Monthly Archives: August 2019

Possible home buyer taking pictures of neighbors house???

I am in the process of selling my home. It’s quite small – around 900 square foot house on a .2 acre lot. We have made many upgrades to our house and I would like to think it looks quite nice. The down side: directly across the street is a large house that is not maintained well at all. Neighbors mow 1x per month, lots of stuff/junk on the porch, a junk car tucked into the weeds, etc. I was outside watering my flowers this morning when two men stop and ask some basic questions about my home: lot size, days on the market, etc. they state that they are looking for a weekend home (I’m about 100 miles outside of NYC so that’s very common in my area). Several hours later these same people return except they get out of the car quickly and using a professional/semi-professional camera take several pictures of the dilapidated house across the street and drive away. Anyone have any idea why they would be taking these pictures? Note: we have had two buyers rescind offers after seeing the neighboring house on later visits. I’m very anxious first-time home seller so I may be reading too much into it but I’ve been trying to read the scenario all day in my head.

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Rant: Difficulty getting pre approved for a loan.

People act like they've never heard of a travel nurse. My pay is $20/hr with about $850 in tax free stipends per week. ONE week of stipends covers both my tax home and my rental in my current city where I'm working for the entire month. Not counting retirement I can save $2,000 a month. I've never had a lapse in work in my entire adult life, except for a week or 2 here or there in between contracts when I was back home or on vacation. My credit score in in the top 2%. I have no student loans, only debt is a couple thousand on a car loan with the next payment due August 2022 because I'm so far ahead.

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I've now had 2 companies that came recommended, one swore they were used to weird situations, it's been almost a week and I still can't get a simple yes or no on whether I'd be approved and for what amount. It's a holiday weekend so maybe we'll hear back on Tuesday at the earliest. I can throw a rock in any direction and hit an open nursing job in the city I chose to move to. The main hospital is offering a $10,000 sign on bonus. I have to be one of the lowest risks to give a loan but people can't seem to grasp how travel nursing works.

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Ceiling shows slight water damage at drywall seam. Owner says he spilled bucket of water upstairs…

So I’m looking to buy my first place and for context, this property is only like 7 years old. It appears well built, etc.

So I noticed the ceiling in only one spot has signs of light brown water damage that caused the drywall crack along a joint. It’s really not bad and can probably be fixed without a patch. It’s just looks like it’s cracking where the drywall tape would be. It’s only slightly discolored. I checked and there is a bathroom above this crack.

I mentioned it to the real estate agent and she spoke to the owner and he says in the bathroom he spilled a bucket of water or something. I have to double check but the water may have sat for a while before it was dealt with, if it all.

Now, I could see this being possible. But it’s also definitely possible in a newer construction house, that someone nailed something into the wall and hit a pipe. The nail initially seals the pipe so you don’t notice until seal goes away and you get a leak. So maybe the owner is full of it. But maybe not.

I do love the place. This is the only thing about it that has me worried. The drywall seam will be fixed before it’s sold, and if it was just a bucket of water then no big deal. But if there is a small leak it will just crack again, and probably worse the second time around. And water can cause other problems too obviously.

I’m wondering where I should go from here. Any advice?

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no disclosure

Just bought a home and found out that the home had a pool which with some investigation did not have a permit but also the pool was filled in with dirt also without a permit. Since this was not disclosed in the sale what should I do. How do I know if these will turn bad later on. What steps should I take.

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August Monthly Breakdown from a retired real estate investor

To see the previous month, please refer to this link https://www.reddit.com/r/realestateinvesting/comments/ck9qm6/monthly_budget_breakdown_from_a_retired_real/

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A whole lot of stuff happened this month, so I'll do my best not to turn this into a novel. Bought a new investement property for myself, and I'm currently working with 2 out of state investors to help them get their first cash flowing rentals in my area. Both of those deals should close next month.

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Okay, now for the numbers.

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Business Income, Investments, and Expenses

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1) Real Estate

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Gross Rental Business income – $18,000 (no vacancies, 2 were filled at the beginning of the month, this also includes a down payment of $6,625 for a property I'm selling as a rent to own)

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Net rental business income – $4,025 (Huge expenses this month! Had to dig out a sewer line all the way from house to alley on a house with a big back yard. That was about $4k. Also had to pay income taxes for 2018, which came to a little over $7k…also had a several minor repairs and had to pay for a dumpster/cleanup/repairs afer a long term tenant left us with a big mess after several years of accumulation. Luckily my crew was on top of things and we were able to do the needed work and already have it rented again. Still, had a total of almost $14k in business expenses this month!!)

