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Showing posts with label pha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pha. Show all posts

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Do Your Due Diligence before Purchasing

You think you found the property you are going to make some money on but once you close on a property, responsibility for this asset becomes all yours, good and bad. In order to be a successful real estate investor you need to make sure you don't make any mistakes. If you do, it will be small one and easily forgotten when you cash your first check.

Below is a list of items you should be checking before you make an offer.

Due Diligence on Your First Deal

Duplex Kitchen before rehab in Wynwood Miami
Wynwood Duplex Kitchen before Rehab
  • Inspection
    • Upon Entering the property look for visual clues that indicate the current condition of the house.
    • Look for things that should be there but are not.
      • A bedroom without a closest. HUD would not consider this a bedroom.
    • Look for things that are there but shouldn't be.
      • A window inside the house that isn't an exterior window. Could be a porch that was closed in years ago.
    • Looks for points of failure
      • Connections: bathroom fixtures, underneath sinks....
      • Intersections: roof, ceilings and walls, walls and windows, floors and walls, water stains...
      • Windows and Doors: water leaks, holes, broken or cracked pains of glass, widows and doors open and close properly...
    • Black Mold - Indication of moisture buildup.
    • Termites - Big problems for us in Florida and Puerto Rico.
    • Asbestos - Probably present in older homes. Need to check for this.
    • Environmental Hazards - Underground oil tanks for heating, septic systems. Check the property history.
  • Comparables or Appraisal - Before purchasing the property see if you can get your hands on:
    • Recent property appraisal less than 90 days old. Ask the seller if he/she has a copy. Dania Beach Duplex rehab, number 36
      Dania Beach Duplex Rehab
    • Try to determine the After Repair Value ARV by getting three property comparables within a 1 mile radius and less than 90 days old.
    • Use the Maximum Allowable Offer MAO Calculation to help determine your purchase price.
  • Title Search - Make sure you use a Title Company that understands how investors think and work. Every Real Estate Investment Club can recommend one. You assume Tile companies know what they are doing but I have gotten burned many times due to Title Company mistakes. Make sure they check for:
    • Open Permits - This has caused us more problems when we go to SELL an asset in our portfolio. It is usually the BUYERS Title company that finds the mistake and causes delays with the closing. MAKE sure they check for Open Permits!
    • Liens and Violations - Make sure they check for pet violations (Pit Bull), water, city and county liens. Check:
      • The City where the property is located: City of Miami, etc.
      • The County: Dade, Broward, etc.
  • Taxes - Check to see if back taxes are owed. Usually the Seller pays the back taxes but it is good to know while you are negotiating terms and price before you make an offer.
    • Most tax records will indicate if the structure is legal or not.
      • If you see on the tax rolls the structure is listed as a 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and on the MLS it is listed as a 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms there maybe a problem with the investment property as being legal or not.
  • History - Most counties will have a history of the property since it was built. It will contain information about the property that can be used to determine what has been done legally with permits, liens, violations, former owners, etc.
  • Zoning - You must know the current zoning for the individual parcel of land and its existing structure. You need to know what is the permitted use and current usage. Knowing this information can help you with your rehabbing plans and exit strategy.
  • Survey - You may want to order a survey before purchasing to see if the investment property has any encroachment issues.

These are some of the items we look at before making any decision to BUY. As you gain experience a lot of these items will become second nature and you will be able to apply this knowledge to tweak your success as a real estate investor.

Do you have any tactics you apply before you purchase a property? We would love to hear from you. Write your comments in the comment field below.

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Written by +Bob Burns.
 
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Bob Burns at Bahama Beach Club Ft. MyersBringing It to the Beach Baby!
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Telephone #: 305-586-5280
email: sec8@planocho.com

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Did You Know a Section 8 or Plan Ocho
Voucher is Portable?

While interviewing April Johnson from Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA I heard the term "Portability" being used in our conversation. I was familiar with transferring vouchers but I never heard the term portability being used. I decided to ask her what exactly did this term mean.

April mentioned that any tenant that had a Section 8 Voucher in good standing, could live in the jurisdiction of a housing authority anywhere in the United States that is administering a tenant-based (Section 8 Voucher) program including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

But there are certain guidelines and facts that you must be aware of:

  • Don't take for granted that the rules are the same for each housing authority. Each PHA has its own rules, regulations and deadlines that you must follow.
  • Fair Market Rent limits or payment standards may be different for each Public Housing Office PHA. Remember they are calculated by Zip codes.
  • The utility allowance may be different and may affect the rent amount you pay. Florida utility bills are much higher than Puerto Rico. I know because I lived in both places.
  • Rental subsidy standards may be different. I can recall the differences in subsidy payments from Miami-Dade to Homestead Offices. These offices are in the same county.
  • The new housing authority will issue you a different voucher, which may change the size (number of bedrooms) that you maybe eligible for. I can't tell you how many times this issue would come up while discussing voucher transfers.
  • If you decided to transfer you have to re-verify your income and do a background check. One of my tenants was kick out of the program because her son, not her, was caught dealing drugs. You may open a can of worms for yourself.
  • If you are new to the Housing Choice Voucher Program, you may have a waiting period before you can transfer to another jurisdiction of a housing authority.
  • If you decide to use the portability option of your voucher, make sure you contact your home office to start the paper work. This may take a while so give yourself some time.
  • Oh yeah, you better have an idea of where you want to go! Your home office can't do much if you can't tell them where you are going. You may want to visit the new housing offices so you can get an idea what will be involved and GET contact information to present to your current HOME jurisdiction.
  • By moving you are going to incur changes in your cash flows; security deposit, rental down payment, different tax structure, cost of living changes, insurances, education, transportation...on and on and on.

What does "Portability" have to do with real estate investing you ask? Miami-Dade Florida is a popular destination for voucher transfers and can be another channel in your marketing efforts to get tenants into your rental properties.

Do you have any experience with Section 8 voucher transfers? If so, tell us about it in the comments area below!

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Written by +Bob Burns.
 
####
 
The caricature of Bob BurnsNo Fear Baby!
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Real Estate Investor
about.me/RobertKBurns
Telephone #: 305-586-5280
email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Miami Florida's Section 8 & Housing Authority Office Locations and Contact Information


You don't know how many phone calls we receive asking about Section 8 or Plan Ocho program managed by the Miami Dade Housing Authority MDHA in Miami, Florida. The callers have many questions concerning HUD's subsidized rental program.

The most common question is "Where are Miami-Dade's Section Eight offices and how can I contact them?" We decided to put together a list of Section 8 or Plan Ocho offices that provide help for families in distress for Miami-Dade County, Florida. There are also several satellite offices for different cities in the county.

See Below:

Section 8 Plan Ocho Office Locations & Contact Data
 
Florida's Section 8 Public Housing Agencies PHA Offices.
 
HHA - Hialeah Housing Authority
 
Homestead Housing Authority
 
Miami-Dade Housing Agency MDHA
 
Miami-Beach Housing Authority
 
Section Eight or Plan 8 Property Web Sites
 
Access Section 8 Property Web Sites 
Go Section 8, Social Serve, Florida Housing Search
 
Written by +Bob Burns.
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Telephone #: 305-300-6242
email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com
MREIA's Web Page: www.miamireia.com
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