All Forum Posts by: Greg Scott

I have received three colleague requests in the past week, which is a little more than normal. All have been asking for advice, but they did not have a program they were selling.  They simply seemed to be newbies looking for help. 

Quote from @Eric N.:

Quote from @Erik Estrada:

Quote from @S Arely Cavazos Serratos:

We provide a great value to investors but sometimes they don't seem open to new opportunities. What approach works best on you?

 It's a numbers game. For every 100 calls, you might get 1 qualified lead. You are better putting your effort in social media marketing, and networking. 

It does work, but only if you are highly targeted and specific in your calls. 

That's a good rate. My VA rings 1200 numbers a day using multi-line dialers. Our contact rate is 4%. Which sucks. And we hardly get a lead per day. While we need at least 2-30 leads to close a deal. Sometimes I think using Google voice with manual dial would yield better results, due to much higher connection rate.

I would ultimately scale up to 12000 dials a day and hire 10 VA's if I could increase our contact rate to 10-20%. It's a numbers game and you have to hit thousands of people to find ones who are motivated and willing to close in less than a month.

Part of the problem out there may be that the databases suck. Just today I got two phone calls for an LLC that we closed in 2017. That LLC owned exactly one SF property in Garland, TX.

What crappy database out there is suggesting that a defunct LLC still owns a property sold 8 years ago!

Quote from @Tony Christian:

Hey Seyi,

Wow, this GC is getting bold. Between the unapproved price jump, the “breach of contract” fee, and now lien threats, it’s clear they’re banking on you being out of state and just paying to make it go away.

- This Isn’t Just a Disagreement—It’s a Red Flag Behavior
- You approved $5,500 after a walk-through.
- You were never informed of a price change before or after the work.
- They’re demanding $10,200, and refusing to give a real breakdown.

Now they’re adding extra charges ($2,400 tarp, $1,500 “breach of contract”) and threatening a lien?

That’s not how professional contractors operate—it’s a setup, and you’re right to push back hard.

What You Can Do Now:

1. Talk to an Ohio Real Estate or Construction Attorney
Even just an hour of advice can help you respond properly and protect yourself if they try to file a lien. They’ll also tell you if anything in the contract is actually enforceable. Many out-of-state investors keep an attorney on retainer for stuff just like this—worth the peace of mind.

2. File a Complaint with the Ohio Contractor Licensing Board

This part is important. If the GC is licensed, you can file a complaint with the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB).

Website: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/industrial-compliance/boards/ohio-construction-industry-licensing-board
Complaint form: https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/com.ohio.gov/documents/dico_ContractorComplaintForm.pdf
They take complaints seriously, especially if the contractor is:

- Submitting inflated invoices to insurers
- Performing work without clear written approval
- Using lien threats as pressure tactics
- If the tree company or GC is unlicensed, you can still report them—but that’s a red flag in itself.

3. Ask Your Insurance Company if They Have a Fraud Review Department
Some insurers have a way to flag suspicious activity or vendor behavior. Even if they’ve already paid out the claim, it’s worth putting this on their radar in case the GC tries to submit inflated costs elsewhere in the future.

Don’t Pay Just to Make It Go Away

They’re hoping you’ll cave, but that check is in your name for a reason. You don’t owe them more than you agreed to—period. If they truly think they’re entitled to more, they can take it to small claims or court… but they’d have to prove they had your approval. Based on what you shared, they can’t.

Here are a few quick ways to find an attorney:

Ohio Bar Association Directory
Search by location and specialty (real estate or construction law):
ohiobar.org/find-a-lawyer

Avvo or Justia
Look up lawyers with reviews and experience in contractor or insurance disputes:
avvo.com | justia.com/lawyers

Summit County Bar Association
They offer a local referral service in the Akron area:
akronbar.org

Google Local Law Firms
Search: “construction dispute attorney Akron OH” or “real estate attorney Akron OH” and check firm websites.

You’re just looking for someone who can help challenge a potential lien and protect your rights under the contract. Even one solid consultation can go a long way.

I agree with Tony.

I wouldn't pay anything until talking to an attorney.  This sounds like an unethical GC.  Be sure to get a lien release when you agree to payment amount.

#1 question, do you require your tenants to have renters insurance?  (You should.)  If they have insurance, it would be covered by their policy.

It might not make sense to make a claim depending on costs. For example, if the repairs are $2,500 and your deductible is $2,000, it is just a waste of time.  Get some initial ideas of how expensive it will be before making a decision.

