All Forum Posts by: Christine G.

 Allen, thanks for your reply! I would say that I am in growth mode and looking to purchase other properties. Are there other options? I moved to Texas recently so now my property is vacant. Do you think selling would be a viable option as well? Perhaps do a seller financing?

Hi all,

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this question. Apologies in advance.

So I have a property in Massachusetts that I purchased 3 years ago with the following:

-bought at 160,000

-15 yr fixed loan

-3.5% interest rate

- 1 bd 1 bath condo with 830 sq ft

- I gutted the entire place and renovated everything. New flooring, new kitchen with quartz countertops, new bathroom with new plumbing, added in unit washer and dryer, added better than standard rehab kitchen appliances, converted the place to 200amps from original 100 amps, new plumbing and pipes, etc.

The house has appreciated to about 220,000 in value comparing it to other similar properties that recently sold in the complex. I have about 120k left to pay on the property and 12 yrs left until it is fully paid off. 

My question is...is it worth doing a cash out refinance so that I can use that money to buy investment properties? 

Thank you :)

 Hi, he did. I initially asked to do things without permits to speed up the process but later decided to get them because everybody on this forum scared the crap out of me lol.

Hi Everyone, just an update - I decided to go and get permits for the kitchen. This means they are adding a new electrical box because the one I had prior did not have enough power/switches to handle the kitchen I wanted to build. 

Thanks all for the help!

 So I think what i'll do is hold off on permits and just take pictures of everything for now. Unfortunately the amount of money and time for me to get permits is just not in the books right now. And this is a buy and hold condo for me. Also, some of the Electrical work is not done to code (some of the appliances are on one line and my circuit board doesn't have enough space for additional lines). I may hold off on adding additional appliances to avoid tripping the wires. I wish I had known this earlier but I am pretty confident that the work is done in a very professional manner. 

The condo was built in the 1980s therefore if i wanted to do a kitchen remodel the entire kitchen would have to be brought up to code because it is out of code now.

Thanks everyone for your help. Lesson learned! My next property I will make sure permits are pulled!

thanks William, unfortunately the contractor told me that the electrical was not done to code because of the appliances I wanted. They had to put several appliances on the same line for instance, but they did to the electrical work as best and as safely as possible. He told me they put this anticorrosion putty on the stove electrical wiring for example. He told me that a new panel and rewiring alone would be at least 5 grand ballpark. That's a lot of money :( 

 Jim, thanks for the help. I just talked to my contractor. He said that the electrical work would need to be redone because it is not up to code and because I opened up the walls that the whole kitchen would need to be rewired including a new electrical box. He said because the kitchen was up to code at one point in the past but now no longer is and that is why the entire kitchen needs to be done. Is this true?

Thanks 

-C

 Thanks! I am definitely going to try to get permits. Yes he is licensed. I am worried because I wil eventually want to rent the place out and I live on the top floor. Should the place flood or if there's a fire i dont want this to affect my insurance or my neighbors going after me.

 Ok thanks! Good to know. As of right now everything is open. There was electrical work done but the holes and walls aren't patched up so you can see the work the electrician has done. When I checked on the town website for filing for a permit there was a note that said the permit amount will be tripled if the work has already started. So I think at worse my electric permit will be tripled? 

 Hi Jd, 

Thanks for your reply. So it was my fault for this because I asked that he avoid permits so that I could speed the kitchen remodel along. He did mention that they would slow the process down which is why i asked if he could avoid them. On the contract he wrote "Seller to provide permits" (me) which means he is not liable for anything. I'm wondering if I could just get the permits anyway?

Thanks!

-C