All Forum Posts by: Nicholas Morgan

Hello Everyone. 

I apologize if this isn't the best/proper forum for this question. 

I currently have a Triplex under contract (technically it's a duplex with a single family home right next door). 

I had a house inspection and had a list of items to be fixed/assessed and the seller has agreed to take care of all of them (list will be at end of post) except for paying for a structural engineer to come assess the structures. 

The duplex has a noticeably slanted floor. It's not extremely awful, but it is noticeable that it is not level. And on the second floor there's a very noticeable bump in the flooring where I assume a beam to run. (due to the ceiling/flooring, it isn't possible to get access to seeing this beam). It is reasons such as this that made us want a structural engineer to assess the property. The inspector speculates that house has settled over the 60-70 years the house has been standing. We speculate the ceiling has been replaced due to no cracking. The walls have painted paneling so there's no cracked drywall. However, there is one closet door that I recall not closing properly. Perhaps due to shifting? 

I find out today that when the seller purchased the property he replaced the subfloor of the duplex. This was not disclosed prior. Should I be concerned? My agent thinks he just doesn't want to pay for a structural engineer to come out. However, I feel that maybe he's afraid of what they might find. He did this work himself. I'm not sure of the seller's background. Perhaps he's been in construction for many years and everything is fine. But perhaps he's just seen some YouTube videos and doesn't have much experience. I know he's selling the property to help fund his current project of building a house (perhaps he's building it himself).

I need to prepare a list of questions to email the seller by the end of the day. I'm just not 100% sure what to ask. Here's what I've got so far. What questions should I add to the list? 

- When (year/month) was the subfloor put in?

- Why was it deemed necessary to replace? 

- What is the seller's profession/experience with construction?

- Why was the floor/structure not properly leveled at this time? 

Thanks in advance! Not sure what to make of this. 

.

.

.

I can attach the inspection report, but here is a brief summary of what we asked the seller to fix: 

- Electrical:
---- Secure wiring properly that goes to AC compressor outside
---- replace some GFCI
---- Add smoke detectors to all units
---- Fix breaker box because there are missing breakers where live AC is exposed
- Plumbing:
---- Hot water knob on bathtub didn't work. Hot water in apt did, but not that knob
---- Missing knob for under-sink water valve
- Venting
---- Install proper dryer vent port in wall
- HVAC
---- One furnace did not kick on. Have it assessed and fixed/replaced
- Trim Tree Limbs
---- Some tree limbs are touching the roof
---- Some tree limbs are hanging and seem dangerous
- Paint eves of house where paint is peeling
- Clean gutters
- Fix poorly attached handrail
- Fix/replace windows to be functional and not have a hole through it
- Have structural engineer come out an assess the structures
---- The floors are unlevel in the duplex and is slightly concerning.
---- House inspector believes house has settled over the last 60 years, but would like to see a professional give an assessment 

Thanks,

Nicholas 

Thanks for the input everyone. I agree. The lease stands. I was curious about the point that Paul addressed and that is I want my name to be on the lease seeing as the soon-to-be previous owners have no more part in leasing. 

So it sounds like the Title company can take care of switching the lease into my name? 

Hello everyone! I'm currently in the due diligence period of closing on my first rental property. It's a tri-plex with 2 of the units currently occupied. I will live in the 3rd unit. I'm located in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. What do I need to make sure of in regards to the lease as I transition into self managing/owning the property? Will I need an attorney to switch the lease into my name? What is the right way to do this so that the contract is with me and not the previous owners? I realize the lease goes with the property, so I can't just have them sign a new lease all together. However, I feel like the lease should have me as the leassor. Perhaps I'm mistaken? Thanks! -Nicholas

Andrew, hello! I've seen quite a few MFH's in the Hamilton area, which is a bit north of the downtown Cincinnati scene. Personally, I work and want to live away from the downtown area so finding MFH's where I'm interested in hasn't been too difficult. I haven't looked near downtown, but I imagine it is much harder to find something closer to that area. But maybe check in Hamilton. There's quite a few there. Some not so great parts of Hamilton, but there's also some nice parts too. 

Hello Alex! Very cool. Definitely does sound like a lot of similar interests! Good luck with your fix/flip. Will you be attending the Cincinnati REI meetup on Tuesday? This particular one is about house hacking. This will be my first meetup to attend.

-Nicholas  

Hello Everyone! 

I've been reading books and listening to the BP podcast for 2 or 3 months now and decided to jump in last Friday by submitting an offer on a Tri-Plex and they accepted! I'm from the Cincinnati area and the Tri-Plex is in the South Lebanon area.

I'll be doing a house hack by moving into one of the units and essentially getting paid to live there! Which is so cool! Using an FHA loan with 3.5% down. If all goes as planned, will be closing at the end of July.

About me: 

- Graduated with a degree in Engineering Physics with an emphasis in Mechanical Systems from Murray State University

- Graduated college and moved to Cincinnati area in summer of 2017

- I work as a design engineer at a large medical device company

- Hobbies: Building things/tinkering, playing music (classical guitar and regular guitar, cello, bass, etc.), building and flying remote control aircraft, kayaking, fishing, hiking, being outside in general. 

My goal is to have a 6-figure income coming in through real estate by the time I'm 30. I'm 22 so I have 7 and a half years to do that, which should be doable!  I love my job and don't foresee myself leaving it ever. If I want to start my own company later on, having a 2nd income would help reduce the risk of that since I wouldn't be dependent on my current 9-to-5 to pay the bills. I'll be getting married at the end of the year so also having the option to not rely on a job so I can spend more time with my future family is exciting. 

Anyways, hello everyone! I'm excited to be starting down this path!