All Forum Posts by: Cordell Pearce

Hello all,

My partner and I are starting to look at picking up an apartment building, or multi family building. I was wondering if anyone out there could provide their experiences and feedback on getting involved in these types of investments. We were considering one of two paths:

Buy, rent, and fix up the units between renters...then eventually sell

Or buy, fix up and sell off as condos.

Also, any advice on loans? Seems that commercial loans through banks are pretty reasonable right now.

I'm in the Denver, CO area.

Thanks!

I have a new crew in there that's been great so far. I'm happy with the work, and will be using them on a few more upcoming projects, I hope! I'm still chasing down the original contractor. Luckily I found an attorney that will do the work on contingency!

I agree with you on the risk assessment. The ones that can front the labor seem to be the ones I can't afford ;)

Jon, Thanks for the contacts! Glad you're back out from under the water, literally!

It seems that my homeowner's does have a clause that covers some aspects of construction, specifically "collapse" which is exactly what happened. Liberty Mutual. I'm pretty happy with them right now....we'll see if I remain that way! The contractor's carrier has taken my info ans started a claim, we'll see where it goes from here....I agree that the legal road is likely the best one, but it is a long long road...

Also, this isn't a flip....I'm moving my family into this one.

I don't believe my homeowner's policy has gap coverage, but I'm trying to involve them to see what they can do. Thanks for the tip!

Hello all,

I've had a very very bad experience with my last contractor. He was unskilled, stole a huge amount of money from me, destroyed the house, walked off the job, wont' communicate, etc. He was hired for a complete renovation, which included taking out an original exterior load bearing brick wall (roughly 150 years old) He removed this 30+ft high wall from the bottom without supporting anything. As you may guess, a large portion of the wall fell in, taking some of the rest of the house with it. He did a very very poor repair on the wall, leaving cracks in several other areas going entirely through the brick, window sills are slanted, windows and doors won't shut. Now that he's walked off the job I'm attempting to file a liability claim with his insurance, but he's refusing to let the insurance company file it. Is there any recourse for this?

Thanks in advance!

-Cordell

Their rent was not paid this month (September). They would still owe a couple of months of bills, and one month's rent (deposit is only one month's rent).

Most applicable clauses:

12. It is agreed that if after the expiration of the Lease the Tenant, without permission of the Owner, shall remain in possession of the premises without written agreement or notification by the Owner or a change in said rental as to such possession, that such possession of the premises without written agreement or notification by the Owner or a change in said rental as to such possession, that such possession should not be deemed a renewal of this Lease for the whole term or any part thereof but that such Tenant shall be regarded as a Tenant from month to month at a monthly rental payable in advance, equivalent to the last monthly installment hereunder, subject, however, to all of the other terms of this Lease. Tenant shall render at least 45 days notice of vacancy in writing to Landlord should Tenant decide to reside elsewhere after expiration of lease agreement.

14. In the event that it becomes necessary for Owner to serve an eviction notice upon Tenant for non-payment of rent or for the breach of any provision or covenant contained in this Lease, Tenant shall remain responsible for the rent for the balance of the lease period, less and monies collected by Owner through the re-renting of the premises to any other party and shall be responsible for all costs incurred by Owner in re-renting the premises occasioned by such non-payment or breach of Lease by Tenant.

I gave a couple of tenants a 30 day notice as it wasn't working out (they were living in a property with me) They left after one day. I have a 45 day notice clause in my lease for tenants. Would they be responsible for rent up until the end of the 30 day notice, or can they vacate and not pay rent for those 30 days as I was the one who asked them to leave? They were on a month to month notice. Denver, CO. I assume they would be responsible, as I could not ask them to leave after 24 hours if they gave me 45 days vacancy notice...

The project is in Denver. As far as I know, he does have a GC license. He is insured.

Wow, thanks for all of the fantastic (and rapid) responses!

Anson, would love some referrals....

I have a few years fixing/flipping, and know my way aroud building a house, but this project is on the large side for me to tackle with friends... ($90K original bid on fix).

The contractor is definitely negligent. I had some 100+ year old triple course structural brick walls removed, and he didn't support anything. I came to the job site to find a good chunk of my house missing one day... :( On top of that I've had to call him out on not installing a decent sized pad underneath load bearing 4x4s, not supporting micro lams properly, etc. I'm not sure if there is a bond requirement in CO...does anyone know? I have been told that an insurance claim can take 4-5 years to collect upon, is this true?

He is not returning my calls to date. He was listed on Angie's list, and rated well. His reference checked out as well. Since then he has at least one negative review. I made a review as well, and he agreed to get back on the job and continue it if I removed it. He asked for another payment (which I made by credit card) and left the job again. This project would be an amazing portfolio builder for anyone in the contracting business. If anyone out there can help I'd be much obliged!

Hi All,

To be brief, after 6 months of poor quality work and poor business practices, my general contractor for our home remodel project seems to have walked off with our money and a highly unfinished house.

1. How can I recoup some of my losses?

2. How can I find a reliable contractor to finish the job with what little funds I have left?

Thanks!