All Forum Posts by: Solomon F.

It seems that more foreclosed houses being put up for sale by the banks while still owner occupied. I am in NJ and I know that it is a tenant friendly state. How about owner occupants that were never tenants, how long will it take to get them out? What is the process like? How much can I expect it to cost in legal fees? 

I have also heard that if they file for bankruptcy it can stall out the process. Can anyone from NJ or beyond share their experience or knowledge? Thanks  

Originally posted by @Chris Grenier:

There are numerous 'rules' you will read about but the reality of it is in todays market (in Central Florida at least) all those rules are obsolete and if you make anywhere from a 13-15% ROI on a Flip then you are ahead of the game. Unfortunately it is very easy to filter out and distinguish between the newbies and seasoned investors when looking at their offers and their unobtainable profit desires & assumptions

Thanks for the great reply. In a strong sellers market where it is reasonable to expect the property to sell quickly, an estimated 13-15% ROI makes sense to me. Obviously, I am assuming some risk with that because things can and do go wrong with a project, but overall I think the numbers are still with me.

Originally posted by @Brad B.:

@Solomon F. 

Try buying off-market so you don't have to directly compete with people who overpay. There's probably only a handful of people in every market who actually pay what they should for property.

I need to build my contacts to find a solid wholesaler. So far the ones of spoken to either claim the property is worth ARV much more than it is or don't actually follow thru on bringing the deals.

We have all heard about the 70% rule. You want your total estimated cost with purchase price, rehab, and holding/closing costs to add up to 70% of the ARV. Around where I am, Ocean County NJ, I am not seeing it. Case in point, a solid deal came on the market, knowing I would not land the deal at my estimated 70% ARV I bid much closer to 80%. Guess what? I was outbid. I met a couple of seasoned investors afterwards who told me they had also placed bids on the property and their bids were even lower than mine. The only deals I see happening at 70% are assuming either a significant risk i.e. underground oil tank, occupied properties [which can really slow down your turnover] or close to the shore where the properties need to be raised etc..

Am I missing something?

Originally posted by @Nate Wightman:

does it have a well or public water??

 It has public water. 

Originally posted by @Dell Schlabach:

Originally posted by @Solomon F.:

I am looking at a deal where the property had an underground oil tank removed and the soil test shows mild contamination. The seller is re-mediating. One realtor advised me against getting involved because I intend to flip the property and a buyer may have trouble getting a mortgage or insurance if the property is known to have had any contamination even if it was remediated. I was under the impression that so long as we get a letter from the state of "no further action needed" i would be ok. Whats your advice? 

Thank you

 I suspect it will be different depending in the price range of the house. In our area that would not likely matter much in the 100-150 range but more likely be problematic in the 250,000-400,000 range. 

I would be running that past a couple loan officers to verify the truth if the statement. Doesn't ring true. 

I have been warned by agents about mold houses and severe foundation issues as well. But when properly remediated by pros, with transferrable warranties we have not had ANY trouble selling them, even in the 250-400k range. 

I don't have any experience with oil tanks but I suspect if properly remediated it would sell. 

But not advising you to do that, we each have our own tolerance for risk.  I would not buy it if it was borderline deal, but if the spread was really good I personally would buy it if the mortgage issue was resolved.

My thoughts

 Thanks for the reply! It is in the 250k - 400k range and I am actually planning on purchasing it with a mortgage as the house is functional and should appraise without a problem. I will advise my mortgage lender of the situation and see if he has any issue with it. Maybe I  will try to bounce it off a few lenders and see if any of them have a problem. 

I am looking at a deal where the property had an underground oil tank removed and the soil test shows mild contamination. The seller is re-mediating. One realtor advised me against getting involved because I intend to flip the property and a buyer may have trouble getting a mortgage or insurance if the property is known to have had any contamination even if it was remediated. I was under the impression that so long as we get a letter from the state of "no further action needed" i would be ok. Whats your advice? 

Thank you

Originally posted by @Kyle J.:

I've bought a few houses that had termites.  (They're common in some areas.)  Not a huge deal.  Figure out what kind they are (i.e. drywood, subterranean, etc); treat them appropriately; remove anything that may be attracting them (i.e. wood to dirt contact, standing water pooling around the foundation, etc) so they don't come back; and fix what needs fixing due to their damage. 

 Thanks for the advice. If there are some signs of activity around the window frames and the window box is there a chance that they damaged all the studs in the home? I am concerned that I will open the walls and find that everything will need to be replaced. Is that a reasonable concern?

And do i need to get a special termite inspection by a pest control company or will an ordinary home inspection suffice? 

I went to check out a house needs to be totally redone but that's not such a big deal because it's a great price. Prob is I'm pretty sure it's got termites. Is it worth investing the time and $$ to determine the extent of the damage or should I just walk away? Has anyone out there bought a house they knew had termites and treated it and repaired it without it turning into a Pandora's box?

Just checked out a house owned by the bank, everything looked good. Only prob. I couldn't find the above ground oil tank. Well, that's because she was six feet under! I am considering doing a soil test and going ahead if it comes out clean. [I will include the cost of removal in my cost basis for the rehab]. How reliable are these tests? Is it possible it will come out clean but afterwards be a mess?

Also has anyone had success getting the bank to allow them to remove the tank before closing [and if there is leakage walking away from the deal]?