All Forum Posts by: Joshua Woolls

Livonia, especially anything west of Middlebelt, is much more similar to Plymouth than Redford is similar to Livonia. Plymouth is not an area to buy in if you want to cash flow. You can still find cash flowing properties in Livonia, but unless the market cools, it is going to become very difficult soon.

I would open up your market. Do you have any deals done yet? If not, I would open it up to the point that it is easy/not intimidating and get a deal done. Think Redford/Westland/Oak Park. There are still deals in those areas that people on the coasts would salivate over. And it's not like these are bad areas. Redford(South of the golf course and West of Telegraph) is a very solid working class area.

 I bought a property. It was a pretty seamless transaction. It is in a good city, but it was on a major road. Due to a shift in my focus(away from single family and into multifamily) the property is currently for sale. If all goes well, I should see about 15-20k in profit.

Honestly though, most properties in the tax auction seemed to go for more than I thought was reasonable.

Most agents focus where the money is, and it is not investors. I am not going to say they do not exist, but they are going to be difficult to find. Use Redfin to find the deals and then call the selling agent directly. Hell, tell me what you are looking for. I will see if I can find it and you can buy me some steaks for the grill as a thank you.

That's a nice place for 60k,

I would guess it would rent for $1000-$1200 depending on exact location? Am I right?

Furnace inspection only cares about safety. They do not care if it is old.

As for the driveway? This is probably one of the most expensive fixes and for simple cracks I see it as one of the more unnecessary. I have had to do a couple of roofs that I think I could have squeezed a couple of years out of. That does not bother me as much, as I would prefer to be proactive on leaks. 

Vacuum breakers are cheap and easy. Electrical is relatively cheap and easy.

I can vouch for George. He is a good guy and I would recommend working with him.  

I also have several properties in Redford. They can be a pain in the ***. Usually in order to be a vacant home, it has to sit unoccupied for at least 30 days. 

Redford always wants a furnace inspection. They are really big on proper exterior step heights. They require vacuum breakers on all outside spigots and on the laundry sink. Make sure electrical does not create any safety concerns. No pealing paint on garages and trim. And chimney and brickwork is properly tuckpointed. Also, they are really strict about cracked concrete on driveways and sidewalks.

I am almost tempted to not buy in Redford because they are such a pain... But the returns are great. And the area South of the Golf Course and North of the Highway is one of the best areas to be in.

I did pick one up in Livonia MI. Most of the properties seemed to go for too high of a price(maybe it was the fact that the tax auction was everywhere in the media last year). We ended up with a home in Livonia for 30k.... It was in bad shape. A hoarer house and everything was still in it. I put about 20k into it(hired much of it out) and we are getting ready to list it for 80-85k. Honestly we were going to rent it, but in that area of Livonia(NE corner) I just did not get good prospective tenants. I will walk away with about 15-25k in my pocket.

I will look again this year. If you have any questions about the process, let me know.

Looks great George!

I talked to the lawyer and he said that the tenant had no intention of moving out and no intention of not paying rent. I called the tenant and he thanked me and for being a good landlord and said he plans on staying for the foreseeable future(while paying rent).

All is good for now.

Thanks for the advice.

That's kind of what I was hoping. I wasn't sure if reaching out to the tenant was acceptable, as this may be seen as an attempt to collect. Reaching out to the attorney makes sense(although something I did not think of). My wife thinks that they knew they were going to declare bankruptcy and wanted to make sure that they had a solid place to live before declaring as it might be harder to find a place after bankruptcy.