All Forum Posts by: Ed L.

Be sure to use postlets to get your property on Zillow rental and trulia.  It's free and the quality of tenant shopping online vs yard signs is astounding based on my experience. 

I had 3 homes turnover and filled with new tenants this past weekend in what is usually the slowest time of the year  

Granite ftw.   It looks great, inexpensive, durable, and increases marketability and rent.  

My last job using 3cm granite was $750 including labor, material, and undemount sink.  Small kitchen but still Formica would have ran at least $500 including the sink.  Ceramic would have been about $500 also. Neither look as good or offer the benefits of granite.  

Geez that sucks… Did you get a 2nd opinion?  A lot of times those old units will keep chugging along almost indefinitely with minor component replacement if the hvac tech properly troubleshoots the problem.   I had one unit that was a chronic PITA until I finally found the right tech to properly diagnose and resolve the issue.  Prior to finding this tech I was constantly having recurring issues and service call fees.  It's pretty frustrating to say the least.

But yes the moral of the story is very sound.  Eventually there is going to be major unavoidable expenses with owning any structure.  I'm about to be sinking $12,000 into connecting to a public sewer line after my septic system failed at my office building.  I've spent the past 5 years fixing more problems on that building than I care to recall.  HVAC, Water sealing, plumbing, etc…  Still has been a great investment that has more than paid it's own way while providing a free place to run my business.  Had I paid retail price for the property it would have been a very different story.

I'm a big fan of homes in this price range.  

They typically are heavily discounted due to the need for major mechanical systems needing repaired or replacement.  

The end result is a very small investment with homes that have new roofs, hvac systems, appliances, etc.  I'd rather buy cheap and have reputable contractors put in new quality equipment than buy average properties that are functional but I have no idea the maintenance or service life left in these major systems.  

Of course none of that matters if you are buying in war zones where decent renters are unobtainable. Buying cheap properties without knowing the area can be pretty risky.  

Really like this this topic.

Has anyone used this peel n stick vinyl from Lowes?  Looks really nice in person and at $1.18 per sq/ft it's dirt cheap to buy and install.  

What I'm doing on my current remodel to reduce future maintenance.  

Had to buy cabinets due to PO removing the existing ones.  Went with solid wood cabinets over prefab.  Cost was $3,500.00.  About a grand more in total but the cabinet shop paints and installs.  I hate the look of the prefabs and worried about being able to find replacement doors, shelves, etc....

Plan on installing granite in the kitchen.  $1,600 includes the sink and install.  Again could have saved $800 by going with tile but grout is impossible to keep clean in a kitchen.

Vinyl flooring throughout.  Cheapest and most durable option I can think of.

Old HVAC was toast.  New 3.5 ton 14 seer HP system was $3,300.  Slowly phasing out the gas units in my other rentals as they die.  Unless other systems use gas the tenants will shut off the gas during the summer.  Some don't even use it during our fairly mild winters and it ends up being a PIA dealing with the gas company for a reconnect.  Pressure test/leaks/service from the unit sitting unused.  

If the roof needs replacing always opt for the lifetime architectural shingles with streak guard.  

Try to use the same beige color scheme on the interiors so touchup is simple.  

I try not to supply extra appliances.  Stove, Fridge, and that's it.  

Plan on installing LED bulbs in most of the fixtures from here on out.  They never go out and will hopefully prevent the tenant from messing with the fixtures.  

Install drain pans under the HW heaters.

This is a constant battle I let my wife handle. It's a full time job just threatening to leave these big companies because they keep trying to raise rates.   

Comcast is constantly trying to up their rates.  We have the uber everything package at home and it was up around $220 per month.  Wifey got fed up with the rate increases and managed to haggle them down to $160 for 2 years.  I had her do the same thing for my parents and sister.  She lowered their bills, and drastically expanded their programming and hardware.  Customer retention rocks!

Shes does the same with waste management, power company, water company, verizon, xm radio, advertisers, credit card companies, insurance, etc etc   

Sometimes she wins others she loses   

Here in Hattiesburg, ms you can pick up several newish duplexes for approx $135,000.  They rent anywhere from $650-$750 per side.   

