All Forum Posts by: Mike Lynch

Hi,

My wife and I saw An REO home on Zillow and other sites located in South Carolina on the Intracoastal Waterway. We looked at it for a couple of weeks online. We drove out to the home and love the location. It is waterfront, 3008 sq ft, 4/4 and the home estimate on all of the sites / tax value is $340,000. The new empty lot beside of the home is for sale at $130,000. All of the homes beside of this home is valued at $300,000 to $450,000.

Here's the deal: Someone got mad and hit most of the walls with a hammer, broke a few windows and messed up the septic drain-field lines, by letting someone back over the yard with a huge truck or maybe tractor, who knows? So, people go to the home and see the holes in the walls and open septic tank that looks like a construction project and then just drive away.

Since I am a licensed Plumber, and tear out and repair walls daily, I can repair the drain-field lines, drywall, windows, paint the home, and do 90 percent of any repairs by myself. That's all I have ever done for 30 years. It will just take some sweat, tools, my tractor and trucks, but not a lot of money.

The home was $199,999 this past Tuesday. We put in an offer of $150,000 cash. When I woke up Friday morning the new price on Zillow and other sites was $147,999 and my agent told me that we need to put in a new higher offer fast because the cutoff will be 2:00 pm Friday evening, so I shot the offer up to $170,200. As I look today, right now, the home is still for sale on all of the websites and it says that they are taking offers. This is the first time that I have ever placed an offer on an REO. It seems more like I am buying an expensive lottery ticket and the cutoff time is not a real cutoff time at all. It is bluff, bluff, and more bluffing from the bank. Is this normal?

I mean, the home has a potential of maybe $340,000 from everything that I have been told, seen, and read. I bidded $170,200 thinking that all bidding will stop on 2:00 pm Friday, according to the bank, but it looks like the bidding is still going strong online. I have no idea how these REO's or the banks operate, do you? Why is it still for sale all over the internet today if bidding was supposed to be over already? Is this what all banks do?

Thanks!

Some of you are cracking me up? -- I am a Commercial Plumber / Inspector. As I look at it and see that metal pan on top of the tank, they are pooping in the pan and dumping it into the toilet. Not much poop is in the floor.

Things like this does happen to homes from time to time. Most of the time this is caused by gravity. If a sewer pump station stops pumping the poop up hill to the sewer plant, poop from an entire neighborhood can start flowing backwards and will take the path of least resistance. If they have an old backflow valve that is stuck open, due to rust or debris, thousands of gallons of poop can enter a home or several homes at one time like a huge mudslide. I have seen homes with 2 feet of poop from one end of the house to the other. -- The poop on the photo was more than likely caused by a faulty sewer pump, several apartment / condo units above it draining down, or bad backflow check valve. If the home did not have a backflow valve, it sure needed one and will need it big time! I am pretty sure that nobody kept pooping in that toilet as you don't see a bunch of paper, and they would have to be hovering above it standing up to make that kind of thing happen. -- Gravity is sometimes not your friend when it comes to sewer systems.

Thanks!

Well, I wish that it were that simple. Right now, with the slow economy and almost no new construction of homes, my wife and I make ends meet, with a tiny bit of savings. If we move to the farm up there in the sticks, there is nowhere for us to work.

I hate to sell the farm land. It has been in the family for about 300 years, but, and maybe I am super dumb, correct me if I am please. It seems like if I bought perhaps 5 rental mobile home properties for $50,000 each, that would be about $3000.00 per month of rent coming in here. Or, maybe I could buy a few flip homes? Heck, I don't know?

Another thing!

Since I have worked in construction for over 25 years, I can do all of the plumbing, painting, landscaping, some electrical, some carpentry, some roofing, etc. I am not great at all trades. With more real estate law and business knowledge, I think I can become a pretty good investor.

I looked into the bottled “spring water” option. There are a lot of start up costs and also competition with the major soft drink companies. ( Stainless steel tanks, trucks, advertising, bottles, labels, marketing, health department regs, etc. )

As I am an idiot when it comes to real estate, do you have to 1031 all at one time or over time? In other words, if I sell the property and try to get out of paying capitol gains tax, can I buy a property at a time, or do I have to try and do it all at one time in order not to pay capitol gains tax. Sorry for the dumb questions! -- I fix toilets for a living! J

Hi

I am a 45 year old licensed commercial plumber from North Carolina. I have my own plumbing business here near Holden Beach, NC and my Wife is a Graphic Artist / Sign Maker who also has her own business here. We do pretty good to save a little and pay the bills. New construction plumbing is very slow here due to no building going on. There are also too many illegal people working around here without being fined or removed by the Town Halls or NC plumbing board. I have called the Plumbing Board several times, with no help or corrective actions. So, plumbing for me is getting worse by the day! I would like to get out of it someday soon or at least in the next few years.

I own an old farm between Charlotte and Hickory, NC. ( No animals or crops anymore ) It was totally paid for many years ago. It was given to me when my Grandmother died. My mother lives there now, but will be moving here with us in a couple of months, due to health problems. The home was built in 1885. She called two realtors to look at the home. One was an appraiser, and one had been an appraiser in the past. They said that the entire package was worth about $300,000. They did not walk the property at all. Down behind the home is a natural spring producing about 2000 gallons of fresh water per day. Also there is about 500 yards of creek front property, that they did not see at all. The creek is about 40 feet wide and deep enough to swim in in some places.

How can they throw out a number without walking the property and seeing what it has to offer? There is nothing to compare it to anywhere around there. Nobody has that much creek front land and farmers around there say that it is some of the best farm land in the area, due to having so much water on the property.

Big Question! -- What should I do with it. Sell it, Farm it, Lease it, etc. Sell it and buy several homes to rent out or flip? I can't see my self as a farmer right now.

My goal: ---- To have as much retirement money as possible, of course!

What would you do with $300,000 / $350,000 worth of property to make the most possible money with the smallest amount of risk?

Thanks!

Here are some pics that were taken last week.

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