All Forum Posts by: Suzanne A.

Hi!!! You sound like me, haha.  I second Dundalk, I found some good deals there and good rehab opportunities.  I'm closing on one this Friday!  Good luck!

Thank you so much.  I will take a look inside, see what the state of it is and do some more research. 

Not sure exactly what's going on here with these air leaks, but can I just tape over these spots with foil HVAC tape?  Just wanted to check before I call an HVAC person to evaluate.  This is in a house I'm under contract for.  Just another thing on a very long list of repairs so trying to keep my costs down.  

There are a quite a lot more leaky spots than what is pictured.

Thanks very much!

Awesome, thank you for the recommendation!

Hi all- Under contract for a property, had the home inspection and need some work done on roof and basement waterproofing.  I called a guy but he hasn't called me back yet.  Anyone have a recommendation for a roofing and/or basement waterproofing professional in the Baltimore Maryland area?

Thanks in advance!

Thank you @Ian Barnes for the heads up about the garbage can!

@Chris Seveney and @Pat L. thank you for replying.  I intend to do everything to the letter of the law, and as part of the sales contract, we are doing the full lead inspection with X-ray fluorescence, and any remediation that needs to be done.  The seller has conceded to pay for it, since she knows she was negligent in not getting it done.  Not only that, but the selling agent is the one who got the tenants in there without any lead tests, disclosures, or registering the property with the county.  They could have been hit with some very large fines.

It sounds to me that although I would not be liable for any previous tenants' lead poisoning, I could still be sued by them since anyone can sue anyone for anything. 

All things considered, I think the risk would be small of this happening.  The lawyer suggested having the sellers sign an indemnity agreement, but I'm not sure they'd sign it, and also wouldn't stop anyone from suing me.

I spoke to the lawyer today and he said the chance would be small, but he can't tell me I couldn't be sued.  I could have the seller sign an indemnity agreement, or find the tenants and get them to sign a waiver or get them tested.  The Maryland Dep't of the Environment won't tell me anything.  Basically I can't get a straight answer from anyone and I keep getting bounced around.

My lender quoted me high 4's and low 5's for investor loan with credit in the 800's.  She said she expects rates to get up to 7-8% :(  

I'm under contract for a house that has lower taxes and no ground rent (ground rent is common in the area).  The $40 a month helps offset the rate.  

Hi everyone.  I'm currently under contract for a house in Baltimore County.  It was built in 1955.  The current owner rented the house after she moved out but did NOT get it tested for lead and did NOT register the house with the county, both of which are against the law.  She had a family living there (presumably with kids but haven't gotten a straight answer on that yet).

My agent brought up the point that theoretically, if any of the kids that lived there have problems with lead, they can come after the property owner, which would be me.  It would be easy to prove that I was not the property owner at the time of the lead poisoning, but would I still be liable for any part of this?  I know I need to talk to an attorney but I wanted to be as educated as I can be before I do that.

Anyone have any insights to this?