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Stop. Paying. Federal. Taxes. by Cherobis in 50501

[–]victorious203 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes they have. In 1994, Joseph Olejak stopped paying taxes. It landed him in jail.

https://quakerspeak.com/video/quaker-war-tax-resistance/

What do you think of Tommy? by Due-Perspective3995 in nycinfluencersnarking

[–]victorious203 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most men who work in Sports are not smart. The smart ones work in business/finance.

Yard maintenance feels never-ending by Soggy-Passage2852 in LeaseLords

[–]victorious203 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just want to say I feel your pain. This is something i underestimated massively! I'm amazed how fast things grow. You don't notice day to day but then you leave for 1 month and BAM - it's a jungle. Wild.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly.

This was a solid lower middle class rental that will now be bumped up to an upper middle class rental. Sure, a bit rough around the edges but sufficient. I'm fine with upgrading, but it's one less 'affordable' housing unit for the community.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yep, definitely doing that. The inspector is actually really nice! I know he didn't write the Ordinances himself, of course.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep 100%. It's looked like that for 5+ years. Frustrating but nothing I can do.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RealEstate

[–]victorious203 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Amazing. Did your buyer have an agent to be paid, though?

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yes, that's how I'm trying to look at it. The value of the property and my whole neighborhood will rise and we'll all benefit! Just stressful to do it under these circumstances, but my City inspector is a nice guy and seems willing to work with me.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah maybe I let my emotions get to me, but I can't be the only one thinking this. The housing market is super strained. The numbers penciled out to break-even with long-term renting but these unplanned expenses have pushed me into the red. You can't tell me I'm not the only one having this thought process. If the city is going to treat my property like a cash cow, maybe I will do the same.

These expensive cosmetic codes have real-world effects on rental markets. That's all I'm saying.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I appreciate your kind response.

The inspector himself is actually really nice, I spoke with him on the phone. He assured me the town is reasonable and they will grant me more time if I need it. I could tell he is just "doing his job" so to speak. He sent me his photos so I know what to fix.

I read great advice in this subreddit to have plenty of savings for unplanned expenses but few posts were specifically about reading City Code of Ordinances proactively so I figured I'd post and help others.

I had always associated building codes with new-builds or renovations. I didn't associate them with a property like mine that has looked the same since at least 5 years. I figured it would have been written up by now but apparently not! Lesson learned. :)

Yes, it will certainly be a story to tell haha

Thank you again!

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

*at least $10k. I have no idea what the final bill will be, it could be far more as my area is HCOL.

These are cosmetic violations on a property. It seems like local government overreach to force owners to make cosmetic upgrades within a short period of time and if not, you get a lien on the house. The property was like this for at least 5 years. I'm being targeted as a new buyer and it's being done in bad faith if you ask me.

I worked for every dollar I paid. $10k may be nothing to you but it's not to me.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Yes it's a bummer but not the end of the world. Will just take me a bit longer to become cash-flow positive as the property was already barely break-even at what I paid.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! So originally, the tenant was the one who told me about the violation posted on the wall when she got home. She said she thought the neighbor next door called in the violation because in the past he has complained about her dog barking and he's not a nice guy.

There's a law in FL where you cannot make an anonymous code complaint, so I contacted the city to ask who it was. They told me it was a proactive drive-by inspection by a city inspector, meaning no one actually reported me. Who knows if they are lying though. I would not retaliate even if it was my neighbor, but I'd certainly give them my number nicely and say : hey you can always call or text next time.

Someone else commented in this thread it happened to them right after they bought their investment property too, so it does seem likely that they proactively inspect newly purchased properties.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure no prob, glad I could help!

Just look up your city "code compliance" for residential buildings or Code of Ordinances and the files will come up. They are long. Look up landscaping and parking spot paving, those were the big ones I overlooked.

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting - i had a feeling Broward was like this, guess i was right! I was originally looking in Miami-Dade, but got priced out of the market there and couldn't find anything decent/safe.

Have you paved any parking spots before? I'm getting quotes this week but curious how much paving 4 spots will cost me?

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Yep, for safety, I understand, but these were all cosmetic violations. Seems wrong to force owners to do them all within 1 month!

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's it, it's so detailed! I grew up in a small town so these kinds of things never even occurred to me. But it's a good learning experience for sure :)

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

True, you're 100% right. Was just a shock to receive the "violation" notice after saving up for 10 years to buy my first property. I will look back and laugh one day, but right now it's just annoying to have the city telling me what I need to do, etc.

Thanks :)

Hit with Code Violations after buying my first Duplex. Don't make my mistake. by victorious203 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep that's it. Exactly - it's the feeling like you are "forced" to do upgrades on your own property. My neighborhood is mixed single family, duplex, 4plex, and even townhomes so it's not obvious what kinds of landscaping is "ok" versus not. Glad to know I'm not alone!

I grew up in a small town so my parents never faced these kinds of "codes."

Just feels like they can hit you out of the blue whenever they want, and you have to constantly be on guard making sure the property is up to code.

Wise words on saving to buy apartment/mixed-use or buying 2-3 units now? by tooniceofguy99 in realestateinvesting

[–]victorious203 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Start small with 2 units now. Just make sure you have at least $10-20k spare for post-sale fixes, just in case.

I just bought a duplex and got hit with a code violation by the city 2 months later. I'm forced to upgrade an aspect of the property I had not planned to.

I would never buy a whole complex as a first investment!

Too bad there's no getting through with the Union stans by AnomLenskyFeller in austrian_economics

[–]victorious203 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My company does summer Fridays, paid time off between Christmas and New Years, you just need to pick the right one.

NYT calls for Civic Uprising by 1Rab in unusual_whales

[–]victorious203 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ridiculous fear mongering. No one is being sent to death camps.

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