All Forum Posts by: Greg Behan

@micki mcnie

I would certainly think the vacation rental or resort route would be the way to go.  Although a spec build or two could be quite rewarding.  People rent houses down there but it seems the resort route seems to be a peace of mind for a lot of travelers. 

born here... I've been thinking a whole lot about St. Thomas recently though

congrats on the first!  

I would think you would need to bring some cash to the table depending on financing you might be able to purchase no money down.  the repairs is my main concern

2008 f250 and im shopping for an old vw diesel fuel sipper

I tend to stick to neutral beige's.  White trim and ceilings 

1) When interviewing possible contractors what questions should be asked? Is it possible to get an idea of their billing fees? I would like to weed out the good from the bad and have a couple teed up once I purchased.

I am a general contractor and in my experience billing is almost always one of the main questions and its in your right to ask it.  Always ask if they have done full house flips many contractors "can do it" but take a much longer time then you'd like.  Ask them what they do in house and what is subbed out.  Examples of work if possible so you can see attention to detail.

2) Once a home is purchased and the remodel has begun how do you all know what colors to paint the walls, appliances to purchase, fixtures to purchase and general landscaping ideas. I am pretty creative but not in this way.

In all honesty it is completely up to you.  Some people like to follow new construction trends.  Some people like to be a little more bold.  Best thing you can do is try to find out the trends in your market.  talk to realtors and go to NREIA meetings.  

3) For the Bay Area residents are there any discount retailers you go to to purchase appliances/fixtures other than Home Depot? I have heard there are some retailers that sell paint, tile and other material at a discount due to excess supply?

Sherwin williams almost always offers discounts through their local NREIA chapter as do many other local businesses.  

Hi all, I am under contract and trying to figure out my layout for my next flip.  It's a late 70's bilevel and the top floor is 4 bedroom with a kitchen and bathroom and the downstairs is a 1 bedroom kitchen and bathroom in law suite.  The house was built this way but never had the zoning for it.  The township said they normally approve them for hardships which clearly isn't our case.  Is there a way to market it as an in law suite even though its not zoned for it?  Should I just turn it into a wet bar or bigger laundry room or something?  Should I try to get the zoning changed?

I don't really knock at peoples doors...  I've gotten enough of those crazy phone calls where the people think your so awful just for mailing them a letter.  People are way too unpredictable.  I am trained in self defense, licensed to carry a firearm and everything else.   However, these are things I would never even want to consider using just to see if someones interested in selling...   As mentioned send the letter if they're interested they'll call.   I have even considered getting a PO Box as of recently for my letters.  I've had people telling me how they drove by my house just to see who was sending the letter.  Unfortunately in todays world you can't trust too many people.

Hi all,

     I found an oddball house while driving around the other day.  It's a great neighborhood and I was lucky enough to run into a very helpful neighbor.  Short history of the house is the original owner left it to her son he was in and out of jail and during that time there was some foreclosure process and the district attorney ended up with possession of the house.  Has anyone ran into this before?  I called the courthouse twice so far and they just put me into the detectives voicemail and no one calls me back.  Anyone have another strategy to find out how I could get a jump on making an offer on this house?