All Forum Posts by: Curt Bixel

Steve.  That is really a pretty great idea.  It might even leave enough space to include a stairway up to the attic, which, if I can bring it into play, would increase the usable space in the home by 50%.  Thank you for that.  :)

By the way, what program did you use to generate the diagram you included?

I see some "Turn Key" rentals for sale from wholesalers.  I can't really figure out why anyone would rehab a property, make it fully ready for renters, and then sell it at wholesale prices.

Does a Turn Key rental for sale from a wholesaler pretty much equal a crappy rehab without permits pulled that simply cannot be sold on the MLS because the seller knows that if a real property inspector were to ever step foot in the place, that the buyers would run for the hills?

I am a long term landlord and have substantial experience as a handyman.  I am fairly new to buying a beat up property, rehabbing it, and then keeping it for a long term rental.  I recently finished my first rehab, and learned quite a bit.

I have my eye on another property, and am looking for some input regarding planning and permitting. 

The property has a strange layout.  Here is a basic diagram. 

Currently, both reasonable entrances to the building take you through a bedroom before you reach either the living room or the kitchen.  That is not a great layout.  You can see a boarded up door on the south wall of the kitchen.  (South is down in the diagram.)  It seems likely that that used to be the main entrance before an alley was constructed that ran so close to the home that the door was no longer usable.  The alley runs within 3 feet of the south wall of the building. 

The property is also quite small, so running a hallway along the south part of the large bedroom and using the front porch as the front door makes the bedroom at the left side of the property too small to be usable. 

What would make the most sense to me is to simply create a new door on the north side of the living room or the kitchen and use that as a main entrance.  This sounds like it would require permitting if I were to do things right.

If I purchase this property, my plan would be to pull permits for everything and plan on doing it right.  This would involve replacing all windows and at the same time adding a new door to the north side of the kitchen or living room and building a small covered porch for access.  Then having the property completely rewired, as it is mostly knob and tube.  I would get the HVAC done and have the plumbing replaces, as much of it is the CPVC stuff that is supposed to be unreliable. 

With a full kitchen and bath remodel, the project would pretty much result in a fully rehabbed property, as the walls, floors and roof are in good condition.

What I don't know, however, is what the planning and permitting process would look like for this, and it would be good to have some guidance.  I really doubt that the plan I shared above is anywhere near detailed enough to share with anyone who would sign off on it. 

Any thoughts?  

I am curios what peoples thoughts are on the effect the rising Covid numbers will have on real estate this winter.  The real estate market has been exceptionally resilient in the face of this crisis.  Nevertheless, this winter is shaping up to be brutal.  I wonder if anyone is holding pat on buying new properties now.  

Brit F.  Thanks for your response.  You are quite correct is that I very much need to up my "control game."  I have always been very much at the opposite end of the spectrum from what you might call "control freak," and that does not seem to be a viable option in this business.  

I do have a pretty strong sense of right and wrong, and I feel very much wronged in this case, especially with the kept deposit paid on the second side.  Were the shoe on the other foot, and I were the contractor, I would have very quickly apologized for the mistake, refunded the money, and returned all the deposit for the second side. I could give you several examples of me doing just that.  

 I find it difficult to act pragmatically and simply take my loss and move on.  Do you have any prediction for what might happen if I were to take the contractor to court.  This is new territory for me, so I have no idea what that looks like.  

The story I am going to post below contains quite a number of rookie mistakes, so feel free to point them out. If you can find over 5 rookie mistakes, you get the prize.  Here it is:

I hired a property manager based upon the glowing endorsement of a colleague. I put them fully in charge of a duplex that I own and told them I would follow their advice on anything from remodeling to tenant choice, to the choice of contractors, etc.

To increase the asking rent, the PM suggested I remodel the kitchen and bath in each side of the duplex, make some other small repairs, do a bit of landscaping, and paint the walls with the color grey that seems to be so popular. She went with a contractor that she had used many times in the past and highly recommended. I visited the property after the PM said the work was done and was not impressed with the quality of workmanship, especially the tile in the kitchen and bath. The tile spaces were all over the place and there was quite a bit of lippage. I asked the PM to take a look at it. She said the work looked terrible, complained that her guy must not have used spacers. She explained, however, that the property was already rented, the tenants didn’t seem to care, and tearing out the tile would likely cause the loss of a month’s rent. I paid the contractor and decided to move on. I did ask to go with a different contractor for the second half of the duplex, as my experience says that if the things you can see are not done correctly, there is a high risk that the things you cannot see are also done incorrectly.

Within two weeks, the tiles began coming up. After a bit of research online, it seems that the problem stems from the contractor’s choice of using pre-mixed mortar to affix large format tiles over Ditra, a waterproof membrane. With nowhere for the water to evaporate to, especially with the grout already placed, the pre-mixed mortar behaves the same way it does in the sealed bucket, which is to remain wet. It is quite possible that the tiles looked great when installed, but had been moving under the weight of foot traffic since that time.  The installation instructions for both pre-mixed mortar and the Ditra are clear that the pre-mixed mortar is not to be used in this type of installation.

In any case, the problem was so bad that there was no saving the floor. Tiles were still moving, lippage was extreme, and tiles were coming up.

I asked the PM if we could go with a different contractor for the second side of the duplex. We did, and we got much better results with the tile installations. The work was finishing up there at about the same time that the problems were revealing themselves on the first side, so I had the tenants move to the second side to allow for the kitchen and bath to be repaired on the first side.

The property manager is no longer in the picture for another issue that is unrelated. When they came back to pick up their lockbox, they noticed that the first side of the property was vacant and asked if the tenants had moved out. When I told them the tile issue necessitated moving the tenants to the second side so that the tile could be repaired. She said I should get my money back from her contractor that did the bad tile job.

This seemed to make sense. When I contacted the contractor however, they said that this was the first time they were hearing of the problem, which was quite a surprise, as I thought the PM had been in close contact with them. I explained to them the issue we had run into with the tile and the various expenses associated with fixing all the issues. I also pointed out that I had put down a deposit for both the first and the second side of the property to be done, and I wanted my deposit back for the work not done.

I had assumed that they would look at all the expenses I incurred due to the bad tile work and at least offer to refund me the installation charge for the tile work.

Instead, he said that the tile work was fine, and that he was going to keep my deposit for the second side. He said it was his legal right to do so because of the language in the contract that said I had a 3 day period to cancel the contract, and, after that point, if I decided not to have the work done, that I forfeit my deposit. He may well have a legal claim to it. He certainly does not have any moral or ethical claim past any money he spent out of pocket for materials.

I am curious what to do at this point. My sense of right and wrong says that keeping the money paid for a tile job that started coming up within a week after installation is straight up wrong, and that keeping any part of a deposit not already spent on materials at this point is beyond the pale. At the same time, had I known the contractor was not in the loop, I would have asked them to come and take a look at the tile before tearing it out. Also, the contract does say I forfeit the deposit by not going through with the work.

What should I do at this point? Should I just recognize that I did not protect myself in this case, got screwed, and learn my lesson? Should I take this to small claims court? I have no idea.

I have emails from the second contractor explaining why the choice to use pre-mixed over Ditra was certain to end in disaster and that there was no saving the floor.  I have pictures that show clearly that the tiles were not successfully adhered to the Ditra.  

Yes, Columbus Ohio.  :)

I have a duplex built in 1918.  I am considering using it as a short term rental, but am having difficulty finding an insurer who will insure a building with knob and tube wiring.  I had an electrician stop by today to provide an estimate for upgrading the electrical on the side that is vacant, and I am going to proceed with having that done.  (He did say, by the way, that the current wiring actually looks like it is in great shape.)

In any case, I doubt that any insurance company that will not insure a property with knob and tube will likely not care if one of the sides has been updated.  Thus, I doubt I will be able to proceed with the property as a short term rental until I can get the second side upgraded as well.

The electrician said that the process is disruptive enough that I should wait until the other side has vacated before upgrading the electical there.

Does anyone know of any insurance companies that might insure this property for a year until I can get the knob and tube replaced?

I currently have good insurance on the property through State Farm, but they will not do short term rentals.  

I have a Duplex in Clintonville that was built in 1918.  The electrical panels have been upgraded on both sides of the duplex, but much of the wiring in the home is still knob and tube.  I am looking to have that replaced and am looking for a good electrician.  They do not have to be the cheapest, they do have to do quality work.