All Forum Posts by: Patrick Connell

David Begley J Scott I have no issues with consumer protection and agree with trade licensure, what I disagree with is the owner of non-commercial real property being required to be a licensed GC (with all associated costs) to pull the general permit on a project. I agree they shouldn't be doing electrical, plumbing, mechanical, etc. themselves. BUT, they should be able to pull the general permit and then sub out the work themselves. On a different note, I do wish Texas required GC licensure for those operating a business as such.

Some of this doesn't make sense to me. My assumption based on the post is that what you have right now is a wet area with dirty green board already up and joints sealed. That being the case, money nor time is an issue in replacing it because it would take 3-4 hours to replace it and then the cost to do so. I agree with the above statement that the contractor would probably gladly replace it with cement board if asked and you paid for the change order. The RIGHT thing to do is change it out because that's what is best practices right now. Otherwise, you're sticking the new buyer with a likely problem down the road (which is a dick move) or if you're gonna hold onto it, setting yourself up for future unexpected expenses. A lot of times, in this business, it costs more money and time to do things the RIGHT way; but that's what separates the pack.

I can't even begin to imagine living in a place that requires you to be a GC to do any work on a property you own.......hell to the no. God Bless Texas LOL

Welcome to land-lording in Texas; a much better place to be a landlord than other parts of the country. Text or call her and tell her the following day you'll be making entry to inspect the unit; she doesn't have to like it, but she can't stop you. If you find things you don't like or she does try to physically stop you, issue her a 30 day notice to get out and follow through. Doesn't take that long to evict someone in Texas, relatively cheap, and as long as you're documentation is in line you'll be good. I agree that simply keeping the place neat and paying on time makes her a good tenant. A written lease is the only way to go and the only way to really protect yourself and your investment. Land-lording is a business and should be treated as such.

Actually there are 23 outs in the Texas contract; Objection to title, HOA docs, insurability, survey, Sellers Disclosure, etc. Just a matter of being smarter than the other side.

One thing people forget when it comes to tenant screening is the ability to sue. A tenant who lacks discretionary income is a lot less likely to sue you because they can't; even if they wanted to or have a good case. Someone with an income like that "probably" has the means to sue, follow through, and, at the very least, cost the owner some change; which is a big piece of the puzzle on a property that someone is trying to finance 100%. I agree with whoever said this above, the best tenants, financially, are the ones that make just over your threshold, because it's harder to move, less likely they'll sue, and/or be a problem. And as I said above, whether this is a "good" deal is TBD. I would want more info on all aspects before pulling the trigger.

Just because something isn't recorded doesn't mean the sale or transfer of ownership hasn't taken place. County recordings/County Clerks are there to record what people tell them to record. Whether it's recorded or not has no bearing on an otherwise legally executed transaction. Recording the transaction simply lets the public know what's occurred. You could literally write up your own deed restriction to a property you own and then go down and record it; regardless of whether that deed restriction is legal or enforceable. Hell, in some areas, older homes still have deed restrictions limiting the sale of properties to non-negros only. Not legally enforceable but still on the books. As far as Zillow, et al., the accuracy of these websites has a lot to do with their data source; which they openly share with you. In Texas for example, sales prices and such are not required to be disclosed to anyone, so their data for Texas is given a one star, meaning poorest accuracy. This would differ greatly from a state that requires disclosure of cakes information.

Whichever one you can get a hook in. I prefer Lowes because I've some enough business with them that I never pay retail on anything; including personal purchases now for my own home. Build a relationship with someone at one of these stores, bring them a gift card or a soda every once in awhile. Stop in to say hi when buying something small. Get a cell number for them so you can chat when you need something. I have saved over $10k this year with my gal who works there so it's worth a gift card here and there, and the time. Everything is negotiable in those stores. Some of their mark-up is small and they can't do much, but some of their mark-up is over 200% (::cough:: tile ::cough::).

Do the numbers make sense, yes. Does the deal make sense, TBD. Kind of hard to ask for a deal analysis and then complain when people look at the deal as a whole and point out obvious pitfalls and dangers unrelated to the numbers. But heck, it's not our money, go for it!

Opening those cards will kill your credit score.....