All Forum Posts by: Ernie Beiler

You came to the right place to learn. Welcome!

I have a property that has been under contract to sell since mid-September. The buyer just went through a divorce and they have been working on splitting their properties etc. We have extended the settlement twice and now it looks like it might not happen till after the holidays due to the lender needing more time to pull everything together. Needless to say it has been a frustrating experience for everyone involved. The buyer is now asking if we would consider a pre-settlement occupancy agreement. She would like to move in before the holidays and is willing to pay additional money and pay all utilities to make it happen. Has anyone ever worked with this arrangement? What are the pros or cons?

I'm always interested in hearing others success. This looks like a home run and I'll be following it closely.

I tried Home depot on my current rehab. Great price on carpet & padding but the installation was a bit tricky. $97 for whole house install but charged over $300 for stairs and would not install any carpet not purchased from them. I think Carpet Mart may get my business next time. Finding an installer on CL seems a bit risky to me.

I bought 2 properties at a W&W auction, both of them off site. The 2nd one was countered at more than twice the highest bid. I told them the house was in such bad shape (and it was) that I would not go higher than my highest bid. I thought it was gone but 2 weeks later they came back and accepted my original bid. Both properties were held by Fannie Mae. I have had a positive experience working with W&W and am looking at a few more properties coming up in the near future.

I appreciate all the advice. I will have to look into the local ordinances and see if there is a "handle" I can use. It is in a small town and not part of a HOA. It is a family with lots of kids and I think they might be renting. The parents don't seem to be around too much. I didn't notice anything that bad when we bought back in September but now we have sheets at the windows and all the kids "stuff" outside and the leftover Christmas inflatables laying around. I'll check to see who the owner is and maybe a friendly conversation will be all it takes

I am just finishing up a rehab and will be ready to show in the next week. The next door neighbors don't seem to have any motivation in keeping up their yard and house and I'm thinking it might affect how my house sells. Does anyone have any ideas on what can I do to change the situation (besides offer to buy the house)??

It's always interesting to see others goals and sometimes it makes the rest of us think or rethink our own. Way to live out loud!
I agree that those who got started in RE in their twenties are way ahead..... if only I would have known back then what I know now, but I am thankful for what I have been learning the past few years. I quit my fulltime job in March 2011 to have more time in RE and other business ventures and also be home with my family more

My Goals: I'm 38 yrs old,
1M networth and 10K monthly income by 2015

I use *******************.com which is a combo of Zillow and Eppraisal. It's a free site and you usually get what you pay for. I would recommend using a real estate agent to get comps in the area you are looking alongside these free sites

Thanks for the the input. Hearing from active landlords is very valuable. If the tenant pays the utilities is the utility bill sent directly to them in their name? If so, how would this affect me if they quit paying the bill?