All Forum Posts by: Andrew Rellinger

Hello everyone,I recently purchased a property that I am going to househack then rent out after a year or two of living there. It has a kitchen in an area of the home where there's no attic access. The kitchen features a gas stove with a high BTU cooktop (140,000 BTU when all 5 burners are in use). While it's unlikely that all burners will be used simultaneously, I want to ensure proper ventilation in case tenants decide to cook large meals regularly.

The standard rule suggests dividing the BTU by 100 to determine the required CFM for the vent hood. This calculation indicates a need for a 1,400 CFM hood, which is hard to find in a ductless vent. Additionally, installing a makeup air system along with a ducted vent hood seems impractical and costly.I've considered alternative options such as a recirculating vent hood, but I'm concerned about its effectiveness in removing grease and smoke. 

Another option is installing a microwave with a vent above the range, but most built-in microwave vents are recirculating and may not adequately filter the air.

I'm seeking advice on the best course of action for ventilation in the kitchen. If it helps the kitchen is near a door and the kichen has a window, but I feel like I couldnt rely on a tenant to open a window/the door everytime they cook. The counter space is also limited so thats really the only reason I would consider the microwave option. Would a recirculating vent be sufficient, or should I explore other options like a microwave with a vent or a ducted ventilation system? Should I create an attic access point in the area of the home that the kitchen is in just to install a vent?  I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts and any product recommendations you may have.Thank you in advance for your input!

I should also mention that the driveway is a mix of extremely old broken up asphalt, dirt, gravel, and slabs. It gets pretty muddy when it rains. Some of this might get tracked in the house due to the renter mindset of the tennant. I know LVP would be easy to clean. Not sure if this changes anyone's opinions on if I should keep the carpet or not since LVP is easier to clean. I've also thought about biting the bullet and installing a concrete driveway so regardless of what floor I have I don't have to worry about as much mud getting tracked through the house by a future tenant. What are your thoughts with this information? Are you still in the keep the carpet camp? I'm also open to hearing thoughts on what I should do with the driveway as well cause I know it's not really an ROI item

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased my first house and am seeking advice on a potential flooring dilemma. My plan is to live in the house for about two years, possibly engaging in month-to-month house hacking during that time before transitioning to long-term renting. The house is mostly turnkey, with the seller having installed new carpet.

However, I've heard concerning stories about tenants and their pets damaging carpets, even if pets weren't permitted per the lease. Given that the property is located in a C/C+ neighborhood with a tenant pool that may not be the best, and with many neighbors owning pets, I'm debating whether to replace the carpet with LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) flooring from the outset.

I have a cat, and while he's generally well-behaved, there's a chance he might pee on the carpet if he feels threatened by other animals (read: if the other animal is inside the same living space as him).

I'm currently living with my parents rent-free, so I have the flexibility to wait before house hacking.Considering these factors, would it be advisable to rip out the carpet and install LVP flooring now, or should I wait until I move out to make the change?

Any insights or advice on this decision would be greatly appreciated.Thank you!

Here is my situation. I've been under contract for a house for 5 months now. Seller agreed to remidate mold. Inspection still found significant mold spores in the air of the bathroom and visible black mold in crawl space below bathroom - No concern because I was planning on ripping the bathroom to the studs and replacing the subfloor anyways. After agreeing on concessions, seller is having plumber fix HWT. In the process, plumber found big fruiting mushroom because it is fall time at this point. Based on my mycology knowledge there could be mycelium all throught many joists in the crawl space. Since seller agreed to remediate mold, they could still be held accountable for this. It's going on month 5 of being under contract and could take 5 more months to remove the mold based on the current track record of the seller. Not sure there is anything to do to completely remove the mycelium networks (the ones that are not visible).

• What would you do in this case? Back out? 

• If you were new to the game what makes or breaks decisions for you? Do you just go by the numbers, or is there a gut feeling?

• What do you do when the selling process seems to be taking forever?

Hi, I am in the process of buying my first house ever that I am going to live in 1 year then rent out. Ive been under contract since August (going on 4 months now), the seller had to reapir the hot water tank and remediate the mold associated with the leaking hot water tank. Apparently they have been getting stood up by contractors which is why it took so long to get the ball moving. Today is the last day of the review period before I have to make the call to proceed with the deal or back out. Yesterday I found out that the seller cannot get in contact with the contractor who installed the hot water tank to see the paperwork and verify the permit was pulled. Also there is still mold in the bathroom (including the subfloor) which I am planning on ripping down to the studs anyways and remodleing. I just wanted to see what the contractor they hired had done for mold remediation since the there is still quite a bit of mold. From the city inspection the house needs $10k more work than I had intended, just to get the C of O.  I am wondering what I could possibly squeeze out of this deal in terms of concessions to reduce the amount of money from my own pocket to do the repairs?  4 months seems like a long time to be under CO tract and to not have all the repairs done correctly to the city's code.

Additional questions:

1) besides the 6% sellers concession, is there any more concessions I could ask to get out of the deal?

2) Is there anyway to see if a permit was pulled for the HWT? Are there a concessions I could ask for because as far as I know (my assumptions) their contractor did not pull a permit for the hot water tank, which the city requires them to? 

I am currently under contract for my first property. The property is 988 sqft. 3 bed 1 bath SFH on a crawl space and has no garage. The yard is large so I will be installing a shed so once I move out I can have tenants take care of the yard work. My question is what size she'd should I put in? If I put in a larger size shed (10'x10') could I fence off half of it inside to dedicate to storage space for the tenants to rent out and get additional rents on? Or should I get a smaller shed just for the purpose of storing lawn maintenance equipment and tools?

I will be living in the property for a year and intend to househack by renting out rooms before converting to a full time rental.

Hi, as I am looking to get my first SFH rental that I plan to househack, I am realizing that I may not have enough capital to do all the required rehab to tenant proof the property. The details are below:

• Estimated Rehab: $20k

• Funds left over after 3.5% down & closing costs: $4k

• I plan to do all the work myself to save costs

• I am dead set on doing all rehab prior to househacking

• This is my first rehab so I plan on borrowing tools where I can.

What are creative ways I can afford to get the rehab done in a timely manor without maxing out my credit cards or putting myself in significant debt? How did you complete repairs when you didn't have enough money? Did you keep saving before buying a Rehab to ensure you had the capital upfront for both the down-payment and the rehab?

Hello, I found this vacant home and am in contact with the owners. The owner said they plan to put it on the market, but would be willing to sell it before then as long as the offer is right. They said they would like to sell it at market value after they have it appraised. I would be using an FHA loan to buy the house and I am pre approved. I have a few questions here:

1) How can I convince the owner to sell under market value? 

2) How can I add value to make up for them selling it to me under market value? 

3) Is a real estate agent necessary? How do I go about the sale without a real estate agent (what forms do I have to fill out, how do I get a title company, what paperwork do I need)? 

4) Is the risk worth the reward for doing this without an agent on a first home purchase?

Any other pieces of advice are welcome.