lot of training, but of course you have to pay for the training as well. 

When you say connections I assume you want to surround yourself with successful agents that work with people who have very deep pockets. If this is what you're looking for then you'll just have to shop around or ask people. 

I'm up in Montgomery County and there are a lot of good deals out here. To be honest I'm not sure what tad deed certifcates are but I'm sure they have some sort of correlation with the way the market moves. A lot of wealth is moving up North. Conroe, Tomball and Spring have shown a lot of growth, but I've only lived in Houston for the past 6 months so maybe I'm all wrong haha

@Account Closed 

Take Ben Leybovich's advice & assume everything the owner told you is a lie. Try your best to independently verify all the info he's telling you & figure out why they want to sell the property (good motive or bad). Try to get copies of cancelled checks to show that they paid the rent, ask the neighbors if they know anything, see if you can call the tenants previous landlords / job for references. 

It's not unlikely for the rent to be below market rent in these sort of situations so you'll also want to check that out. If the rents are below market value you have to be sure if rent control will be an issue in your area. 

All in all, if you do purchase the property I would say YES, get a new lease signed. If they have no intention of moving as the landlord claims then I don't see how signing an additional 1 year lease will hurt. 

@Randy B. I feel the biggest determining factors when it comes to the quality of tenants you attract is your screening process and the property's location. 

Yes, new stuff will attract more people and possibly more quality tenants. Assume for the worst and hope for the best is the right mindset to have when picking out upgrades. Assume they're going to trash it & make your decision from that.

As for the upgrades you mentioned,  I feel the cabinets should stay, maybe refinish or paint them & add some new hardware. Replacing outdated fixtures &  plastic tubs are worth every penny in my mind so long as you don't go above and beyond. 

Sounds like you have the mindset of a first time home buyer. It's important to not let your emotions make decisions for you. I don't know how experienced you are but once you start to realize that A LOT of people have much lower standards than you do & would care less if you put in brand new fixtures, travertine, new appliances etc. ,you'll see why you don't need a "nice" property.

I don't think you should disregard your current mindset because it's what's going to help you see things from the tenant/ buyers POV. Just try your best to differentiate between the two.

@David T. I was able to find them with this website called block shopper. Thank God for google haha. Thanks for the tips

@Rocky V. 

 they were flips my father did & unfortunately he never took  the time to keep track of them. I did speak to a few HML today and a lot of them aren't interested in anything too formal. Getting the MLS #s is a good tip.

@Ryan Dossey even if the sale occurred 10-20 years ago?

We'll to me it seems like you're not looking to purchase a property with instant equity. You're more concerned with whether or not it cash flows. If you've run your numbers over and over keep coming out a $ amount that you're comfortable with I don't see why it wouldn't be a good deal. 

My biggest concern wouldn't be whether or not it cashflows but rather all the other factors like the age of the roof, foundation. The kind of stuff a property inspection report will tell you...

Since this is seller financing, ideally you'll want to be sure the owner owns it free and clear. There are ways around this but they seem too complicated for my taste.

@Ned Carey agree.