All Forum Posts by: Ken P.

People from outside of New England don't understand that the vast majority our housing stock is very old. You don't get to be picky and only look at homes built newer than 1960 like you can in other regions. 

Ony of my duplexes was built in 1825 and suffers from all the issues you mentioned. Poor insulation, deferred maintenance, etc. When I bought it the roof had a leak covered with a tarp for the last 5 years. The numbers work out nicely, though, because I bought it at a good price and factored in repairs when running my numbers. It has been a lot of work, though. 

My advice would be don't run into it blindly but don't run away from it either. Have someone in your corner that has a lot of experience inspecting/working on old homes from a construction standpoint. This doesn't mean just someone that has good reviews on Google, you'll have to ask around in your network or attend meetups and find someone really familiar with old homes. 

Typically with homes that old someone along the way has updated certain systems. You'll need to know what was updated and when. That house literally predates electricity being common in homes by almost 100 years. Did they update the electrical beyond knob and tube? Is the sewer line clay? Cast iron? What shape are the sill plates in? What's the heating system like? 

If you're lucky someone has already updated these things ahead of you. All of my wiring was redone in the 90s, and most of my plumbing was converted to PVC and copper at some point as well. Don't cheap out on the inspection stage for a property you're really serious about. I had an inspector, a separate sewer line inspection, a structural engineer, and a contractor all looking at the house. Negotiate for a longer than usual inspection period. I've had my fair share of issues with this house, but so far they were all things I knew would probably come up based on those inspections. 

Lastly, I would caution anyone getting into an older home that isn't handy at all or willing to learn. Death by a thousand paper cuts is very real if you have to hire out every little leaky faucet, rubbing door frame, or running toilet. None of those things are terribly hard to fix nor are they expensive but it could become expensive if you always have to call someone out. Of course, this may be a non-issue depending on the deal. 

Run your numbers conservatively to account for maintenence and repair costs. 

Good luck! 

Hi David - Check the networking -> events section of BP. There's a southern maine meet-up once a month organized by Dan Weber. Hope to see you there. 

Can talk more about this in person at the meetup but for the benefit of others who stumble into this thread, I will summarize here as well. I've followed the ADU changes in Portland very closely and am a huge advocate of ADUs (Accessory dwelling units).

The new laws you're referring to are the new land-use (zoning) codes effective as of Dec 1, 2020. (https://www.recodeportland.me/) It is one of the best land use codes surrounding ADUs in the entire country with the sole exception of perhaps the "other Portland".

Up to two ADUs are now permitted in any zone where residential uses are allowed, by right. No zoning board special permission needed or any of that BS. Furthermore, there is only an owner-occupancy requirement at the time the permit is obtained, after which it can be rented out just like any other unit even if the owner sells, moves, etc. That owner-occupancy requirement has crippled ADU construction in most of the country, Portland was wise to dispose of it. 

These land-use code changes are significant but it's not a silver bullet. You still have to comply with all underlying ordinances that exist in your zone, namely the lot size per unit, setbacks, etc. All of this can be found in Portland's various zoning docs online. 

Also, very important for everyone to realize the new land-use laws have nothing to do with building codes which is where most people run into trouble. Certain structures are not well suited to being brought up to code, which is why there's a lot of companies right now building modular ADUs that just get dropped into your backyard ready to hook up to utilities.  

Anyone curious about ADUs in Maine or elsewhere feel free to reach out, they're one of my favorite things to discuss. 

Hi Anne and Michele

We have monthly meetups scheduled by Dan Weber - our next one is coming up at the end of March in Scarborough, but we rotate between different towns in the greater Portland area. You can find the details by using the Networking - > events feature here on BP. See you there. 

Glad you're enjoying your time in Portland, it's a great city. As far as resources go, you should reach out to @Dan Weber - he's a Portland investor that knows a lot about the area. 

The biggest thing to be aware of for short term rentals in Portland is there is actually an option on the November ballot to ban short term rentals altogether in Portland. The overall rental market in Portland is extremely strong because there is extremely low supply and very high demand. If you talk to Dan he can speak a bit more to this, but in some ways the towns directly surrounding Portland may yield a better return and far less government red tape to deal with as compared to Portland itself. 

Don't count out Biddeford and Saco, too. A little further south but they've seen pretty rapid appreciation and a lot of money flowing in with significant infrastucture /community developments making it a very attractive place to live. Lots of multifamily options in Biddeford especially. 

Harrison Smith is the guy you need to know for Biddeford/Saco area. He's pretty active on BP and will likely chime in anyway but if not you should consider looking him up. 

 Your assessment of the greater Portland area is spot on I think, and I predict continued growth in all of Southern Maine honestly. Especially with covid, people are ready to get out of the big city and live "the way life should be". 

Hey folks just in case anyone else was planning on joining we are actually going to stick with the original Tuckerman Brewing location in Conway, same time.

Sounds good to me! 

Hey @Christian Manhard and anyone else going, any thoughts on location? I was going to suggest Tuckerman but there's a big event there for Wild Northeast magazine the same night. I'm pretty open to anything

Thanks everyone for the insight. I'm under contract and going with a Homestyle Loan. I definitely agree with all the benefits of hard money but it just didn't make any sense for this property when I ran the numbers. 

Biggest challenge right now is I am told I can only use one single GC - seems like this has changed somewhat recently from when you could manage multiple subs yourself. The property doesn't need much, a new roof (it's leaking) and some minor interior work here and there, mostly drywall and a window or two. It's probably 95% roof 5% interior. The issue is roofers only want to do roofing and not wanting to touch the interior work, so I really need an actual GC who can sub out whats needed. If anyone has someone they can recommend that services the Portland area please let me know, we are on an aggressive closing schedule I am trying as best I can to hit.