All Forum Posts by: Shaun Palmer

Hi everyone.  Has anyone heard of Loan Mountain Capital out of Charlotte, NC?  If so, has anyone used them for hard money lending?  Please let me know as I just want to try and qualify them.  Thanks and any information would be helpful

I was wondering if anyone has a good letter that introduces a new Property Manager while removing the previous one.  I recently had to remove my PM from some of my properties and I am taking over the PM responsibilities.  If you have a good letter identifying changes, etc... that would be great.  

I know that I need to have in the letter:

1. New lease information and/or assumption of existing lease
2. New address information
3. New security deposit location
4. Contact information
5. Rules and Regs
6. Etc...

If you can think of anything else please let me know and thank you.

I am inquiring about the number of loans you can have for investment properties. At this time I currently have 10 loans that are backed by Fannie and Freddie. However I am looking to refinance these loans with private capital that is not backed by Fannie and Freddie.

I will still have 10 mortgages but they will not be back by Fannie and Freddie and will be funded by private capital.

If I try and apply for another loan that is backed by Fannie and Freddie which would be my 11th loan, is that possible? Or is the maximum number of loans 10 in general and Fannie or Freddie would not provide the 11th? Can I have 10 private loans and additional loans to be backed by Fannie and Freddie? Thanks

@Darrick Lowe

Looking at this again, @Jim K. is correct.  I misunderstood the question you were asking as I got ahead of myself thinking the window was not functioning properly as well.  

Hi there.  So I recently had a house fire in one of my rentals and I am looking for some advice as I have not been through this situation before.  I was hoping someone out there could provide some guidance and things to watch out for just so that I am covered.

At the end of the day, I want to get this fixed and back to being rented asap.  

To set the stage, here are a few key points:

Property:

• 2 story townhouse
• 2 bed / 2.5 bath
• Mostly carpet
• 18 month old (yep, its brand new)

Situation:

• Nobody was hurt to my understanding
• Tenant did not have rental insurance even though it was required in the lease per my property manager
• Tenant admitted, in writing, they caused the fire.
• Kitchen fire that burned the kitchen completely and I have smoke damage throughout.  The structure is intact and was put out prior to the place burning down. See photos below.
• Fire department kicked the front door in and put the fire out with a lot of water.  The kitchen and other parts of the house are damaged completely from the fire and other damage due to smoke.
• I am fully insured for this and am working with my insurance company as we speak

Questions I have that I am hoping you can help me with:

Tenant

• My tenant does not have insurance.  Anything I should be concerned about?  We have informed the tenant that they should look for another residence as this will take some time to fix. 
• What about their belongings (total loss from what I understand)?  I plan on providing them notice that they need to have anything out by XXX date so we can start renovations.

Construction

• I am in construction so I am well informed on construction means and methods as well as contractual documentation.  However, I have not completed disaster restoration work and I am mostly concerned about smoke damage.  I am working on getting quotes from GC's but is there something I should specifically be looking for them to do? (i.e. should the smoke be handled in a specific way in areas of the house where the fire did not touch)?  Clearly something will need to be completed in the entire house but is there a special way this gets treated for smoke that is different from usual sealing?
• Two of my biggest concerns are the HVAC and places where the fire did not touch but smoke did.  Should I be concerned about the high heat being sucked through the HVAC (Again the entire house is 18 months old).  How do walls get treated (full drywall removal or can the drywall be sealed and is this a good idea?)  
• I am working with disaster specialist only for this work as well

Insurance

• I have insurance and at this time, it is a matter of working through the process to get his fixed.  Is there anything I should be watching out for specifically?  
• Should I be asking for anything specific?

After Work Is Completed

• Is there anything that I should be looking for specifically to ensure the smoke damage is completely taken care of?  

If there is something I am missing, please let me know as I am looking for advice on how to work efficiently through this process.

Thanks in advance

Shaun

@Darrick Lowe

A few things to check

(1) Faulty Window - is this window in direct sunlight?  If so, the vinyl may be expanding too much (i.e. the window was not built correctly)

(2) If all windows are doing this, is there structural problems with the building (i.e. do you see cracking in the masonry).

You would not be able to screw in the vinyl as that will only cause more future damage

If all windows are doing this, I would lean towards faulty windows but hard to tell without being there to see it.  Hope this helps.

@Matt B.

Logistically, here is what I would check.

(1) Is the unit sized properly?  Just Google "Water Heater Size Guide".  If the size if appropriate, then

(2) Drain the unit completely.  Sediment builds up in water heaters and should be drained each year to remove the sediment.  Too much sediment could be problematic.  If it is still not working, then:

(3) Check that the element(s) are not burned out.  They are replaceable

(4) If all this is foregone, then it might be time for a new water heaters.  Water heaters typically have about a 10 year lifespan.

Hope this helps.

@Ben Kirchner

I agree with just about everyone.  I have not found a good home warranty company either.  The only time that I feel they are worthwhile is when you buy, ask the seller to pay for one.  Then you are covered for "some" items.  When I say "some" every warranty company I have used always finds ways to not pay for things.  In example, I received 2 quotes from American Home Shield for a water heather that went out.  One plumber said there was "additional" work required that was not covered which was a joke.  The other plumber said no problem it is covered.  Long story short, there "emergency services" took 4 days to fix a leaking water heater.  My plumber would have fixed it that day.  

Old Republic is another one.  I have not had any good experiences with them.  

Recently, I had an HVAC go out in one of my rentals which I was supposed to be covered for....right!.  I even paid for the extra HVAC coverage.  Upon inspection, they determined that the work was not of quality workmanship and caused the system to fail.  This work was done before I purchased the unit and was working when I bought it.  Needless to say, they would not cover it.  

In my opinion, I would never pay for a home warranty.  It is not worth it.  Hope this helps.

@Kristen Buckley I agree with @Robert T.on the costs of painting vs. replacing.  

@Johann Jells Definitely agree with you on this one.  I invest in an area where there are not too many plastered walls nowadays but I used to live in Pittsburgh where it was the norm.  It is definitely an art.  Drywall is much easier to work with.