All Forum Posts by: James H.

Do you leave the blinds open? Is there any risk of more vandalism if they are open in your experience?

I have finally finished the rehab on my first investment property ever and thought this was interesting: When we varnished the floors, we didn't close the blinds backing out of a couple rooms and, well, couldn't walk back to close them because it takes a couple days to dry out. We had also freshly painted the inside and outside. When we first put the For Rent sign up before rehabbing was complete we generated about 15 calls in a couple weeks, then not much. After painting we generated another 10 or so calls. Some commented that it looked really nice on the inside. The inside turned out to be a little 1950's gem with a lot of nice finished wood while the outside is ho-hum.

This is a low income neighborhood with some recent burglaries. I don't keep any tools in the house as the rehab is complete and still didn't while working on it(I rebuilt a little cargo trailer for ease in transport and storage of my tools). There are no appliances inside until we get a tenant and the outside AC compressor is being installed (today) with a steel security cage anchored to some concrete piers. This should deter thefts to the neighbors unsecured compressor!

Fun discussion between you two! Texas hit a relative bottom last year with Gilbert and should be on the track back up. Too bad, he showed a lot of promise in the championship game against Alabama. It will be interesting to see how Texas maintains itself with its new quarterback(s). Too bad I don't have and won't pay for the Longhorn network. I'll miss seeing lot of games.

I will be renting my first property in a couple of months. My wife and I don't have a lot of assets yet. The rental property is paid for, but only has a tax value of 22K. I don't see it as critical to get my llc just yet, but will work on it as soon as I get the property leased and have my money freed up again. I'll use insurance and accept the risk in the mean time and have no-one to blame if luck calls in its favor...

It seems complicated and not-fun to set up the llc and run the property through it, nevermind the cost. I decided to get into real estate because I enjoy the tangeable aspects of it (the building structures and the people relationships). It is discouraging to have litigation run the game. Even insurance requirements dictated part of my rehab schedule due to a garage that required demo. That being said, I think it is inevitible to get an llc or some type of legal screen set up, especially if I am fortunate enough to amass any significant wealth.

It's funny to read the comments of "common sense tells me..." I took a contracts and liabilities class (the only legal training I have aside from fighting and winning a traffic ticket for running a red light on a bicycle) as part of the cirriculum for my civil engineering undergraduate degree. If I took away anything from that class; it is that there is NO COMMON SENSE to the law. What apparent common sense that is there is only there by chance. So I wouldn't bet on common sense. Not because you don't have any, but because it is not how the legal system is truly structured.

I agree with all that has been said. I would like to add that something to keep in mind is variability in dimensional lumber sizes when planning repairs. I don't know the exact cut-off and it would vary per area, but if your house is old enough (1920 is near this tranitional time), the lumber could be true sized rather than nominal. Meaning that your 2x4 is truly 2 inches by 4 inches rather than 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches as a "nominally" sized 2x4 is today. You can always trim down the next larger size modern lumber, but that can amount to a lot of ripping, time and saw blades - $,$ and $. But you can work around anything if you have enough money.

There could be other problems to overcome with older houses related to plumbing and electric. Often times these things have been upgraded by others over the life of the structure. But if not, mechanical systems can get expensive real fast. The biggest expense I tend to overlook when plannig a rehab is the hardware (nails, screws and bolts can get up there quick) and other necessry items like caulking and construction adhesive. Materials can be quite expensive when doing the job the right way. All the little details that need to be addressed in older structures can really nickle and dime you like you never thought it would.

I used FRP for the tub surround and continued it as a wainscote for the remainder of the bathroom. But my rental is in a lower income neighbrhood and while it looks fine, it probably wouldn't be popular for nicer places. I have a window in the shower area too, so I needed to work around that. I considered all angles of the bathroom rehab and I don't think it will make a big difference if you go fiberglass or tile. But if you ever need to get to the shower plumbing in the future, you might be thankful to have gone with tile (and that you saved some extra tiles and grout to match).

Welcome Brian. I'm also 32 and just got started (and am named Brian, lol). This site it great. I mostly search the forums, but the articals are good, too. I'm like you and use forums for all kinds of stuff. Good luck. Do you know what part of real estate you want to get involved with yet?

Thanks Jeff. No, not too much of a question, but just putting my stuff out there to get feedback on anything that sticks out to anybody and just share my experience with my current deal as well. Already I have recieved a lot of feedback on some electical stuff that I hadn't really thought about until now.

The main thing I am taking away from everybody so far is that the repairs I am doing now are not unreasonalble for future considerations (which relieves some anxiety) and that I need to consult with my electrician before doing any modifications to the systmen - regardless of good intentions! Jon and some others laid that down, for sure.

Johm,
You posted as I was writing. If I am exposing myself to more than existing liability, than I need to carefully consider my plans. I need to also check to see if I upgrade the service, will I need to rewire the house? I will consult with my electrician with what code and legal requirements are and adhere to them. I have worked as an electician's helper in the past, however, and I know the ground follows the same path throughout the circuit and connects to the same bar in the breaker box as does the neutral wire. The third prong is not necessarily a "dummy hole", but it is a redundancy. It would not create more actual danger, but apparently more liablity of existing danger. If you use an adapter you are doing the same thing, except the "dummy hole" protrudes from the wall in the adapter rather than sitting flush in the plug, also connected to nothing (in my case). I do take mechanical systems seriously and am not operating by the seat of my pants. I will definitely look into the code requirements as I am now concerned about it. Thank you for sharing your alarm with me. This is another example of how this website has helped me!

Jason, 1500 is the price (a good price) for the materials only for the system. That would include a 2 ton compressor and a 2 ton gas heater in the attic and all the duct work. The house is small and is only 750 sf. The tonnage is a little high for the small space, but it is poorly insulated and this was recommended by the at least 3 HVAC gusy that I got bids from. As I said, there is no existing HVAC so I need a new plennum, condensor, compressor, air handler, heater, the WHOLE nine yards. I was quoted over $4,000 by the other two guys and the guy that will do it for $3,000 is giving me a deal because one of my investor friends referred him to me. But maybe I am still paying too much. Even with a long term relationship, $1,500 is WAY cheaper than $3,000.

Dick, In regards to the three prong, I will look into it. I myself live in a 1953 house with old two wire copper romex throughout but with an upgraded 200 amp serivce that has the additional ground outside to the earth (not the water line) as required by modern code. I had the house inspected and financed it through FHA. Maybe the laws are different in Maine than in Texas? Maybe it's okay as long as the service is properly grounded to new code requirements? I will look into it for sure. I will ask the guy who is replacing the service about it. There is already one 3 prong plug that was installed for the window unit and another random one in the living room. When we pull the permit for the electric it will be for the service. If I had to replace broken outlets in the future, I am not even sure I could find two prong plugs. Although I have never looked...

I know the service will likely be inspected after the install, but who is going to inspect the rest of the house? I know this might sound like a stupid question, but I have not heard of mandatory inspections of rental properties by any particular entity where the house is located. There is a voluntary registration with the city for fire notificatins, and other city communications that would otherwise go directly to the residence and not to my home address, and there would be if I go Section 8. But I don't know that Section 8 inspectors would pull electric plugs out to see the wiring behind them. But maybe they do. I am undecided on Section 8 at this time. I prefer to try the free market first. Again, this is new territory for me, so your input is greatly appreciated.

Do y'all find that rehab miscellaneous fixtures, fittings, random tools, etc eats up more money than you anticipated, or is this something you just get good at accounting for after doing a few rehabs? I am a pretty detail oriented guy (engineer) and I am surprised at how much I did not account for.