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All Forum Posts by: Ben Skove

Ben Skove has started 28 posts and replied 288 times.

Post: Interesting Tax Lien Situation

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

I've been looking at a situation that's ended up giving me some confusion, so now I'm going to throw it out for wiser heads to look over.

There's a property down the street from my SFR rental that's been going downhill for some time; in fact, the city just condemned it at the beginning of the month. However, it's a strong brick 4/1 with probably 15-20K worth of renovation, depending on what the inside looks like. I could easily turn around and rent it for around $900-$950.

The building has had a tax lien sold on it to Woods Cove LLC, which appears to do tax liens in a lot of Ohio. The property appears to have accumulated another $4K in unpaid taxes, according to the auditor's site. I'm guessing this is in addition to the tax lien itself? At any rate, when I look at the city inspector's report, he notes talking to the current owner, who says he doesn't believe he owns it and states that he's going to provide paperwork to back it up. The current owner is listed on the auditor's site as owning it in trust.

When I look up the court case information, the current owner doesn't appear to be named as a defendant - it's in a previous trust's name. The property was passed from the trust named in the foreclosure to the current one in 2003. I haven't been to the courthouse to look at the documents to see if there are additional named defendants that aren't otherwise evident. Given that the redemption period in Ohio is one year(I believe), it seems unlikely to me that the lien would be from 2003 or earlier.

The county treasurer informed me that properties with tax liens can be bought up until the Sheriff's sale. I haven't been able to determine the amount of the tax lien yet...that's my next step.

I feel like there's opportunity here. My questions are:

1. Is it possible that the tax lien foreclosure was done incorrectly, or am I missing something? If is was done incorrectly, I would assume that the lien holder would have to refile the foreclosure?

2. If I determine who the actual owner is, is it worth trying to race the clock, buy the property from them, redeem the tax lien, and deal with the current tax delinquency? I don't know Woods Cove's strategy, either...if they simply foreclose and list it, sell them off in lots, etc.

Sorry for the lengthy post...any advice is greatly appreciated!

Post: Should I take this tenant?

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

In addition to what everyone else has said, in my neck of the woods, asking to move in tomorrow is a big red flag - they're usually running from something dodgy. It doesn't give you enough time to run a background check.

Hang in there. You'll get a better applicant!

Grounding to metal pipe can be problematic if there's a chance that the metal pipe is no longer continuous to earth ground - e.g. there's a PVC repair somewhere along the way. My understanding is that all grounds now have to run back to the main box to be code.

If you do clamp to a pipe, at the least use an outlet tester to ensure you've got ground and correct polarity. However, given that your knowledge is still at a beginning level, go with the consensus advice: let an electrician handle it.

Post: Tenant check at lease signing has bounced !

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

Amen to what everyone else said. While this person is probably judgement-proof, hopefully you did a picture/video walk-through with them at move-in so you can document any damage for small claims/"large claims".

I don't have enough experience with this kind of tenant (yet) to say, but I wonder what other BPers would say about cash for keys from this person to avoid what may be a drawn out eviction process. I hate the idea of it, but it addresses the bottom line. On the other hand, if California is anything like Florida, Sandy Blanton has the right idea...out quick, and another eviction on their record to warn the next landlord.

Post: Low-Ball Offer on an REO thoughts?

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

I can offer what's going on with my current REO offer: it started at 18K, I offered 10K, and they wanted to move at $500 increments. After a little of that, I stopped at 11K, best and final. The listing agent said they weren't going to bite, insinuated there weren't any other bidders, and said to wait until the next price drop. This happened even when there had been damage to the property between the time of listing and my bid.

Fast forward to last week - they dropped it to $15K, at which point I put in my 11K offer again, and am waiting to hear back.

I was told by my agent that, at least around here, the REOs won't go for a huge cut of what's listed; instead, they seem content to eat the holding costs and wait for someone to bite closer to the ever dropping listed price.

You may have to wait to pick it up at your price point. Then again, my experience is awfully limited!

Post: Copper Stripped from Walls leading to AC

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

When I last had to replace a line set, the tech said that if the line has been open to the elements for a prolonged period of time, particularly during high humidity, that there's a fair chance that enough water vapor and whatnot has gotten into the condensor that there will be problems down the road. The advice I got was to make sure the tech pulls a good vacuum on the line set and installs a new in-line dryer.

This was last year. It made it through the summer, and I'm knocking on wood to get another year out of it.

I agree with Jay, too...it drives down the price. When making bids on REO, I make a point of including the damage to justify my low price. It seems to work, particularly when the theft has occurred between their appraisal and my bid.

Post: Setting up automatic billpay for tenant?

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

I just rehabbed and rented out my first SFR, and have set the tenant up with an automatic recurring debit through an online rent payment system. There's a $2 per month charge, which can be paid by the owner, the tenant, or split between the two.

I like not having to worry about hunting down the check, and I also liked having different options on the tenant side. Because of my tenant's somewhat lower credit score (it's a C level property) I was able to set it up so that while the tenant can view their account online, they can't change the transfer date or amount without my being involved. However, there were also options to let the tenants manage the transactions on their own.

Thus far it's worked out well, but it's really too soon for me to give it a complete thumbs-up...only time will tell.

I'm not sure about BP's policy on naming company names, but I'm happy to do so if there's not a rule to the contrary - I don't have any stake in them other than being satisfied thus far.

Post: Flip (70 k to 100k) - Refinish Wood Windows or Buy new Vinyls

Ben SkovePosted
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Posts 292
  • Votes 81

If you do pull the windows, do the future owners a favor and stash them in the basement/garage/what-have-you. Old house lovers are very particular about their windows (check out old house renovation sites for evidence of this), and it may be a selling point in the future.

Materials for repair are pretty cheap; however, it's time consuming, and thus incurs some pricy labor charges.