Would I just run down to the inspectors office and they will give me the permits and timeline for inspections and getting done on title?

I co-own a small starting construction development company emphasized in single family residential properties.

A home inspector can often identify potential problems that may not be visible to the untrained observer.Remember that homeowners insurance usually covers more than just the homesite.

In my market, I am buying so far under the cost of construction that the local builders can't compete.

My fun is in rehabbing properties - so far I've only held as rentals but would like to be able to acquire some properties that would make good flips as well.I have a background in construction and my brother is a general contractor - so I get some pretty good deals on vendors and materials (most of his vendors do work for high end home builders as well).For the last 10 years, I've also had my TX RE sales license but have not done too many deals utilizing it.

My thought, or hope, is that if the area is composed of good construction and a good location (by location I mean proximity to down town or some other place people need to be at-not locations as in "this is a nice neighborhood")then property prices will at least keep pace with inflation and probably do better if the area is currently depressed (undervalued).I am not going to wait for the profits from my first house to buy my next house.

I'm bumping this thread since I have the same questions because it's pretty common for people to enclose garages and/or sunrooms in my area and turn them into bedrooms.I think I understand the issues - might not pass inspection if not up to code, liability issues if inspector missed something, code enforcement issues if not propertly permitted...

Mechanical repairs IE Roofs, re-construction, electrical, Plumbing, ETC.3.

Again it could be a reasonable cost depending on what all they had to do.There are multiple issues here.1.Most of the items mentioned for repair should have shown up on an inspection of the property PRIOR to purchasing.In my mind if you didn't get a inspection from a 3RD party inspector not affiliated with the company selling you the property then these repairs are on you for not doing due diligence.2.The other component is that this property manager has their own crew.I don't like that one but and would never agree to it.Sometimes managers also get referral fees for giving business to skilled trades even if they don't have their own crew.The problem becomes then instead of getting the best rate they have to pad it a little to give back to the property manager for the referral.So either way I am sure the property manager is reaping a benefit monetarily from it.This way they make more than the lousy 50 to 60 bucks a month managing a property.This is why I am not a fan of "one off houses" in an area far away from where I live.This is why I like owning apartment buildings.I can find a full time highly trained manager easily and they use systems and programs to control cost and everything is documented.Since they only focus on management and are not a broker/agent doing transactions and then handling "rentals on the side" my properties get the focus they need to be ran properly.It just sounds like you purchased wrong and then on top of that have a property manager padding fees with the repairs.REO agents used to do this with banks.They wouldn't make much commission on selling the little dumpy houses so would have their company do the trashout,re-key,repairs and charge full market for it.Eventually the banks caught on and choosed their own company to perform tasks and only let the broker list the property for sale.Sometimes that works and other times it doesn't as the broker or manager is now dealing with outside parties they can't control saying work was completed properly and it wasn't.If you haven't had an inspection of the property I would do it now to see what all else might come up in the future so you can expect it and plan for it.

Also,you often may notice construction taking place in the area.