All Forum Posts by: Eric S.

Not to burst your bubble but by the time I was 12 my brother and I had already purchased a nice farmhouse with several outbuildings capable of raising livestock, acquired the equipment needed to run the farm, and paid cash for everything. I have since passed it on to my nephew to continue the family empire. I will post my proof pic since my nephew was over last month to take it home with him:

Seriously though, you sound like a great dad! I wish someone would have taught me the ropes sooner. Best of luck and thanks for sharing your great story!

The first home I tried to purchase went well with them. I'd agree, getting to closing was a pain, and I had to buy the house without being able to view inside, so I bid accordingly. It was still full of previous owners stuff. I was very pleased overall. 

Since then I've probably tried to purchase 15 different homes and they all get bid up beyond what anyone would pay for them and are back on the site within a week or two. One in particular did this probably 8 times. I finally got an email saying the owner was going to consider all best offers on the last auction. I was the only bidder other than the bank and still never got a call. It's back on now. I've about given up using them in my area. 

Those cracks wouldn't scare me at all in a house built 30 years ago. In my area that's not uncommon at all to have some cracks near windows and doors, but we see a lot more freezing and thawing here. If that's all it's moved though I would be comfortable that it's not going to move much more over the next few years, unless you saw something else that would lead you to believe there is a bigger issue. 

Jim, from what I understand vacancy rates here are a bit misleading on the student housing side. I think currently some of these places that have 4 BR units for rent but rent them by the room report that unit as 100% occupied after only 1 room is rented. I could be wrong, but that's what I've read. So while in my opinion that would be 25% occupancy, they are calling it 100%. That is why city council is having a tough time finding reliable data on if we are over/under built. 

I personally only have about 3 units rented to students, but out of the 60 we have I'd say we're near 5% vacancy for the past several years. We rarely have one sit empty a month before someone rents it, and I have many that have had the same tenant for several years. 

We'll see how that does going forward. I've definitely felt the number of interested people is lower lately. I don't know if that's because we're overbuilt or I've gotten lazier in my advertising.

HI Shannon! I'm from Columbia as well. I worry too that we are getting over built, but a lot of the "experts" claim we're way under built. I'm a little hesitant to take on too much until we see how the recent mess at MU pans out. That coupled with what is expected to be a poorly performing football and basketball team, and the plethora of student housing going up downtown makes me think they will have a hard time filling them which means the duplexes on the outskirts of town will have an even harder time filling their vacancies. I'm afraid we might see what we saw in 2005 when they couldn't fill a lot of the new duplexes and started accepting section 8 on them. Now we have areas like Derby Ridge, where I lived during college, that have became the worst neighborhoods in town. If you ever have any questions I'm happy to help. I only do it part time, but I've learned a lot from my mistakes over the years! 

Call your local Section 8 or CHA office. In my area it's not so much signing up for the program, but you can put your unit on their list for clients to see. If you select a tenant who is receiving a voucher of some type, then you fill out the paperwork and Section 8 will inspect it. Then you'll have annual follow up inspections to make sure the property is being maintained. 

Art, a 15 amp receptacle is 68 cents. A 20 amp receptacle is $1.28. I apologize for under pricing it. If it's a GFCI sure, but that outlet is not. I've never had one of these outlets fail and have used hundreds of them. I'm not sure why he would need to spend more. 

The plastic broke off the front. You have to replace the entire outlet. Very easy fix and cost less than $1. If you're unsure hire an electrician, but it should be easy to follow a youtube video. 

Thanks for the input. I might try the Great Stuff rather than a mortar bed.

JD, it's not nearly that soft. It's just a little soft on the edge where the crack was. I had the ceiling opened below during remodel and from below you can't tell. Even if the subfloor got soft I don't know how the fiberglass base would give way, they're still pretty solid.

Thanks again.

I have a fiberglass shower surround that has a hairline crack in the base. It's been too long and the floor underneath is soft so I can't inject epoxy and reseal it. There is a guy locally that does this and has great luck, but he wouldn't warranty this one because of the subfloor being too soft. Is there any good alternative to seal it and get a few more years out of it? As far as I know my only option is to rip it out and redo it but thought it was worth asking first. Thanks