All Forum Posts by: Marzieh Rostami

@Jane S.

I just realized the typo on my previous response. I meant to say DEED restricted. Don't know why autocorrect changed it to "dead". lol.

@Jane S.

Thanks. Yes I will ultimately bring a contractor in. For now I was just trying to find out if the idea is even worth considering.

It's not a fancy church really. Nothing special about it. If it weren't for the cross stuck on the front you would never guess it was a church. Looks just like a regular house. It has been sitting on the market for a while and the good thing about it is the large square footage of the building so I thought there might be an opportunity to buy low and add some value.

I will post pictures if I end up buying the place.

@James Gates

Thank you for sharing your story and being an inspiration.

I'm curious to know how you found your contractor and how you managed the rehab from a distance.

Also if you don't mind explaining, I'd like to know how you partnerships work? Are you both on the title and mortgage. How did you set up the partnership? Do you use a lawyer?

@Brad Hasseler

I agree with Ryan. A HELOC is almost as good as cash so keep that for reserves if anything doesn't go according to plan tap into it then. Otherwise why pay interest when you don't have to.

@Jane S.

It's actually not that bad. A lot of the areas are dead restricted so it kind of limits the damage. But you still get to see some weird combination of buildings here and there were it is not dead restricted.

@Jim Fleck

Thank you for the explanations. That gives me a good idea of what to expect. I would want to get a permit for the job so that means I'd have to get licensed professionals. So base on what 3are telling me I should expect somewhere in the 10k range?

@Jane S.

Houston has no zoning so no issues with conversion.

The church has half bathrooms which are not situated close to each other.

One kitchen which can be used for one unit but I will have to add a whole new kitchen for the second unit since I want to turn it into a duplex.

I'm looking at buying a property that was used as a church. I want to turn it into a duplex. This is in Houston, TX. It has crawl space so no slab. how much would it cost (ballpark) to put in a small kitchen like 8x10 where there was none. So new plumbing and all. What about adding a full bathroom.

And I am talking about everything prefab and builder grade for a rental.

@Matt Fisher

This a great point I hadn't thought about. Thanks.

So here's a little background: I have the experience of 3 real estate transactions (2 purchase and 1 sale) all of which involved my primary residence. I became interested in real estate investing about a year ago and have been educating myself on the topic and waiting around for a good deal. So far I have had no luck.

Recently However I came across an FSBO which is currently priced high but I think I have a very good chance of getting a lowball offer accepted because it has been on the market for over 150 days and it has been under contract 3 times already and all fell through. It is currently under contract again but the owner told me that this one will most likely fall apart also. I am supposed to call him back next week to see how it went.

My question is, if the current contract falls through and I get a chance to place an offer should I do so without a realtor in order to get a better deal?

I am worried that I have no experience doing this and don't even know what contract to use if I don't have a realtor. I also know that they are behind on taxes so how do things like that need to be handled?

I know it's best if I have a realtor but I really don't want to lose out on a good deal because they are so hard to find. I maybe able to get the price I want if there are no realtor fees involved. I am interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks