All Forum Posts by: David Cook

If I was buying in that price range out of state I would base my decision as much on the PM as I would on the market and the property.

40k would buy a lot of mistakes.  Markets are so specific I'd doubt you could apply most of what you learned universally anyway. 

I think the leap is getting people on board with healthy ideas regarding saving, investing and risk/return.  Once someone embraces the idea that getting your money to work for you is a good idea it should be relatively easy to have the real estate discussion, or at least it was for me.

@Chris Thigpen I've always had difficulty getting anything without a specific address that corresponds to the specific property to post.  I don't understand how other people manage to do it and get by.  I also wouldn't be so sure that your competition isn't flagging your ads.  I'm not sure how you could ever be certain but generally when CL flags my post it never appears and I'm not notified.  I'm advertising for standard rentals rather than LO but on higher end properties I seem to get more leads through Postlet affiliate sites now.  

@Jay Hinrichs I've found some plumbers believe that the tools needed to work with it are outrageously expensive.  I'm not sure where they are looking but I haven't found that to be the case.  Either way I think they would make up the difference by winning bids on more projects.  However, they don't ask me how to run their business, imagine that :)

@Ryan Mullin I don't know why anyone uses anything other than PEX.  It's like if I went out looking for a horse and carriage IMO.

@Jay Hinrichs 

It's flattering to be mentioned by you in a post.  You always have valuable insights and your career has been pretty impressive from what I can tell.  Fortunately our windows still work alright, I mostly use a guy that my father has used for almost 20 years now.  He doesn't have a contractor's license but I swear the guy could tear down and rebuild my car with nothing but a hammer and I believe it would still run okay.  He's like a home improvement McGyver.  There is no doubt that he gives us very fair pricing but I think there are quite a few capable loyal folks in the south and Midwest where so many investors operate.  He gets consistent work and referrals from our end.  We get solid work and solid pricing.  

I always get something out of Ben's posts even if I don't agree with them. With that being said, do some of his assumed replacement numbers look high to anyone else? $2,500 for paint? Does he hire Banksy? $5,000 for windows? Are they stained glass? Are these estimates in future dollars? Maybe trade work is significantly more expensive in Ohio than in Tennessee but I had a 1500 square foot property painted a few months ago and it cost less than $1000 including paint. There is a company in my town that sells and installs windows for $100 per (most sizes). Does this hypothetical property have 40+ windows? Obviously we should budget for CapEx and perhaps most newbies don't but after reading that article I think it's time I move to Ohio and paint for Ben.

I second what @Kate Robb said.  There is as much a gap between reputable and dishonest operators in the pest control field as there is in real estate.  If I remember correctly at some point during this thread you said you paid less than $200 to get the home treated?  Many pest control operators will charge considerably more than that per room.  If the unit is truly infested it should be possible for a layperson with a little knowledge to detect.  here is a video that might help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORR7yAT-Vic

With that being said you might spread some diatomacious earth in cracks and crevices after the tenant finally moves even if you don't see any sign of bed bugs. I've seen rooms that at first appeared bed bug free only to find them hiding in the seams of wallpaper, between a window frame and hanging blinds, cracks around crown molding, etc. In addition to doing the REI thing I work in pest control, I don't claim to be an entomologist but if I can help out in any way please let me know.

Hello @Dave J. 

For the @ handles to work someone has to have already commented on the thread or be your colleague.  For some reason they also won't work from my mobile devices or tablets although I'm not sure if other people have that problem.  Best of luck to you in your RE journey and welcome to BP.