All Forum Posts by: Walt Payne

If they have been on the market for a year, that would seem to indicate that they are "over priced" to me.  Sure, the listings will say they are new listings, but they are just recycled listings where the deal fell through or nobody bought. They are disguising the long time on market in the hope of tricking someone into thinking it is a good deal. Sometimes it works, but there are a lot that I have been watching for 9-12 months that are still way too high and have not sold, and they are still refusing reasonable offers. 

And yes, there are some good buys, but they are few and far between.

@Cierra Seay  I wouldn't do that as a non-agent. You, as an agent, would be opening yourself to serious issues.

I've been seeing lots of them at retail, often priced as if they needed no repairs. And I don't mean the ones that the banks are rehabbing and listing way high. 

Not only that, after 2-3 months they pull the listing and then re-list them with no history. As if we are stupid enough to not recognize the same set of pics and the same address that has been on and off market for the past year. And when you make a reasonable offer it is as likely as not to be ignored or countered with a reduction of a few hundred dollars. 

1) Cancel property insurance

2) Cancel electric

3) Make dinner reservations

4) Check to make sure the check did not have a stop payment (happened Wed)

5) Allocate the money

Great blog post suggestion on avoiding competitor flagging, where most flagging comes from:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4240/blog_posts...

@Account Closed 

@John Thedford 

@Tom Schmoetzer  

Welcome to BP! I bought my first investment property at 57. I find that life has provided me with a much fuller toolbox than those starting at a young age. They have the advantage of time on their side, but we have experience that will save on some of the mistakes and help us make smarter decisions. Maybe not smarter decisions than them, but smarter than our younger selves would have made, lol.

Is either of those 401k plans a solo? If so, you can use that money to directly invest in RE or RE related investments. From what I have found so far I like the idea of the almost totally passive investments for those within the 401k, things like notes, tax liens, etc. If you don't have a solo 401K it is a great way to go, as it allows you control of where you invest. It also allows you to put a bigger chunk in, if you have enough income, and it allows you to put it in to a Roth plan so the earnings are tax free forever once you have the plan for 5 yrs. 

There are a number of RE related investments that can provide solid cash flow and good returns, and not all require being a landlord. I suggest you do lots of reading here and listening to podcasts.  Find out what fits your needs and personality best.

@Marcia Maynard  I like the idea of teaching them about shutoffs. One thing I have always done in my personal residences is add a bunch of shutoffs to allow isolation of a problem area so that leaks can usually be made less urgent, something to fix next weekend instead of in the middle of the night. Valves are cheap and easy to install.

@Joseph Tarallo  Lead paint that is peeling needs to be dealt with by an EPA certified contractor. That is federal, not state law. Painting over, when there is no peeling, is legal. Scraping or sanding by a non certified contractor, not legal. If you rent or sell and don't have a certified contractor do that work, you assume huge liabilities. 

From my understanding certification is pretty easy. Local paint stores often have the classes, and then you need to take a basic test. 

I agree with @Account Closed that although there may be unrelated reasons, when a seller is looking to get rid of a property at a significant discount there is always a reason. You need to be sure it isn't one that involves issues with the property. And establishing a price without even visiting the property is waaaayyy premature. 

@Corey Demuth It is important to also consider other factors. Is their ONLY shower clogged, or is it an inconvenience that they need to share a different shower. Is their ONLY toilet clogged ... etc.  Those things can be the difference between whether or not a judge will find that they were justified calling a plumber for $200 an hour emergency rates at your expense because you didn't fix it soon enough. And that is also part of the explanation that needs to be given tenants when briefing them on repair contacts. 

Not having any functioning showers, toilets, kitchen sink, etc could easily be interpreted as not being habitable. Same with refrigerators, HVAC, etc. But having to share one bathroom for a few days is an inconvenience and nothing more.