All Forum Posts by: Rich Hill

Moisture resistant would be ok for above the shower where you don't expect water to run down or even splash.

For the back of tile, however, you need Redguard applied to Duro-rock or similar tile backing material to create the moisture-proof membrane you want.

Regarding the old house concept, I actually like them.  Oftentimes the wood used was superior and the house stands as proof that it isn't built over a sinkhole or in a flood plain, etc.  And I can't tell you how exciting it is to find wood floors underneath carpet...  Without knowing anything more, your deal sounds fantastic to me.

If paying cash, I often forgo the termite inspection by crawling the crawlspace myself.  Termite damage isn't bad if not structural, rather, you are looking for active termites.  Then when complete, I treat the entire foundation for termites for the price of hiring an inspector.  Takes about 2 hours and costs $100 and my treatment is good for 20-30 years if left undisturbed.  Generally I can use my findings via pictures to make adjustments in the price during the initial offer.  Waiving further termite discussions strengthens the offer significantly in my opinion.  If the house has a basement or slab then it's even easier to verify no damage...   

Why? I bought a SFR in 2005 that had termite damage but passed a termite inspection by a company that I paid $3k at closing to maintain their bond on. Afterwards I asked them to make repairs when I did discover damage and an active termite infestation and they balked. (Repairs were quoted at $100/ft for 10' of damaged sill plate.) So I had them treat the infestation, verified that it worked, and then I fired them, saving me about $4k over the next ten years by not signing another termite contract. That led me down my current path of DIY and I have successfully treated two active infestations this way since. One was a barn riddled with them and the second was a friend that discovered swarms coming from two sides of his house on a crawlspace.

Fantastic idea!  I recently did the same in West Virginia, focusing on Zillow searches of single family homes using the key words of "in-law" and "kitchenette" and "apartment".  I laugh when Realtors tell me that listing as multi-family reduces the chance of selling but it is often the truth, particularly in more rural markets.

There is also some risk...  had a conversation with a Real Estate Broker in AL a few weeks ago who told me that having a license and working as a landlord might actually remove some protections from me.  Just another factor to consider.

One of the things I wished that I had done earlier was go multi-family vs single family rentals. Obviously there are opportunities to make the 1% rule with a SFR but I never accomplished it with rentals I owned from 2005-2015. Shifting to a multi's was the first time I started making true ROI. Don't give up on your search!!

Yes, no problems there. I have never used a VA loan as they typically require higher closing costs and also have a pretty high bar on material condition. I like to buy properties that allow some immediate sweat equity to lower my LTV ratio.

I owned a rental property on James Island for several years and was fairly disgusted with it compared to rentals I own in GA, WV, VA, and AL:

Flood insurance is terrible. FEMA doubles the rate if you are a landlord and if you sell, you get none of that additional amount back. I will never buy another rental in a flood zone. It started around $350/150k house per year and finished around $1.4k/year for the same house value. You cannot cancel or change the coverage.

My property taxes doubled once I converted the house from a single family that I lived in to a rental.  So do not analyze property taxes without fully understanding the hit they take once you lose the homestead exemption.

Quit Claim Deed. I really recommend the book by Denise Evans. She explained a lot of this and it really helped me. I'm still marking up my copy.

Got my first response today from the State.  Pretty bizarre in that I have submitted about 40 requests in December from counties of Calhoun, Cherokee, and Etowah and the 5 that came back are in no particular order.  Only one of the 5 is more than 5 years old so I will submit a counter on that one.  I guess the exciting part is that I must have finally identified properties with no one in line ahead of me!

Upon further investigation it seems to me that another one has a quit claim deed from a few years ago that didn't get assessed in the new owner's name.  Should I inform someone?  The Tax Assessment Report under Grantee has "new owner's name (DEED REF ONLY-BD)".  What does "DEED REF ONLY-BD" mean?  My guess is Bond for Deed?