All Forum Posts by: Victor Menasce

Even with a county auction, there are some risks. You need to perform your due diligence. Some properties could have IRS liens, water liens, or a right of redemption if the original owner didn't receive proper notice. A good lawyer can burn through the due diligence quickly, although they don't hold a monopoly on the due diligence.

Did you get title insurance on the purchase? Some areas are notorious for failing to give the original owner proper notice of the sale. In those situations, the original owner could have a lengthy right of redemption that extends far beyond the sale. In some states (Pennsylvania) that right of redemption is 21 years.  

Sometimes the last meter is for the common areas. It may still be a legal 3 unit. A four unit building would be expected to have 5 meters. 

Read through your insurance policy carefully. When it comes time to make a claim, you and your insurance company become legal adversaries. Water damage is the number one cause of insurance claims. I suspect that the total cost to repair your damage will be not much more than your deductible. In many areas, check valves are not approved by the building code, even though insurance companies like them. Try calling 311 and lodging a complaint with Service Ottawa. They may be able to help.  There are some good insurance people who are regulars at OREIO who may be able to help. 

Are these single family homes or multi-family projects? The contractor will vary widely depending on the size of the projects. I build multiple apartment buildings in Philadelphia. 

My philosophy is to buy in markets where there is growth. Shrinking markets involve falling prices. The demographic shifts in Japan means that there are millions of empty vacant apartments. I believe the number is 11 million if memory serves correctly. Hard for me to justify buying in an environment of falling rents and falling prices. I've spent a lot of time in Japan and love the country. I love the people and the culture. Properties close to the rail lines are worth more. The Tokaido line train that connects Tokyo with Shinagawa and Yokohama is a well travelled route. But still, demographics says supply is far greater than demand. Just don't see how to make money yet in real estate in Japan.

Did the broker offer this up unsolicited? That's often a red flag that there might be something hidden in the property that makes the property impossible to finance. Seller financing can be great, but you need to make sure that this is simply a choice, rather than a necessity.

You can delegate the physical walk-through and handing of keys to someone else. I recommend you give your delegate a checklist of items to cover. As far as the lease, you should do that in advance and use an electronic tool like docusign, Adobe, or Sign Now to get the electronic signature. Also take the initial deposit prior to handing over the keys. 

Architects can also help with referrals to good contractors. They know a lot of people in construction and they get to see a lot of projects. In terms of direct help, the key is in having a detailed specification as part of the drawings. If you don't have a proper spec document, your GC has the latitude to rip you off by cutting corners, even if you have a guaranteed maximum price contract. Ultimately you need to decide if your projects can afford the added cost of an architect. But in many cases, the result can be significant savings if you have the right investor focused architect. 

Happy to chat. Send me your email and phone number using the contact form on my website at victorjm.com and we can set up a time to talk. Sending email addresses in the BP forum is not permitted. I'll be in LC next week. We have a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor.