All Forum Posts by: James Barnhart

You already know that you need to stop enabling him.  Enabling him is not love.  That's just being weak.  So, I would let him know that you love him, but his behavior has not improved and definitely is not acceptable.  So, he has to go.  I would wish him well, and offer to keep in touch if he calls, but he cannot move back in.  That is called love. Hopefully, he will hit his bottom and then turn around his life.  

If you are the type that prays, that would be so good to do, for both him and for your family.  

Hope this helps.

April, I would like to suggest a few things to do that cost little or no money to get your phone to ring.

1. Post creative ads EACH DAY on Craigslist real estate, saying similar things to what your direct mailer said.  Vary them up a little.  If you are on Facebook or other similar sites, post the ads there too.

2. Also on Craigslist, click on the bold letters that say "for sale".  (it's under the housing section on the CL front page.)  In the search box, type in "estate sales".  Contact everyone that has an ad there.  Ask if the real estate is also for sale.  Ask the folks selling jewelry, etc.in their ads, if they will let you know if they found across someone selling their house as part of an estate, and offer to call them if you find something that they want.  Bird dog for each other.  

3. Call everyone on Craigslist that has a house for rent.  Ask the person if they would be willing to sell you their house instead of renting it.  They may be reluctant landlords and be glad you asked them.  if they are not, ask they if they know someone that wants to sell their house.  That works more than you might think.  Also,call every number on For Rent signs that you drive by.

4. Get some business cards made that say you buy houses.  Hand them to several folks each day and get their card.  Leave your cards where allowed, such as diners, auto service centers, etc.  Get to know people and be genuinely friendly.  

5. Ask your mail carrier to bird dog for you and give them several of your cards.  They get to know many people along their routes.  In fact, ask EVERYONE to bird dog for you.  Offer to pay every bird dog $500 if you end up getting a deal on a property that they find..  I have a bird dog contract that I sign with people that promises to pay them, and I offer to do that before they tell me the address.  I hope to pay for a lot of them.  

6. Target a specific zip code and get to really know very well just what is going on there rather than being all over the place.  Drive through the streets on garbage pick up days.  See which houses don't have garbage containers out.  Those are probably vacant ones.  They may be coming up for sale.

7. Call every bandit sign number.  Tell them what you are looking for.  You might be able to benefit each other.

I can give you many more ideas, and you are welcome to contact me if you wish.  You really CAN be successful but it takes more than buying various forms of advertising.  

I also would not advise a new investor to offer to buy a property, sight unseen.  

That said, if you do, I suggest a contingency clause at says,

"This offer is subject to buyer completing all inspections and due diligence with all the results and findings to be satisfactory to the buyer."

That will cover everything.

We just let it build up in the bank.  When real estate taxes and insurance are due, we just pay it off right then.  I guess we should invest it into something that will pay some interest, instead of getting almost nothing.  But, we have not done that yet.

Yes, we could come up with $400 a month if needed.  This is a site for RE investors, so probably most of us could.

I know a superintendent for a large residential builder.  He has a big boat and a nice big truck to pull it, and has many other toys.  Recently, he was driving a brand new pickup.  I asked if he traded his 3 year old truck in.  He said, yes, that truck needed new big tires, and he didn't have the money, but he could afford another $48 a month for a truck payment.  He also smokes cigarettes.  There are THOUSANDS of people that have similar attitudes about money. 

Were those low ball offers or strategically placed offers? If there were several experienced rehab and flip investors that made offers, then they probably know what their costs are. Did this make you recheck your numbers to see if they are correct? Many of us figure the ARV, deduct the profit we want, and the holding and rehab costs. What's left is the price we buy it at.

You could always counter, if you want to.  You could also show your figures to a bidder to show why your price is justified.   They may be upgrading the properties more than you would do.  

Or, you could rehab them yourself, and then sell at retail price and make all that profit for yourself.

Some investors submit several offers a week.  They know that most will not be accepted, but if the seller is in a bind, they might say yes.  I have made several offers a week myself when I see properties not selling after 3 to 4 months on the market.  In this hot market, they should have already sold. Most sellers will offer a counter proposal.

I wish you good luck in getting it sold.

There is only one possible way to not tear the stucco off, and this is a very slim way.  IF you can get a professional engineer to write a letter to the local building official, that says your construction is an acceptable alternative to the building code, it might be accepted.  But, I don't think an engineer would do that, unless maybe he was a paid a large sum of money, and probably not even then.

It looks like you will pay for learning this lesson.  Your stucco contractor should have known better, it seems to many of us here on BP.  He needs to eat this one.

It is usually required, or at least felt paper.  And, I hope you use a GOOD elastameric paint after the stucco is done.  I have seen brand new houses about 10 years ago, without house wrap, and that were spray painted onto the stucco. Two weeks after getting the C.O., there was a heavy rainstorm. The rain penetrated through the stucco and the wood frame siding got very wet.  There was water at the bottom of the drywall inside the new house and the insulation was soaked.  Of course, that was just a one coat of stucco, not the 3 step type.  

I would think that you can use air pressure on the water supply piping.  Talk to a local plumber, and I bet he has done this many times.  They can install a gage and check back later to see if the air pressure has dropped.  And, look into hooking up a generator to the house.  You probably won't be able to run the A/C, but you can check everything else.

Yes, tenant should pay for his mistake.  And, you could have had a more durable product installed, instead of laminate.  Vinyl planks are the way to go.  They look great, and are there from now on.

It's good that you now realize this.  Sorry that you had this happen to you.