All Forum Posts by: Erin Margaret

Welcome Sandra! I can relate, I also got started 'by accident' about five years ago. I was in WAY over my head and overwhelmed. Thankfully I am now 4 years later all the wiser for it. And the building that caused so many sleepless nights turned out to be very profitable in the end. Good luck! There are many brilliant minds on these forums ready and willing to help!

Be careful with the resilient vinyl. I used a product that was supposed to have a 15 year commercial warranty in a Resturant and it was completely trashed in two years. Under the tables and the path of chairs moving in and out the same spot many times a day literally wore holes through the coating. Have you looked at the wood grain ceramic tile? It is textured a bit to give it some grip. Slightly more expensive than the vinyl plank, but will last eons longer. Maybe other people have had better luck with vinyl in commercial settings

I'm from Alaska. We foil our windows all summer when the sun literally never sets and you still need to sleep. I've never seen it in the south though! You have to ask them why it's there. If it is a light issue you could easily get some black out curtains for each unit, if it is a thermal issue they make rubber backed thermal insulated curtains (think hotel style on the little tracks) you can get them fairly cheaply if you purchase a lot of them. Which it looks like you may want to with that many units.

This is a difficult question to answer as previous posters have stated, but I have a particular soft spot for condemned places and I usually use cash. If this is your situation you absolutely must first bring the place up to current code or a new buyer will not be able to finance it. Keep your favorite building inspector on speed dial and go from there. After it is up to code find your comps and copy them. If your are going historic I highly recommend the book 'living in the past' it has some great tips on highlighting relevant design elements and how to re-create ones that have gone missing over the years.

I don't know if this will help you, but I have a dealt with a number of contractors in other fields and side businesses that just do not have an office or a laptop to make invoices happen. For one particular contractor whom I love but is terribly understaffed I have printed out blank invoice templates, they have the sheet on site and fill it out as they go (hours/job etc.) When he wants a check I get the filled out piece of paper with his signature. I use the cam scanner app to turn it in to a PDF on my phone and he keeps the original. At least them I know my invoice is accurate and I don't have to wait a month for him to get to his laptop.

General contractor?

Great progress I'm following just so I can see more pictures! I love old homes, this one is going to be a beauty!

Welcome! I'm new here also but I'm very glad to see more people in Wisconsin.

Howdy everyone! I'm new to the forums and relatively new to the real estate game. I bought my first multi family (a three unit 1/2 commercial space) in 2010. I'm just now selling it and am hoping to use the profits (roughly 170k) to refurbish a lovely historic home I bought in my home town and purchase a few more multi family units for cash flow. I am 28, I have a two year old I'm raising by my self and I am 'retired' for the time being. With some luck, advice from you lovely people, and a nice portfolio I would like to stay retired as long as possible while still being able to live comfortably with my daughter. Greatly looking forward to learning from all of you!