All Forum Posts by: Mary Louise Wong

I also found a post where another pittsburgh investor chimed in and advised the buyer not to proceed.  Similar situation

My contractor informed me that it would be expensive.  As in 80 k expensive such as the installation of sprinklers, a fire escape staircase/ladder and fire-rated doors.   

Hi guys,

I just want to get input from some savvy investors that may have gone through this in the past.  I am new to real estate investing and recently purchased a triplex in Pittsburgh.  I had two vacancies at the time of purchase which was no biggie.  Just prior to the renovation, I had one of my contractors, who I also found in bigger pockets, point out that I actually bought a duplex according to the occupancy permit on the Pittsburgh website.  Now, I am stuck because I can't renovate the unit and rent it out until I bring it up to code.  The seller agent misrepresented the property because she listed it as a triplex.  I believe it is an error and omission claim and I am quite surprised that the property was able to close without no one finding out.  I am glad my contractor caught it and he told me it took him less than five minutes to pull it up on the county website.  The property is zoned as a three-unit on the tax assessor website which I check prior to the purchase, but I was told it was irrelevant if the occupancy permit only allows for two.  

How would you proceed if you ended up in my situation?  I just recently closed on the property and I now know to check the occupancy permit as well in the future.  My contractor gave me some solid advice and I am planning to take his recommendation, but I also want to learn from and consider the input from others on this forum.

Thanks,

Rich

Good day,

I just purchased a property that is in need of a renovation.  It involves 2 units and I was wondering if anyone knew of an investor-friendly contractor.

Thanks,

Rich

Thanks for the reply guys.  I appreciate the bp community.  I am definitely getting the damage assessed and to make necessary repairs.  I don't believe the seller knows about prior treatment because he only owned the property for a year or two.  I'll definitely ask though.

Thanks,

Rich

Hello everybody!

I am glad to be part of the bigger pockets community! I am new to the world of real estate investing and learned a lot during the first two months fo getting my hands dirty with the CoC calculator and looking for deals with the 1 percent rule. I luckily had help from a good investor agent and walked me through a few deals over the phone since I am an out-of-town investor. My main concern is an inspection report of termite activity. I informed the investor agent to have a termite specialist take a look at the property to assess the cost to repair and possibly find any other hidden costs that may be involved. Let me know of anything else I should be concerned about.

I'll copy and paste the report below:

FLOOR-STRUCTURE The visible floor structure consisted of a tongue and groove subfloor, supported by two-inch by ten -inch wood joists spaced sixteen inches on center. There was an 8x8 -inch wood center beam and four-inch steel posts or piers for load-bearing support. There were no material defects observed in the visible portions of the floor structure. NOTE: EVIDENCE OF TERMITE ACTIVITY: Evidence of termite activity was noted on the main support beam. The visible damage noted was insignificant but did not appear to have any structural significance. Additional repairs did not appear to be necessary. Please note too that any assessment as to the extent of damage caused by termites is limited to the visible and readily accessible areas of the home. We are not able to determine the presence or extent of concealed damage.

Much thanks,

Rich