All Forum Posts by: Tom Fidrych

Often(but not always) these neglected homes are owned by an elderly individual in an assisted care facility. It is often too difficult emotionally or mentally exhausting to give up their previous home. I would draft a letter identifying yourself as a concerned neighbor. Praise the good attributes of the home but respectfully express your concern for the current condition and ask if there is some help you can offer. That could be scheduling yard maintenance and such. If you can develop trust they may eventually sell it to you.

I'd start by getting 3 or more insurance quotes to see if there is a better price. I believe you can have up to 4 residential units before a commercial policy is required. If the city will allow you to convert it into a residential unit and you could pull it off for $8,000, there might be a reasonable return on investment.

Combining a fault line with steep hillside seems like a no go to me. Reason being is there will be a lot of geotechnical engineering involved and you will need to spend money having holes drilled to characterize the soil and then have engineered plans drawn up. Engineered plans will need to address earth movement and landslide potential. This will cost you tens of thousands before you even send the plans out for bid. So you may spend a lot of money before even realizing the project doesn't pencil.  Perhaps have a meeting with a soils company to discuss your idea and get an range estimate of pre-development costs.

The proximity of the fault line will effect the buyer too as a 15' proximity to the fault line will boost their earthquake insurance cost.

The smell could be drifting in from somewhere else or perhaps someone is growing in the vicinity. I was at the beach with my kids lately and it's surprising how far the smoke can drift as it smelled like someone was smoking 10' away but they were quite a distance when I ID the source.

The California "Fair Plan" is underwriting. 
In many wildfire areas, that will be your only option.  The Fair Plan will cover the wildfire risk. You will need to have another company write a wrap around plan for the rest of the coverage.

I've bought a few fsbo's and it isn't that difficult if you know what you are doing. In fact, you are more likely to advocate for yourself than an agent that is trying to make a commission.
NOLO press has a book regarding the topic specific to California.
https://store.nolo.com/products/how-to-buy-a-house-in-califo...

Hi John,

I'd only undertake the project if you can get zoning and the proposed unit approved by the local planning department. I'd go to the planning office and let them know what you are intending to do and how that meshes with zoning.

Since it is in a basement, there are potential egress issues to overcome not to mention water issues and you would be surprised how quickly $50,000 can be used in today's inflationary environment.

Before you tell the county that you have a duplex and you want to split the utilities, confirm that they recognize it as a duplex and it is not an illegal conversion. I had an offer in on a 2 unit that had one meter and when I went to the county to verify that it was a 2 unit, they red tagged it.

If they do recognize it as a 2 unit, best to get at least 3 bids from licensed electricians.

If you offer the rent below market, you will get a ton of inquires so you are best to list at market-not low. The number of inquires implies you have it priced too low.  You may be better off hiring a property manager to get market rate for it and have a criteria that is in line with state law.

Could you restate the rent to income ratio as there seems to be a typo?

I would just walk from the deal. It will be more work that it's worth to get the permitting in order. Let the flipper do that and relist it. I personally shy away from flips as the workmanship is often poor.

As Bob Stevens mentioned, your agent is not a part of your team.