All Forum Posts by: Michael De Rosa

Are you not closing through a title company or an attorney? How are you paying for the home, with cash or a loan?

Can you explain more about the situation. Is this a home for lease that the leasing agent is listing for rent? Has the contract extension been executed or is it just an option? 

There are a lot of options. If you live near a larger metro area is there a Redevelopment Agency that the city has set up? If you can get the area designated as an area for potential growth you might be able to get some public support in your efforts.

If you are trying to do this on your own you might try speaking to the owners of the properties in the area and start getting options on a number of properties so you can have a few properties that you could buy at once. It can be easier to get funds if you can show you have a bunch in an area that you are working on. Another option is to speak to the city and see what kind of support they can offer.

Where is this community located and is there potential job growth and a sustainable economy in the area? I would love to try and help you get started if I could.

@Anthony Wright I would agree with David that a SFR rental on a vacant lot will not give you a great return on your investment. The cost of construction will be too high for it to make sense on paper. If the property is located in one of the R-1 zones the likelihood of getting up zoned to R2, RMF RMU or even CB are rather slim. Have you checked the master plan for the area to ensure that the city hasn't designated the area for higher density in the future? I am familiar with Salt Lake City. I can take a quick look at if it you would like.

@James Orr - I do a lot of investor work in the SLC area. I am also familiar with the Nomad approach. I have helped a few people get started with that same approach. 

@Michael Fitzpatrick - Why are you interested in the Salt Lake market and what are you looking for?

@Melissa Coombe 

I know this is 2 months old but I am still adding this for other people to see my opinion. Most new construction of a single family dwelling does not make sense to rent. You will likely be taking money out of pocket for repairs, cleaning and vacancies. One month of vacancy can wipe out all of the positive cash flow from one year, so can a pricey repair.  

Hi @Ching Yao. I have actually helped 2 different people from  Taiwan in the last year find properties in Draper and Magna. With a student visa it might be difficult to get traditional financing. Both of the people I worked with ended up using cash for their purchases. 

What type of real estate are you most interested in?

Hi Bill,

I have looked at a few homes in your exact situation in Salt Lake. This will really depend on the zoning laws in your city but this is how they work in SLC. If a non-conforming use was established before the zone was created or changed then you can apply for a certification from the city. This cert is what a lot of banks will require to ensure that if the property is damaged beyond repair, by no intentional cause of the owner, that the building can be rebuilt. One house I looked at the city wanted to make sure that there wasn't a gap in residential use for no more than 365 days consecutively. If the city could prove that the home was either not lived in for a year or that it was used for any commercial use then they would deny the certification and traditional residential financing would be a lot harder to get.

Something else to keep in mind is that if I did change the use of the land I would need to bring the standards of the lot up to today's standards. One home I wanted would have needed a sewer line added and it was going to be a 500 ft run to the closest sewer. That was a deal killer for me and I walked.

Again this is my experience in SLC and I can expect some similarities but I make no guarantee to how Denver deals with their zoning.

@Eliot M. This can vary depending on the state. In Utah, as an agent, even if the other person does not have an agent they still have an agent. They have to agree to a limited agency agreement and then you act as agent on both sides. They are not technically allowed to be unrepresented. 

A lot of investors and wholesalers do not have a license for that very reason in this state. Depending on what you would like to do I would contact a competent real estate attorney and seek some legal advice so you don't get sued in the future.