All Forum Posts by: Alexander N.

Hello BP!

I have a rental property (My first purchase. 2 units, both vacant) - One was remodeled before purchase, the other I occupy while I remodeled it to be in rent-able condition (mostly the kitchen, not fun). I spent about $25000 to repair and remodel it, can I deduct this expense and add it to my rental income loss, and how? Also, can any of the utilities, maintenance etc expenses as well as the remodel cost be used to offset my income from my W-2 at my day job? 

I purchased the property mid October of 2019. New to all of this, but I feel like I'm seeing conflicting info from my "due diligence Googling"

Thanks, and hope everyone is staying safe/positive! 

Alex

Just purchased my first home (duplex) and am searching for a lock smith. Finding that many in my area don't have physical addresses or even a website. I get brick & mortar is dying and there are a lot of mobile services, but something just feels sketchy about hiring a locksmith that is nothing more than a guy with a cell phone and a van. 

Thoughts? There is one larger chain that has a website and location, but charges 3x. 

Thanks everyone! 

For context, this is my first deal and this guy owns 100s of units - So I do believe that he thinks he can just push me around a bit, and get away with shotty work. This has been a pattern in a lot of the work he has done - including replicating the painting done downstairs upstairs, where it got pretty contentious and the seller's agent ended up agreeing to just pay for it out of pocket. 

That being said, the floor marks you see above are just in one room, the master bed. I have decided to just bite the bullet and concede here, as it's not worth holding the deal up, at least to me, for one room (it doesnt help that the seller is overseas until the night before closing..) - we are too close to the close (next wed) and I have reasons for why I'd to stick to that date more or less. The back and forth about one room to be sanded isn't worth it at this point, especially with tempers running high, I'd rather it not come to them saying accept it as it stands or walk. 

Lesson learned, check the progress and quality of their work early on and have them provide documentation - not be so trusting that the owner/contractor will get it done properly, in good faith. 

This is what the seller replied with: 

Is there any legitimacy to this? Could previous sanding cause these marks to be somewhat permanent, even against fresh sanding? 

“The flooring was sanded and stained in the same manner as the downstairs unit. done by the same contractor. The second floor unit appears to be white oak as opposed to the downstairs unit that is red oak, thus making it look different also the floor has been sealer many times is older and has been stained and finished a lot of times and thus will never “ appear” to be as in good condition as downstairs, hope this will answer the buyer concerns.”

This is the first floor:

Hi All,

As stated above, I am buying a 2 unit house from a seller who is a contractor. He renovated the 1st floor beautifully. I will be living in the second, and he agreed to sand and stain the 2nd floor hardwood in the same fashion as the first floor. Our close date is 1-week away. I don't want to hold up the deal for petty items, but the seller's agent disagrees that there is anything wrong with the staining job upstairs. To me, it looks filled with streaks and patches and discoloration - brush streaks maybe? I'd like the BP community's opinion on the job - am I nitpicking? See photos.

Hi Gang!

I'm just curious - what does everyone consider a "sweet spot" in number  of rental inquiries you receive on a unit you've listed, as an indicator of when you have hit the ceiling of how much $ you can get. 100 responses on zillow in 3 hours, you are probably pricing too low, 5 responses after a week, you are clearly too high. 

Wondering if people have found a good rule of thumb for what they'd consider an acceptable # of applicants, so there are enough to have consideration of, while pushing the limits on what the market will accept. 

Investment

Hi BP - looking for recommendations for mortgage lenders in Eastern Massachusetts. 

Alex