All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Originally posted by Dolores Ruiz:

Last night I got a call from my partner and he is telling me that the realtor needs a copy of my Articles of Incorporations so she could get our deposit back.

This makes absolutely no sense. They didn't require the articles to enter into a purchase contract, why are they now wanting them? FWIW, if they really want them they can get them from the state.

They can't obligate your company on a loan unless an officer of your company, with the appropriate authority, either signs the closing documents or signed a valid power of attorney allowing them to do so.

Who is handling the closing? I would contact them and ask specifically why the need the articles.

And he was a great guy too, all the little kids all the way up through the teenagers really respected him and liked him. If a parent was missing their son, this was the place to look first.

Originally posted by Damien Hall:

How would I go about determining replacement cost? I heard this method can be quite extensive.

Yeah, if you needed an exact number it would be. Call your insurance agent and ask him what he would recommend as a ballpark coverage for the structure. He or she should know the approximate cost per square foot to replace the structures in the complex. You aren't looking for the exact number just something in the ballpark.


Well, to be honest you kind of are pulling it out of the air.

Typically, as you know, with apartments the seller/broker gives proforma numbers, we as investors say, okay but I need operational numbers. Then we make an offer get it under contract and then ask the seller to prove it in the due diligence process.

But, they have no proof because there are no operating numbers on the property. Again, it is a failed business endeavor. The process I described, btw, is what your lender will do to guesstimate the value for the loan and any appraisal will have a big old disclaimer as to any notion of accuracy because, well, there is no proof.

Those are all very good but going back even further...

Alexander the Great

He acquired all the land in his known world at the time.

Do not use proforma statements.

If it is a nice area, why has it been vacant for 8 years? The obvious followup question is why do you think you will be able to get tenants if the current owner can't?

Without operating statements you are left making an educated series of guesses to arrive at a number representing your risk in the purchase.

With every single step you take in this always remember you are buying a failed business. This business has no income and a lot of work and money will be expended on the rehab. Then you are going to have to market the heck out of it. A lot of challenges but tremendous opportunity.

Here is how I would approach it. I would try to determine the replacement value, that number will be the highest end of the range. Next, look at the comparables of complexes near yours. About the only metric you can use without totally driving yourself nuts with analysis would be cost per rentable square foot based on the last sales data. From that you can figure out the lower bound. Then I would take some number in between, cut it in half and deduct the estimated rehab costs. I would use that number to start my negotiations but I would be very careful about going too much above that number.

It's like the cattlemen verses the sheepmen of the old west.

There are advantages and disadvantages to section 8 participation just like everything else. One major advantage is you know you are going to get at least part of the rent each and every month.

However, these are all run locally and the standards, responsiveness to landlord concerns and issues varies widely from place to place.

I don't have any section 8 tenants. I do know landlords who do and some think the program is great and others complain endlessly about it but feel trapped because the property has a "section 8" reputation. You gotta just love small towns. :D

You must agree to a one year lease and some places force you to accept an automatic renewal for as long as the tenant wants to stay and does not violate the terms and conditions of the program. The areas requiring auto renewals usually cap any rent increases you can impose. I have a very good friend who did section 8 rentals. In his areas auto renewals were required. He had two properties where the tenants just stayed year after year. They paid their rent, but while his property taxes collected by the county were increasing 20% a year, he was only allowed to increase the rents by 2% per year. When he finally did get out of the program he swore, "never again".

On the other side of that coin, I know someone in TN who has had a good experience with the section 8 program and some of her rentals.

Just like everything else with real estate, it is all local.

Percentage of rentals in an area is a metric tracked by the Census department. Banks, insurance companies and appraisers all buy access to databases from a firm who aggregates the census data with other data to get a pretty good picture of the rental percentage in an area. The larger the area, the more accurate the statistical model. For example, their model may 'predict' you have three rentals on your street but you know all of your neighbors and there aren't any. But, by the time you look at a larger area like a neighborhood or group of connected neighborhoods the models are close enough for accurate risk decisions to be made.

Originally posted by P Nw:

Not any more.

I used to put 50 rounds through a revolver once a week, and I was darn good with draw and shoot,but that was a job skill and I never concidered it to be fun.

I've got revolvers, a carbine, and hunting rifles, but I do my hunting nowadays with a camera.

I've got nothing against eating wild game, however, if anyone wants to send me a haunch of venison or a brace of wild duck.

I've never had to do it as part of my job but I have had a conceal carry permit since 1984. Since I have decided to always carry where legal, I feel it is my responsibility to be able to handle my weapon safely and effectively.

I have never had to fire my weapon to protect myself but I have drawn it and in that instant I realized two things. First, I would have absolutely no problem pulling the trigger if needed. Second, I knew I would always be calm enough to know when that moment came.

I have a revolver that belonged to my grandfather but I don't shoot it very often. It's not a collectors piece or anything I am just partial to my Glock 19, I used to carry the 17 but the 19 is a little smaller and that helps with the conceal part especially in the summer. :cool:

Originally posted by DestinationHB:

I hope you don't mind a female responding to this post...

I used to shoot competitively as well. My father was a Class B Coach, and was working for the Olympic organization when he passed away. These days my 17 year old son shoots more than I do as a part of the NRA Junior Gun Club, but I do get out on the range for the "after meet" free shoots. Last month I tried an AR15 for the first time. You could pick fleas off a whisker with that thing....but my first love will always be a sweet little .38 SAA Colt. Gotta love the Peacemaker. My son has an Enfield Mark 1.

When I was in high school there was a gunsmith who lived in our neighborhood who handcrafted the rifles used by the US teams in the Olympics. He had lots of high profile, well known clients. He had a shop built in his backyard the size of many houses and it had everything he needed to start with raw hardened steel stock various woods and build a complete weapon. For the shooting teams, he provided a complete spare parts kit to go with rifle. About the only thing he did not physically make in his shop were the springs, everything else he did.

He was a great guy to know. One Saturday morning we were heading out with our ski boat and found a bolt holding the outboard motor had sheered off. About a half hour later he showed up with a replacement. I'm sure everything else on that boat has long rusted or broken by now, but I'd bet serious money that bolt is still in great shape.