All Forum Posts by: David H.

Vietnam is likely poised for a big run up in prices.

yes, when you use help like this, you are paying for an extra set of hands. If you want to pay for tools,a truck, and talent, >$10/hr doesn't work. $10/hr gets you time and labor. That's it. You supply the leadership and the tools.

you could sub it out to someone else who might hire someone for $10 or less, so they provide the leadership and tools.

it takes about an hour to train them, and it saves about $100 per room. Break even after one room. If they do five rooms, I saved $500. Times four houses, $2000. Not bad.

i use unskilled labor. Absolutely. Why do i need to pay a licensed contractor for cleaning? Why do i need an engineer to knock down a wall? I don't.

bottom line is you pay for the skills where you need it. I'll pay the engine to design a new structure, a carpenter to build out the frame, a specialist contractor to hang windows and siding, maybe drywall, and day labor to clean and paint. Yes, day labor to paint. It's not that hard people. You need to teach some how to paint, but it really isn't that risky or difficult.

things not to hire unskilled workers to do: HVAC, electrical, plumbing, structural, granite, basically anything that requires power tools.

i have sf and mf, so I'll give you both sides of the story. The apartments are higher turnover, so you will be advertising more often. If you have a pm, they charge 50-70% first months rent + 5-10% monthly. You should use the same ratios to pay yourself if you will manage.

Apartments also default at a higher rate. I can't remember every having to evict a tenant in a single family home. I've had probably 3/12 apartments default on their lease in the last year... Just keep the deposit and moved on.

all in all, the apartments make more money, but it's more time and energy. If you have more time than money, go multi. You will make more. If you have more money than time, go singles. You can leverage your time much better. If you have even even more money than that, develop, which is riskiest but the most profitable.

you could go to the courthouse and do your own title search if you're just trying to save money.

if you want title insurance, i think you pretty much need to pay an attorney to do the title search per insurance company requirement.

You can have up to four unrelated persons on a lease. This means you can deny an application with five roommates.

Also, you can deny an applicant based on income. If you are not comfortable with their financial stability, you don't have to rent to them. If you don't like their personality, like if they are mean, you aren't required to rent to them. My two main tenets are to find reliable tenants who aren't trouble makers. I tell ask my prospective tenants that same line. Pay on time, and don't cause trouble. And no pets.

another option is to ditch the linoleum for laminate. There's a brand at hd, name starts with an a... Can't remember, but lots of investors love it. You can level with asphalt shingles and sand. Yes,I said it. Shingles and sand. Cheap and lasts until the end of time. Cover with red rosin paper or tar paper, and lay the laminate on top of that. Don't listen to anyone telling you its a ghetto fix. It works.

you could use level quick, which is a resin concrete mix that hardens in about an hour. There's a 24 hour version if you need to work more slowly with a bigger area. You might need to lay down diamond lathe first. Depends on the substrate.

how bad is the settling?

in nova you'll have to go to sterling or Leesburg.