All Forum Posts by: Rob K.

Ryan M. I'm paying $22.37 for Promar 200. I never heard of Shur Scrub. How does it compare to 400 or 200? When I started buying paint from SW, I was buying the 400 paint for $14 per gallon. The prices at Sherwin Williams seem to go up like a gas pump. I always feel like the victim of a financial rape when I leave there. The manager told me one day that 2011 was the best year ever at the store I go to. I replied that if I raised my prices every two months, I would have the best year every year. Having said all of that, I have used Behr and Glidden in the past and I feel that the 200 is far superior. I like it better than the 400 also.

A few years ago, Sherwin Williams bought out a company called MAB. They had the whole back room full of MAB paint in some light beige color that they were selling for $6 per gallon. I bought about 100 gallons of it. It was great paint. They don't sell it anymore.

Chris Calabrese Those colors on that house are sharp! Great job!

Brian Hoyt The old school oil Kilz is good stuff. I just don't like the smell or the cleanup. Kilz 2 is junk IMO. I like the Zinzer primer better than Kilz 2. I've been buying primer at Sherwin Williams. I forget what I paid since I haven't bought any in awhile, but I get it tinted that same moderate white color that I paint. It makes painting over it super easy.

I always use a color called Moderate White from Sherwin Williams in their 200 series. It's a very light beige. It's about the color of the Light Almond plug and switch covers that Home Depot sells. I use white plugs and switches with the light almond covers and it is a clean look. Usually, the ceilings get painted 200 Flat White from Sherwin Williams and the trim is 200 semi gloss white. It depends on the price range. In some of the cheaper houses, my guy paints the entire house in the Moderate White. Splash and dash.

I just started the free TV deal this year. I let them know they will get it once they have been in the house for five years.

I did buy one so far. I have some tenants in a house that have been there for three years. The are great payers, keep the house clean, and I've had zero problems with them. They've been talking for the last year about possibly moving to a nicer area and asking me what other houses I have. I was able to get them to sign a two year lease in their current house. I had the carpet cleaned at my expense and I bought them the TV. If they were to break their lease and move, they are collectable and I'm holding a 1.5 months security deposit. I don't think they would do that anyway.

I would rather shell out $400 and have them stay another two years than risk having them move. Plus, I bought the house for only $20,000 and paid another $4,000 for repairs, taxes, and insurance. Have been getting $725 per month for three years and have another two years locked in. Taxes and insurance are only $1,700 per year.

I basically got a free house from this one tenant in only three years. Everything else from now on is gravy. I could probably sell the house in this market for $40,000 or keep collecting rent into perpetuity. Either way, it's a winner.

I don't want the TV back. It's theres to keep. It's just an incentive for them to stay five years. If I buy a house for $20,000 and rent it out for $700 per month, i just collected $42,000 in rents for five years. I'm trying to avoid vacancies. If someone stays five years and I don't have to pay an electric bill or a lawn mowing, I'm happy to buy them a TV.

I have purchased dozens of HUD houses. You can get some good deals, but lately they have been selling for full price or higher in my market. In 2009, they were advertising some houses as "any and all offers considered". I was able to pick up two of them for 25% of asking price. Those days are long gone.

One thing I would recommend is to purchase title insurance. HUD says they are guaranteeing clear titles, but with all of the robo signing that went on, I don't trust it.

Geof Greeneisen
If I had 4.7mil laying around, I would not have done this deal. A lot of these properties were vacant lots that are hard to move. Most of the houses will be trashed. I'm not sure how many were in South Warren, but that area might as well be Detroit. The city is a nightmare to deal with too. I don't know how much real estate experience this guy has, but it looks like he really jumped in with both feet. I didn't read the whole article. I caught bits and pieces in several news stories.

You're right about having to pay a lot more taxes. Hopefully he factored that in. Not sure also how many water bills and weed cutting assessments he will be faced with. Also in Warren, they just replaced a lot of the sidewalks. That could be another $200-$800 per parcel.

We will see if he does this again next year. I don't know how that guru from last year did, but a lot of his properties are still on the market.

Joel Owens
I train in Krav Maga also. I love it! Great workout and super practical for the real world. We have a weapons class, which is my favorite. Taking guns, knives, and sticks away from people is super cool.

Karen M.
At the auction, they offer all of the properties first as a bulk sale. That way they can sell them all and be done with it. If nobody buys them all, then they auction them off individually. Some will sell and some won't. The county is then stuck with the ones that didn't sell and they have a second auction a few months later. There's no inside deal. It's an easy way for the county to unload everything if it sells as one sale.

Geof Greeneisen
When you go to sell these properties, can you sell with a warranty deed? Will the title company insure that sale?

Carl B
Cash is king. Save your money. I bought my first house on a no doc mortgage with 20% down. My interest rate was 11%. This was in 1995 when I was 21. Rates are a lot lower now and the no doc went out with Vin Diesel.

Do what Dave Ramsey says - live like no one else so that someday, you can live like no one else. Cut up your credit cards. Cancel your cable. Drive a paid for beater. Don't go inside a restaurant unless you work there. Save every penny and make it happen. You can do it. Good luck to you.