All Forum Posts by: Steven Tierney

Based on stuff I've seen, you probably have cloth covered Romex through that house, or 2 wire BX.  If it's cloth covered Romex I'd feel OK about it, if it's BX I suppose I'd be a little more worried as sometimes the ground connection (via the metal sheathing) fails over time.  Go through the house with a circuit tester to see if the grounds are working properly.  If it's a rental you'll want to make sure to CYA.  Think about doing whole house GFCI protection too while your at it with the panel.  Hope this helps.

Thanks @Rick H.

@Charlie MacPherson It depends on the confidence you have in the contractor to complete the project at the price you've been quoted. A house that is 65 years old with a terrible exterior likely needs full kitchen and bath updates as well to sell at the ARV you're quoting, at least on the south shore, assuming that's where it is. I find it hard to believe that in a competitive market like the area you're in, that you're getting a full exterior and interior rehab (or update even) at $65k. Just saying. If you are, let's talk!

Hi Everyone,

I found a house I'm interested in purchasing for my family to live in, but it's being sold via a Conservatorship here in MA. The house is not currently on MLS, and I've had my attorney contact the court appointed Conservator (Conservator is also a local real estate attorney). I've also spoken with the Conservator myself but he wasn't exactly forthgiving with information other than "I can show you the house". It sounds like they have fiduciary rights to sell the property, but I haven't been able to find a lot of details about how this situation works in terms of the probate/legal process, if/when the courts get involved, and how long something like this might take to close.

I'm usually on BP looking for information related to my REI/Flipping interests, but honestly, this one is not something I'm really looking to "make money on" as it is in a location and town that we'd want to be in for the long term, and I simply want to find a nice house in a premium town. I was hoping somebody out there might have some info on how the Conservatorship / Real Estate process might work out, and how long something like this might take to actually close. Any information you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I'm new to this game but have read quite a few places that 10-15% of the ARV should be profit in our area, and if it's not at least that much, move because there's too much risk as there's no room for contingencies. My challenge has been finding contractors inexpensive enough to allow a profit on projects. I bet for newbies this is consistently a challenge. Just goes back to the saying "you make your profit when you buy the house". In this case, you're not making profit buying it at $310k.

Hi @Account Closed Welcome!  I'm pretty new here myself, and have found the people on BP to be great.  Hopefully your re-introduction to the US won't be too bad - Good luck!

Wow, @Steve Babiak you are a wealth of information!  Thank you very much for linking me to your other post of links.  Lots to read and learn!

@Ann Bellamy thanks for the tip re: building department vs. assessor! I hope that in my case though, it doesn't exactly apply because I'm only looking at SFR's.

I see that you mentioned the MassHealth lien - out of all the types of liens, this is the one that I don't understand in terms of seniority.  I know that RE Estate and IRS taxes take precedence over any other types of liens, and would be my responsibility theoretically, but any idea what happens with the MassHealth lien when the property is sold at auction?

Hi @Mike Hurney  - you bring up a good point - I absolutely do need to get out there and witness an auction for my own knowledge gathering and to get a lay of the land at a RE auction.  I'm on BiggerPockets to learn from people that have already taken part in these types of transactions (and whatever hiccups were involved), and will supplement that information with my own experiences as I move forward.  So far, it seems like just about every Real Estate scenario is here on BP, it's just that some people are more willing to share than others!  My goal is always to educate myself at much as possible before jumping in to anything "in real life".

I know those were just 2 examples of people in your REIA, but I've already confirmed the building classifications with the assessor's office, and I'm working with a local foreclosure attorney/title company to do title searches to assess lien priorities and liabilities. As @Ann Bellamy said though, I do understand that the title status could change between the time the initial search is done and the time of closing, which I understand is a huge risk.  For my own education, what kinds of liens, etc. might show up "at the last minute"?  

The properties are vacant, so unless somebody moves back into these properties, should occupancy concern me?  Dumpsters in the driveways of the properties kind of tell the story I think, don't they?

One of the properties has a MassHealth lien on it - anything you can tell me about those?  

@Ron S. I've been emailing with the auctioneers, and they've been very responsive and one of them just told me most homes are financed after the bidding, and that very few are actually cash sales.  Has that not been your experience in MA?