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One new investment property purchase as outlined here https://www.reddit.com/r/realestateinvesting/comments/cqadg8/new_deal_breakdown_on_hall_st/

My total purchase price was $16,170…renovations will start early next month. Renovation costs will be on next months breakdown.

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Hard money loan outstanding on a flip project in Los Angeles – $50,000 (project is complete, just waiting for it to sell. Finally had some offers come in late this month, so we are expecting to finally get this thing off the books next month and get that money back…hopefully with a little profit)

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2) Investments

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Monthly investment into Fundrise $2,000 (all returns are being reinvested)

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Monthly investment into Dividend Stock account $2000, all dividends are being reinvested

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Monthly investment into Leveraged Stock account $2000

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Monthly investment into Money Market account $3000. Currently getting 2% interest.

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The balance will stay in the checking account.

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3) Possible deal on the table for upcoming month

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I am working with 2 out of state investors to help them purchase a couple of duplexes. Hopefully both of those deals will close next month.

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PERSONAL EXPENSES

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Personal expenses for the month (everything except property taxes, which will be a one time expense when paid) I'm sure this is confusing for some people, but I'll explain the low numbers on personal spending. 1) I own my house outright 2) I own my cars outright and only carry liability insurance 3) I self insure for all other insurance 4) I'm just really frugal by nature which includes cooking at home, walking most places within a 3 mile radius, not going out often, etc

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The goal here is to spend less than $800 a month.

$905 total

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Breakdown:(all cost rounded up to nearest $5)

Car insurance $60

Gasoline for cars $0

Cable $70

Water/sewer/trash $60

Gas (heat) $30

Electric $70

Cell phone $35

Food $150

Entertainment $70

Misc (one time purchase of electronic devices $60)

Averaged 3 month Medical expense $100

Averaged 6 month truck purchase cost $200

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Not happy I went over budget here. Everything was looking fine until I blew the amp for my home theatre subwoofers. That was a very expensive amp, so a direct replacement wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Luckily I had a backup amp I could use, but I needed a few things to make the conversion work so ended up spending $60 on Parts Express to get everything. I also had a much higher food and entertainment budget than normal since I did a little entertaining this month. And of course, what really blew my budget was the two expenses carried forward from previous months. That $300 really ruined my budget this month. To see the details of why those are accounted for that way, see the previous month breakdown.

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OTHER

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Misc. income

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Payment for truck sold to handyman $100

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Total $100

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Grey area accounting.

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Most of the Grey area is already above. The big one this month are the new property purchase. Should that be counted against the rental income as a rental expense? Maybe, I don't know. So it got its own category. The funds for that came out of the bank account and a small transfer from my money market.

I guess the income taxes are a bit of a grey area too. Since they are based on the business, I accounted for them as a one time business expense against the monthly rental income.

On the personal side, deciding to account for the truck purchase I made for my handyman as a personal expense came back to bite me in arse. Oh well, at least I got $100 this month in misc. income from it! Lol. I can't complain too much. Even with all the craziness from this month I didn't blow the goal budget by too much.

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Okay, that it is. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this. I know this covers more than just real estate or personal finance, but hopefully members of multiple communities will find it useful.

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Anyone enrolled in Teachers or Nurses Next Door? They’re down payment assistance/grant programs (US).

Just curious. They offer grants to teachers, nurses, doctors, firefighters, etc. They have a free program (where they send you leads & take 10% of your commission), a preferred agent program ($50/ month where they send you leads in specific zip codes and take 5% of your commission). Wondering if anyone's tried it and has feedback. Thanks.

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Third Party Basement Voids Warranty?

Hello r/realestate!

I'm considering a new construction in Maryland and thinking about getting a finished basement. The sales dude highly encouraged it (shocker, right?!), adding that leaving it unfinished and having it done later by a third party could void the warranty (this home builder's warranty is only one year anyway). Is there any truth to that comment? Does that make sense? 

I know we wouldn't be the only home in the community without a finished basement and at the price the builder is asking for it, it's a quick pass.

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