I see resale being a pretty big concern    There are numerous duplexes on our Mls that have been lingering on the market for over a year with no takers   

My take on it is I can purchase a pretty decent single family home for $135,000   It will rent for right around 1% so $1,350 per month for sfr vs $1,300 for a duplex   

Just doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense to buy a duplex in this market   Twice the tenants to hassle with   Much harder to resell   Much more likely to have price appreciation with sfr...   Most of the duplexes in our market also tend to be in rental developments which are pretty undesirable for resale and leasing   

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out some of the logic in these post.   

From what I'm gathering some are suggesting to convince the seller to owner finance the property via a assignable contract for deed.  The kicker being the house won't rent for enough to cover the lease purchase payment.  So therefore the current owner is going to agree to stay on the hook for the mortgage and the balance of the negative cash flow the house is generating.  

So lemme get this straight.  Me the seller is going to move out and give some stranger control of my house.  I'm going to stay on the note and destroy my dti and ability to buy another home.  At the same time I'm going to keep paying $300 per month for however long.  

Now the wholesaler has control of the property and assigned the contract for deed to another random individual that now has complete control over my home.  They can paint it pink,  start a puppy farm in the master bedroom, and completely destroy the home because they essentially own it at this point. 

The wholesaler skimmed his profit off the end buyers down payment and now he's gone I'm guessing or at least he think he gone.   

Just think of all the ways this can go wrong and the liability dealing like this crates.

what happens to the end buyer when the original owner quits paying his mortgage and goes bankrupt?

What happens to the original owner when/if the end buyer quits making his payments and trashes the place?  I've seen a family with kids and indoor pets do 100k in damage to a house in just two years.  

I may be missing something obvious but it just seems doing a deal like this puts all parties involved at a huge risk.  

I welcome a rebuttal or explanation if I'm missing something.  

as a buyers agent in my Mls we typically only make 2.4%.   Listing broker gets 3.6

Just a bit of what I do as a buyers agent.  

Constantly monitor the market based on your criteria.  I check the hot sheets on average 3 times a day for new listings, expired, pending, closed, price reductions, fall through, etc.  I know the market inside and out. 

Drive all over creation showing houses.  Get covered in flees going in foreclosures, chased by dogs, etc.  

As a buyers agent in not trying to sell you anything in particular.  I'm trying to find what you want.  So there's no pressure sales like dealing with a listing agent.  

I sacrifice my afternoons, weekends, holidays, etc to be available for my clients needs.  Try scheduling 10 different showings with 10 different listing agents.  It's a pita trying to coordinate with multiple people.  

Assist in evaluating the subject property, research comps and help determine a realistic offer price and arv.  

Draft said offer and do my best to protect my client and limit their exposure.  Hustle documents back and forth making sure everything is handled in a professional and timely manner. 

Hold your deposit in my brokerage account vs giving it to some random entity.  

Provide references for home inspectors, contractors, financiers, title attorneys, etc.  I'm dealing with this every day so I know who to work with and who to avoid.  

I coordinate and meet with all of the above to make sure things are moving along as planned.  

If everything works out I get paid at the end of the deal.  If not I did all of the above for free and that's just part of it.  

use a $100,000 house.   That's a $2,400 commission.  40% goes to the brokerage to cover overhead, staff, office lease, advertising, supplies, licensing fees, e&o, etc.  

So thats$1,440 to the agent for probably 3 months minimum work.  To you the buyer it doesn't cost a thing.  It's the best deal in real estate.  Obviously not all agents are willing to put in the same effort but I like to think the better ones earn their keep.  

I never understood this aspect of wholesaling.   This is a common question on bp.. "I found someone wanting to sell a house!!!  They want full retail for it??  What do I do???  Someone wanting to sell doesn't equal a deal.  Especially a wholesale deal.  

There are thousands of homes listed for sale on the Mls for retail pricing.   I'm sure of those thousands probably 50% have a considerable amount of equity.  Of the 50% probably 10% are very motivated to sale and would give up said equity for a quick sale.   

So the question is why devote a considerable amount of time and energy bothering with a deal like this?  

My advice would be build a relationship with a local realtor.  Send these retail sellers to the agent and hopefully he/she can help them out and squeak in a commission on the deal.   In return hopefully said agent will alert you when a real deal comes along.