Knowing when to say NO!
I had an interesting morning looking at a home that had potential, but alas, was a real fixer with more than its share of problems. What a piece of work!
Mold.. and i am not talking about the green kind on food, this is toxic black mold — so much in fact, it looked like there was fire damage. There were signs of foundation problems so extensive that the upstairs slanted into a V formation. All the doors were not only open, but jammed.
Why is it so hard to just walk away from a deal? Every now and then you have to just say ” This one’s just not worth my time”.
Sometimes there are things that just need a little TLC and then there are those that just cannot be fixed. Carpet, roofs, foundations, siding, and even sheet-rock are some things that deter buyers from moving forward on a purchase. These issues can often times be addressed for very little cost, but I tend to look a bit deeper, delve more into the real problems.
Does the house your buying for investment have major foundation issues — i’m talking about the kind that has made the exterior buckle, roof to sag, and most importantly, damaged the plumbing. This is where your real problems are going to be and sometimes hardest to see and fix. Electrical will usually be another expense that can really run up the tab, so your certainly going to be needing an inspection on all and I mean ALL purchases.
Even the real pros know their limits. Gosh! I can’t think of a single investor that I know that would not turn down a really problem house if it wasn’t going to make a descent profit. We don’t work that way. We invest, therefor we are looking to make a nice profit. If the repairs are going to devour the profit, we move on.
Next time you walk into the house from hell — step back and breathe. Then ask yourself, “If I don’t buy this house, who will?” You will then know whether you can wholesale it to someone else, rehab it yourself, or run like a bat out of hell!
August 11th, 2008 at 4:22 am
The trend of reconstructing old buildings and turning them into tall towers is slowly catching up in Thane, Mumbai. Quite often, people are cheated by developers during this process due to their ignorance. Mr. Srinivas Ghaisas, a legal advisor from Thane, recently held a discussion with those attending the Aatre Katta session in Thane, where he recommended the following steps to avoid getting duped:
•When you decide to reconstruct the building, call an architect to survey the place and estimate the floors that can be increased and other technical details
•Go for tendering process while selecting a builder
•Shortlist the tender and inquire into information given by the builder in the tenders, most of the work mentioned by them in these tenders did not exist
He also added that, “Take a written offer from the builder and then decide your terms in the society meeting. If the builder is building an extra six floors, it is your right to enjoy some profit earned by the builder. Make your own development agreement and shortlist the demands. Decide which demands are negotiable and which demands are non-negotiable and which could be negotiated. Make a final agreement based on the offer given by the builder and the final demands put forth by you. When the builder knows that he is dealing with knowledge able people he will agree to most of the demands put forth by you.”For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com