All Forum Posts by: Brad Birchfield

Hello - has anyone encountered this situation before?  I found a property in Johnson county, Texas (south of DFW) that has 2 inhabitable structures on 1 lot.  There is a main house and then a separate garage that has an apartment.  The lot is currently zone as residential.  The house and the garage apartment have separate meters.  I know you are not my lawyer and that I should consult a local lawyer that is familiar with the city's zoning ordinances, but do you know if this is risky?  Can the city force me to tear down the garage apartment, not rent it out, or anything else since the lot is not zoned multifamily?  The property does not make financial sense without being able to rent out the garage apartment.  I suppose I could always request rezoning or a special use permit from P&Z later on, but I would like to get some answers now before I go under contract.  Thanks!

Hello, I have searched BP, Craigslist, Angieslist, and other local sources for an inexpensive DFW granite countertop vendor, but have not had much luck. I found some that will do granite for around $40 per sq. ft. installed, but I've been told that I should be able to get it for closer to $28-30 per sq. ft. installed. Is anyone willing to share their granite vendor who can get it done for this price? Or is $40 per sq. foot typical now for this area? I'm just looking for basic granite - nothing special. This is going in a house with an ARV around $160k in the north Fort Worth / Keller area. Thanks!

(As a side note, Home Depot has 4 choices of granite for $32 per sq. foot installed, but this is only for 24" wide slabs.  We have a 35" wide peninsula, so we can't go with this option.)

Hi Shawn, would you mind sharing the name of your granite guy?  $28/sq ft seems very good compared with what I have found so far.

Thanks @Bonnie Laslo, @Hunter Woolsey, and @Andrew Herrig for the information.  That confirms my suspicions that my initial quote was too high.  I will keep looking for another contractor.

If anyone has a good, economical painter in the DFW area that they don't mind sharing, please PM me.  I only do a few rehabs per year at most, so I promise I won't monopolize their time.

I am looking for feedback on what people are typically paying for painting services in the DFW area. I just purchased a 1500 sq ft SFR in the north Fort Worth / south Keller area (76137 zip). I have one estimate in hand for painting the complete interior (including kitchen cabinets) and complete exterior for $10.5k. From what I've seen on here, that seems high to me. Am I wrong? Here are the relevant details: Exterior: $4k (brick exterior, but the back side is all wood siding, and the front is probably 50% wood siding; also includes replacement of about 6 boards and a few 4x8 sheets of siding; includes 2 colors) Interior: $6.5k (includes all walls (1 coat; 1 color), all trim, and all cabinets in the kitchen; does not include bathroom cabinets) Is this in line with what you are currently paying for painting in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area? If you have a recommended contractor that would do this for less, PLEASE send me or post their contact info.