All Forum Posts by: Dustin Scruggs

I’ve been eyeing some buy and hold properties for sale. Is it worth analyzing as they sit today? Meaning, if they are currently creating positive cash flow, why would they be looking to sale? Or am I wasting my time looking at existing rental properties?

I've heard of a bigger pockets meeting at crows nest on Tuesday at 4pm from a friend.

Hi Meredith, From what I've seen, the Pro membership has been a waste of money. The actual networking tools on this site and especially the app are pretty awful. The Plus membership may be the way to go. Today is my last day on Pro and will not be renewing.

Garret, this is a great idea. I did the same. I found a house with a separate entrance to the upstairs in East Nashville and rented out the bottom rooms. It worked great for the most part. Some lessons learned, ownership is expensive and time consuming, roommates never want to help with house improvements, and make sure to include the income on taxes. You need it to show for at least 2 years before any lender will consider it real income. Consider this in the price you tell them, it should cover the taxes you will need to pay on it. I still see these houses all over East Nashville. This is one I drove by the other day thought it would be a good investment http://mobile.realtracs.com/PropertySearch/ListingInfo.aspx?MapView=True&From=qik&rn=42&PropertyTypeID=1&ListingID=1984016

Parent own a floor covering store. They're small, but can significantly beat Home Depot price every time. Usually 75% on their price or more. There's no such thing as free installation, it's a lot easier to know the costs up front. Find a good local dealer, see if you can get contractor price, 5-10% off. Contingent that you expect to bring them repeat business.

Check the zoning here: http://www.nashville.gov/Planning-Department/Mapping-and-GIS/Interactive-Maps.aspx I know lots of people are doing that here in East Nashville, don't know the legality of it.

The title of the posts mentions wetlands. If they are official wetlands, they would need to be protected with buffers as well. A wetland determination can be performed to determine if they exist. Look for cattails, that's an easy sign for likely wetland.

Most development would be allowed in the flood plain. Finished floor elevations would need to be at least 1 ft above flood elevation. Typically, any fill will need to be compensated with equal to 1.5x cut. You may need to revise the flood plain limits as well. If the FEMA flood elevation and limits map varies from actual conditions you may want to do this anyways. Other things to consider, there is likely a creek or stream nearby. They surely have a stream buffer in place, upwards of 60' from top of bank. Some jurisdictions will allow passive recreation in this area or within the first half of the buffer. There may be a greenway master plan already in place which could be coordinated with the City. I would be happy to take a quick look at the property via GIS and see what my initial thoughts are. My department lead is a landscape architect with lots of parkland planning a design experience.

What is your opinion on remodeling a house with nice, but squeaky wood floors. Parents own a floor covering company so I can put in new floors for nearly cost, but don't want to waste money.

Parents own a floor covering company and was raised in construction. Working hard and getting dirty. Now a professional civil engineer in site development. Single home owner who's been doing my own rehab on my house. Always dreamed of being a contractor. Looking to utilize my experience, connections, skills and qualifications to grow a network of investors, developers and contractors to create an (or several) eventual company(s) to build strong communities. Financial stability and accumulation is definitely a plus; personal accomplishments and legacy more of a driving factor.