All Forum Posts by: Westen Newman

@Kenneth Mooney It's one of the biggest real estate firms in the South so they certainly should be experienced and have proper procedures. I'm not trying to call anyone out or smear them so I will leave it at that.

@Kenneth Mooney

I agree that it's likely a southern thing, in my one year living in Nashville it was stunning how slow business moved compared to what I was used to. If it ends up only a one month turnaround I will be happy. However, it's already the 21st with carpet and paint set to be completed on the 23rd. With no marketing so far I'm worried that I will not have someone in by the 1st which will then likely delay getting a tenant for another month.

@James Wise

I guess I'm just not seeing the benefit to me. It's great for the management company that they have lots of properties and are making lots of money. To me, it feels like a busy restaurant with bad service. It's great for the restaurant that they're so busy but why should I feel good about it when my service is lacking? Back to my situation, in the six years I've been with this company I've never had a tenant last more than two years. Am I really getting higher quality tenants? Is the money I'm losing from unoccupied months worth the theoretical money I'm saving from higher quality tenants? If I don't get someone in by November 1, then it is likely I will have to wait until December for a tenant. Two months is a lot of time and money. I don't have the benefit of economies of scale, yet, so I'm just trying to maintain as much profit as I can. Most of these questions are rhetorical, I'm just typing out loud to make sense of it all.

I have a townhome in Nashville, TN that is managed by a company. Tenant moved out Oct. 1st. It took two weeks to get a quote on carpet and painting and my management company refuses to market the property until everything is done. They have fought me before on this but I was previously able to command them to go ahead and market the property. At this rate, I will not have a new tenant by Nov. 1st and will continue losing money. Is this normal? I feel like when I used to rent apartments landlords would be showing my unit before I moved out. I'm also not in TN right now so I don't have the time or money to fire this company and get a new one. Thoughts?

FINAL UPDATE: The survey was a disaster so we withdrew. There was a significant encroachment on one side next to a vacant lot that would be starting construction relatively soon. There was also an encroachment at the front of the house where the actual steps to the door were on the "sidewalk" that belonged to the City of New Orleans. On to the next one I suppose.

Update: The seller is paying for a new survey. They opted to have it done on the 14th (we were supposed to close on the 17th). We're trying to get them to do it sooner to give us time to figure out if there are any issues but who knows. If we do decide to close, it will likely get pushed back. Luckily, I booked a flight out to New Orleans for three weeks to give me a chance to do some of the rehab (very minor stuff) so a delayed closing will be doable. I just hope I don't incur any extra costs locking the interest rate longer and related things. 

Of course, if I fly out and then we withdraw things are going to be interesting. I was planning on crashing on a friend's couch for the couple days before closing and then living in the new property for the remaining time. She might not be too happy about the extended stay. Guess I'll be getting a rather long vacation if things don't work out.

I think this all still counts as part of the inspection/due diligence period so it's relatively simultaneous, it just always happens in my experience that the inspection occurs before the title company finishes their business.

We're probably going to withdraw if they don't resolve this encroachment/boundary issue. There isn't a lot of land to begin with. Six inches to a foot of encroachment would be disastrous. I'll keep everyone posted as to how this works out. 

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice and warm welcome. To answer your question Amit, it's just kinda how life has presented itself to me. I bought my first property (Nashville) when my gf (now wife) was going to go to law school at Vanderbilt. It was a pleasant sticker shock (especially compared to southern California where I grew up) so I decided to burn my FHA loan on a ridiculous deal on a new construction townhome. She transferred back to UCLA Law and I found employment in San Diego so, with help, I bought a condo there. Now I might be going to law school at Tulane so we found a house worth buying there. So far so good with no major issues, just minor annoyance here and there.

 Why would I have spent the money on a survey before making an offer? I'm not trying to be rude it's an honest question. In my experience I've gone offer-inspection-title. 

The seller is much more motivated to sell than I am to buy so I think I'll be able to get it out of him. I've already been informed that the seller is reaching out to the title company they used when they purchased the property to see why these documents are missing. Shouldn't it be on them though? If I cut and run they will still have this problem on their hands so it feels more like their responsibility.

It sounds like I had the right idea to start but it feels good to know that other people agree. Thanks everyone for the responses so far. 

I am supposed to be closing on a property in about two weeks (April 17th). About a week ago the title company messaged me to let me know that they couldn't find a boundary survey for the property but they did find mention of an encroachment (probably my property's fault) and they recommended getting a new survey done ($700 at most). I told my agent to tell the seller to either pay for the survey or find me the relevant documents since I feel as though this is on them (no resolution yet). This is my first property involving land (I'm used to condos) so any advice would be appreciated. Is there anything else I should be doing right now? How worried should I be about an encroachment? What have your experiences been with an encroachment? Thank you in advance for any assistance.