All Forum Posts by: Christian Malesic

This is good and very important. Liability - AKA Legal Protection

Also mention was Personal Injury and Worker's Compensation

But, you forgot Projects and Completed Operations. This is key to the owner. It covers to fix the roof if it falls in. To repair the damage if a furnace catches fire and takes out half of the basement and 1st floor joists. To remodel if the plumber does not solder his joints or pressure test his Pex. IOW, this covers you, the owner, to bring the property to complete if faulty workmanship, defective materials, carelessness, or accident occurs.

And another (while I am at it): Automobile Liability What if a vehicle backs into your building? This is usually covered under auto, though some underwriters may call that 'Projects'.

With all due respect, I have no idea how you are defining 'good'. I offer this:

I am one of the top rated instructors for the National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB), which is the largest building industry related association in the world. We train that ALL contractors should get 50% up front (unless, as Minna explained, the job is significant in size although our definition of significant is much higher than hers).

As to a a follow-up question by another poster. It is incredibly rare that we are turned down for a deposit. We also have a signed 5 page contract for jobs over $2,500 and a signed 1 page mini-contract we calla proposal for all smaller jobs. When we are turned down, usually it is from scummy landlord-types that are shady and never bathe. :D

Seriously though, in over 10 years of operation, we have had to sue only once. The case continues as he has appealed our winning the first round after over 2 years of legal battle. He was a flipper. Here is a direct quote, "I already sold that house, why should I pay any of the trades?"

Wouldn't you collect 50% up front if you were in our business?

In PA it is called the Clean & Green program. It has some federal backing so may be called this nationally, but we deal only with the county level government.

Ours is a 'cabin' on a 10 acre wooded lot. I am very sure that the same program applies to both wooded and field (ie. it is not a save-the-spotted-owl program or don't-farm-for-cash program, but is for limiting development of any kind on any land.)

We bought the property this way, knowing the pros and cons and have since re-upped our agreement.

Here is the rub... should we (you) ever want to take a property out of this status, all back taxes must be paid. 'All' is negotiable depending on the current public officials and staff. The point is, this is not a do not develop for 10 or 15 or 30 years program. It is a do not develop program.

We glue. Never tried tacking. I guess because we did not want to penetrate the wood. When we have had to replace them, we pull them up, apply more glue, and put new ones down. At some point we may need to sand or such, but suprisingly a good amount of the old glue sticks to the carpet as opposed to the stair.

We use what we call "carpet squares". Actually, they are carpet rectangles.

We buy them at the odd lot stores (such as: Big Lots or Ollies) or at the box stores (Home Depot, Lowes).

They almost always have a pattern that isn't selling well on sale. It is usually perfectly acceptable for rentals or resales in mostly earth tones with patterns. They come in a package of however many, which is usally enough to do a flight.

They are replaceable, quiet, and add a little more class.

For a brand new acquisition: We start by removing all nails, staples, tape, etc. Then caulk the joints with a cheap paintable caulk. Then paint the stairs (usually 2 coats) with a Hershey's Milk Chocolate color brown (I had to get the local flavor in there - pun intended). Then carpet square it up.

It is a relatively quick process, but obviously takes a few trips over a few days. We solve this by making it one of the last projects of the property and ending the day with one of the above tasks, after doing whatever else we came to the property to do that day.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: President Bush says he will not allow the Democrat bill to become law, as reported by the New York Times. I am glad. Your thoughts?

See link here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/business/27housing.html?_r=1&ex=1361854800&en=a0d3a8e949e5d566&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

The article begins as follows:
"President Bush sided with banks and mortgage lenders on Tuesday, threatening to veto a bill being offered by Senate Democrats that would give more bargaining power to homeowners who face foreclosure.

Opening what is likely to be an intense political battle in the deepening mortgage crisis, the White House said it strongly opposed the bill, which would let bankruptcy court judges modify the terms of a mortgage as part of the restructuring of a debt in a bankruptcy filing..."

With all due respect... though I agree in fact, I disagree in spirit.

Let me explain. Unless a body is an attorney they may not know what fight to fight, what questions to ask, or where the wiggle room lies. I have an attorney that I work closely with and whom will take my call at a moments notice. He is fair, but will charge for his services.

Using this forum, others like it, and my local REI group, I can decide if I should make the call. Meaning, I can find out if this issue has a dog in the fight. From that which was posted, it appears as though that answer in NO. The wording of the title is specific and particular. Why, then, consult my attorney (for a fee) on an idea that popped into my head to make things more clear to tenants?

Thus, by paying my dues on BP (by answering posts and providing advice on those issues on which I have experience and expertise) I am able to receive FREE advice in return.

We all know that you get what you pay for. Which brings us full circle to the standard disclosure... consult your attorney on everything (until your pockets run empty)

It all depends on the size of the bank.

A local bank with real people in their REO office are definitely approachable. In fact, if you establish a track record of easy to deal with, word is your bond, fast, good pay, etc., etc. they may come to you with their REOs.

Large banks - forgettaboutit.

Ps - I bought 3 REOs (at separate times over the period of a year or so)from a local bank that is about 5 years old with 6 or so branches. I dealt directly with the President and have come to know him personally. To the point where we have provided each other advice on general business topics.

We either have our people (my wife & sister-in-law), who are equal owners in the company do the cleaning, or we hire it out.

Our people only do the work on evictions and new apartments.
Incidentally, our cleaning crew gets $80 which they split among themselves however they see fit.

If a legitimate tenant, who is paid up with security deposit in tact, moves out according to the rules of the lease AND we need to have cleaning done - we will hire an outside firm so it can not be argued in the future that we overcharged or some such thing.

Any better ideas? What do you do?

Our cleaning crew (usually my wife and sister-and-law) fills the kitchen sink up with hot water upon arriving and dumps a bunch of grease cutting dish washing liquid in. They then take the filter and begin the soaking process while they go about cleaning. They start cleaning the kitchen with a sponge or rag using that water in the sink (it is not filthy yet) and cuts grease nicely. BTW, often the filter will not fit and they will need to flip it about half way through their chores.