If you make an insurance claim, realistically you should only be charging you resident back for the cost of the deductible. I would be surprised if the downstairs resident would need temporary housing, but if they do, insurance would cover that.

That is one way of finding off-market deals.  Your approach is probably better than what everyone else is doing.  I like just talking to people in my existing network. 

I bought an off-market 280-unit apartment with one phone call.  One of our leasing agents heard heard another apartment was up for sale because her relative worked there.  She told us.  I made one phone call.

With an SDIRA, you can buy a bond.  That is the same thing as making a loan.  Each account could go by some T-Bills.  That means both SDIRA holders would be lending to the same entity, the US Government.  I don't see how having both SDIRAs lend on the same project could be prohibited.

Regarding your second question, a shared co-loan seems a very bad idea and would likely be prohibited.  You have to treat the SDIRA like it is a separate, unrelated person.  Co-mingling the investments could create major problems.

My phone rings 10+ times per day with garbage calls, some asking to buy properties I haven't owned in well over a decade.  

Texting me spam is an immediate addition to my blocked numbers list and spammers often receive a colorful emoji as a reply before they are blocked.  Texting is too intrusive. I block callers regularly and have more phone numbers in my blocked list than my contacts

My email fills up with spam created by AI agents that found my LinkedIn profile and used a database to grab my email.  (I de-contented my LinkedIn profile as a result.)  I've had proposals to do my bookkeeping, generate more leads, buy my business, buy my properties, loan me money, etc. etc. It gets annoying.  

Best thing that works for me is make it easy for me to find you when I'm looking.

We've gone through this process, sadly, hundreds of times.  I may be a bit more jaded because of it.  Seems to me there is a portion of the population that simply doesn't care if they don't pay their debts.  They only do what they are forced to do.  Our motivation for us to do this is that the debt gets on their credit and if later in life they want to finance a new car or buy a house in that state, they will have to pay off their debt.  Sometimes we can get wage garnishment too.  By the time we evict, we usually have balances-due around $4,000, sometimes more, depending on circumstances.

Steps:

1) Go to Small Claims Court (in most leases filing fees and attorney fees can be added to the debt owed by the tenant)  Bring all your tenant-related paperwork showing what they owe you.

2) Get a money judgment from the Court

3) Hand that money judgment off to a collections agency that will go try to collect

Is it worth it?  That is up for you to decide.  I would say that less than $1,000, it is probably not financially prudent for you. Remember, you will have to up-front pay for the court costs, and when you hand it off to a collection agency, they keep half of everything they collect.  Your odds of collecting anything from this person in the future are probably around 10-20%.

I have extensive experience managing insurance claims.  It is a counter-intuitive process and I can tell it is creating confusion.

First, the insurance claim payout amounts are governed by law.  Typically, they require the payout to be able to cover the 95th percentile of cost, and may have a much larger scope of work than you would do yourself.  In other words, there is usually a LOT more money you can get from your insurance claim than what you need to actually complete the repairs. 

The insurance company can try to pay you less, and if you accept, that is your payout.  However, you are going to be better off collecting what you are legally due, and with the excess cash, have your contractor fix other things on the property you wanted repaired.  You don't get any bonus points at your next insurance renewal for having saved the insurance company a few dollars.

You definitely want a GC that understands the insurance claim process.  The unethical ones, working with uninformed owners, simply pocket the excess profit.  The ethical ones will give you good value for the insurance money on other improvements to your property.  I've typically had my deductible paid by the GC, which is also legal to do.  They may be able to also remove the branch for $5,500, even though insurance will pay $10,200 and then give you $4,700 of repairs on another part of the house.

For example, we had a fire in one building.  We repaired everything the insurance claim covered.  We had enough money to also do the following:
- Re-roof a different building
- Add insulation in that different building
- Completely re-plumb the building that was affected by the fire (and this was not in the claim)

Have a conversations with your GC about how this will work.

You went immediately to the tenant, but I would say you are looking in the wrong area.

You said the fire was pretty significant.  While that description is unclear, the fires we've experienced have destroyed most of the belongings of the tenants.  Even if they were not charred, smoke leaves a nasty smell and dangerous chemicals.  Most of their belongings are probably junk.  Removal of the damaged debris should be covered by your insurance.

(FWIW, if this is your first major insurance claim, consider hiring a public adjuster.)

Usually in a situation where the property is unsuitable for living due to a loss, most leases automatically terminate.  You have a signed notice from the tenant that they were moving out, with a date.  That should be sufficient that they were leaving. If they also gave you keys, you clearly have possession.  If they didn't, it wouldn't hurt to reach out to your local attorney to confirm.