All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Real hardwood floors (and the vinyl snap together stuff) all is tongue and groove so it holds together and the top edges are even.  It also gives the installer a place to nail the boards down (inside the mated edges so there's no fasteners showing.  How would that ever be accomplished with a table saw?  Also, plywood is usually full of knots.

Sounds like an inefficient waste of time for a worse outcome. 

Get some real prefinished hardwood for $2/sqft, buy a chopsaw and rent a nailer for $50. 

I'm going to follow his recommendations.   He knows my situation and I completely trust him.  Again, he's a friend and he knew I was going to use him regardless of his recommended listing strategy.   After all, what's the point of using a professional if I don't trust their expertise.

Thanks for the input.  I have seen the comps over the last 6 months and I think it's in the ballpark but nothing exactly the same (obviously).  Every other one has either extra 1/2 bathroom,  or. 1 acre less than me, slightly nicer,  or older mechanicals,  Ect.

I was just curious if this pricing strategy was a standard realtor tactic to try and get more commission at the cost of my timeline/ monthly expenses.  
 
BTW,  I'm referring to about a $300k home so it's pretty significant. 

I'm selling my primary residence (goes on the market in 2 weeks) and my realtor thinks I can get $50k more than I ever thought I would.  He's a friend and absolutely killing it as a realtor so I trust his (and his office that went over the comps) professional opinion. 

He wants to list my house at the higher end of the comps for 2 weeks and then drop it $20k if there's not enough activity.  Does this sound like a good plan or not?  Maybe I'm not accurately seeing the value of my house because I know how absolutely hideous it was before I renovated it top to bottom.

I'm moving into my girlfriends house so I'm not really in a rush, but there's obviously still holding costs.

Any thoughts?

Congrats! I'm actually looking to pick up my first rental in the very near future and have been trying to decide my target area.  I've been spending a lot of time looking at multi's and there really is a lot of inventory in West Allis.  I might just need to take a drive and start seriously checking out some of the neighborhoods.  Thanks for the inspiration!

I was in the same situation with my primary residence a few years ago. I wanted the additional money for renovations to be done by myself and my bank wouldn't let me go thru with it unless the renovations were all on one estimate, quoted by one licensed GC.  Then the checks were going to be distributed on a schedule (after the bank sent out an inspector) made out to both me and the GC.  After getting a $20k+ estimate from a GC I opted to go standard bank loan with less down and did all the renovations on the list myself for under $8k.  Also, at the time the interest rate on the mortgage IN ITS ENTIRETY (not just the renovation) was 2-3% higher. Wasn't worth it for me.

Hello All, I'm new to BP and amazed by the abundance of knowledge and willingness to help others.  This community is truly amazing.

I've been in my first home and primary residence for 5 yrs and currently in a dilemma as to what to do with the property. In spring I'm going to be moving into my girlfriend's house and trying to weigh my options as to sell or rent it when I move. I really want to get into REI and start generating passive income but not sure if I should cash out and look for multi-famliy units, or learn the landloarding process with my existing property (hopefully in a good tenant/family environment).

The house is in a desirable/affluent Milwaukee suburb with almost no rentals available. It’s a 3Br/1.5ba, 3 car garage, 1.5+ acre property that I’ve renovated almost top to bottom. Looking at the few other rentals available I think I can rent it for about $2k/month.  Current expenses (mortgage/prop tax/ garbage/sewer/ insurance)) are under $1300/mo.  I know I'll have to add a bit for insurance and maybe lawn maintenance/snow removal if I don't do it myself or have tenant responsible.

Housing market has significantly gone up and my $200k investment (w/reno) can be sold for $260-270k.  This would give me some tax-free money to go after other properties (probably multi-fam).  My dilemma is that if I rent it out for more than 3 yrs I’ll get hit with capital gains tax wiping out all potential cashflow profits.

I’m looking for strategy ideas because this currently barely meets the 1% rule based on investment, but is more if you look at market value.

Should I rent it for 2.5 years, leverage my $100k equity and borrow against it to get other properties? Or should I take the cash and find options that will yield more cashflow and avoid the risk of $20k+ capital gains tax?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Chris

Prep work is key. removed all old loose material with pressure washer, use a concrete top repair (like Jim said) or an epoxy based cover that's made for concrete (paint will NOT last).  Look at stores for Garage floor Epoxy.  A few prep steps and it rolls on with a paint roller.

Good luck.

I've have had great luck with the foam/sponge looking gutter guards.  Once a year I crawl up on my roof with a broom and sweep the loose seeds/leaves out of them and it takes about 15 minutes for the entire house.  My only tip is that is that they should be installed tightly against each other, whomever installed mine left some small gaps between a few of the pieces and it the summer I sometimes get bees making nests underneath.

They definitely save me a bunch of time and headaches of plugged gutters and water backing up.

Are they electric or hydronic/water?

If electric, you'd probably have to have the exact model number and even then its probably not likely/easy.  I think you're better off replacing the entire unit (it would probably be cheaper and easier than retro-fitting "universal parts". I've never tried fixing electric units, just replaced them.  I looked on a few different HVAC web sites and I don't see parts listed except for  thermostats and complete electric baseboards.

If hydronic, then yes, but you'd have to know how to drain the boiler, solder heating element to pipes, and refill/bleed all the air out.  Not simple stuff so call a plumber.

Good luck