All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Dell Schlabach - Great option. I don't think my guy does HVAC anyway. Will check it out.

Karen Margrave - Totally understand what you're saying and the irritation it may cause. In my situation... for my house remodel my contractor came highly recommended from a family member (who is a very experienced real estate agent). I also asked many friends for recommendations, all of which gave me horror stories about (licensed) contractors not showing up, adding extra costs, not paying subcontractors and taking way longer than promised. So - I went with the guy who had the best reputation.

I actually wasn't aware that he wasn't licensed until after the job was almost over. As a first timer I didn't think to ask. My family member may have mentioned it but it probably went over my head. Hopefully I can work on getting him a license, as I do trust him with all the above.

Randy F. - I don't think his reasons for not having a license are financial, as he's always busy and as Carl Schmitt mentioned, it's rather inexpensive to get one. My guess is it's regarding a citizenship issue, but I could be way off. Either way I will have a chat with him about it and see what can be done. Thank you very much!

Btw, regarding permits - What would one generally need a permit pulled for? Sorry for such a newbie question. When I remodeled my house, the contractor and I agreed on a price, the work began and 8 weeks later we were done. Granted, we didn't knock down any walls or do any additions. But we re-did all our floors, windows, paint, kitchen, electrical and plumbing all the way out to the street.

Hello BP community,

I have an amazing contractor (with a crew) who completely remodeled my home. He's professional, fast, reasonably priced and most importantly, trustworthy. However, he is unlicensed.

I want to use him and him only for my potential rehabs in the near future. I will probably need to use a hard money type of situation when I'm ready, and wondering if most hard money lenders require licensed contractors, or if it's just a matter of finding the right lender? I am able to show the work I've already done with this contractor.

If the answer is "yes" - Does anyone know of any creative ways to get around this?

I am in California btw.

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much everyone. So I'm (very roughly) looking at 4-600/mo for insurance.

Joe B. Much appreciated! Thank you. Helps a lot. Theresa K. - Have you experienced cheaper insurance rates with vacant homes?

Joe B. - Why so high? I believe the current insurance I have on the home I live in now is around $150/mo (for the most coverage possible).

Mike G. - Much appreciated! This is very helpful :)

Hi there,

Having trouble getting a grasp on what soft costs might really look like. This would hypothetically be a situation in which I'd pay all cash for a 150-300K house, then rehab and sell. Also excluding repair costs.

I recently bought a home to live in and there were huge closing costs & taxes involved. However, I did take out a large loan. I understand that this changes drastically when one pays all cash for a house.

I know there's the 6% agent commission - But as far as taxes, insurance, marketing, and anything else I'm a little hazy. I am in California btw.

Thanks so much for your expertise!

Bill Gulley - Right on

John Jackson - Hey John! Yes, it helped. And thank you. I could still very well be misunderstanding the whole concept, but other than simply not being able to sell their property at all I can't figure out why a seller would agree to do this. I live in Los Angeles - And it seems that, at least here, sellers have absolutely zero problems selling their homes, no matter what condition or size. Again, I could definitely be missing something - But it seems like this type of transaction wouldn't work well in Los Angeles.