All Forum Posts by: Jamie DeRossett

No

This is a issue any experienced investor has dealt with and it is very frustrating and exhausting.  In Ky you do not have to pull a permit to do a rehab; however, some contractors pull the permit just to lock the homeowner in and it makes the rehab much more expensive.  We always act as the general contractor even before I got my contractors license; so, we can hire and fire who we like anytime.  The first guy is full of excuses and crap.  We have all dealt with those contractors with nothing but excuses and we have heard them all.  It is normally very hard to cut ties at this stage of the process because you already have a price on the whole job and it is much more expensive to have another contractor come in and finish.  Your delema keep him or let him go.  The way I make that determination is has he been at the house consistantly doing the best he can or has he not been there at all.  If he has been there making a effort we keep if not we let go it is that simple.  If you are venting here he propably is not doing his best so move on.  Another big factor you have not shared is what is your payment arrangement.  How much have you paid them and how much work have they done and if they stopped know how much would you owe.  That is what you really need to know to make the best decision.  Pure nightmare when this happens and it is all on the contractor. We have a simple motto at my contracting firm, "Say what you do and do what you say" and will have happy, repeat customers. Good luck!

Ryan Foster at Traditional Bank Palomar does financing for investors and is a investor himself.  He is great because he is a investor and has a great program where all the repairs can be financed in the loan up to 80%.  His number is 296-0000.  Good luck!

Louisville is a great place to invest.  Good luck!

I believe credit karma is equifax.  Lenders use a combination of equifax, trans uniion, and experian.  Getting a score from credit Karma only gives the equifax score and the lien may not have been reported to that agency.  You need to pull all three scores and see where you and at which is what a lender will do.  Look at those three scores, see why they are what they are, and work to fix those problems.  Credit repair is a option, but need to know what is on all three reports to start.   

Hey Jeff Jenny Lawson and Steven Talbott are both excellent real estate attorneys in Lexington.  As you will see all real estate attorneys are price. Thanks for the post!

Brandon, Thank you for the kind words and support as we are all part of the same real estate family in Lexington and even though our opinions may not always be exactly the same we can still support and enpower the local real estate community in Central Kentucky.  Thanks again and you best wishes to you and your wife.  Have a great day!

Hey Melissa thanks for the post.  We have been investing for over 10 years and finding contractors is a art and not a science and we have found the most luck finding specialized contractors for each item.  We find contractors that work for the big companies and use them on the side and we usually pay about 50% of market for each item.  For example I just had windows installed in a flip and there were 14 windows.  Just about every window company in Lexington charges $400 a window installed.  So, I used a company in a smaller adjoining county that charges $250.  To install laminate floor coverings is between $2-$3/sf. We use a contractor that only does flooring for $1/sf.  We use a roofer for he roof at about 50% of market cost.  We hire electrician to the electric and plumber to do plumbing all at great rates, because we have a reputation for paying as soon as the job is done and we send them a lot of work so we fast turnaround at low prices. Some investors hire 1 contractor to do the whole job and we have done this.  We have the same problem every time. They over promise and under perform and the cost is always greater than the estimate and it takes a lot longer with one contractor in my experience.  

We do not use licensed and insured contractors and most investors do not.  Those are the contractors that charge $400 a window and $3 to install flooring.  As an investor you have to learn to get the best possible prices for contractors that are great at what they do.  I am a licensed contractor with insurance, but may of the subs I use do not have lisence or insurance, but they are great at what they do because they are all specialized in there specific trade  I would never let a roofer paint house even if they did it cheap, because they are roofer.  A lot of contractors say they can do everything which may by true, but what we have found is they do not do everything well.  This is one of the most challenging aspects of investing I hope this helps.  Thanks for the post and have a great day!

 I base that on my experience purchasing buy and hold, fix and flipping homes all over central KY, appraising over 10,000 homes in Central KY.  Both of the markets are experiencing low days on market and multipul offers on each listing if it is priced right. Another way is by talking with title attorneys at closing and the consensus is that Lexington and Georgetown are doing really well right now and have been for years.  Lexington is just a great market and Georgetown has a lot of industry including Toyota and a bunch of factories that make parts for toyota kinda setting Georgetown apart from other bedroom communities. This is just my opinion and I should say they are the best markets in Central Kentucky.  I am not an expert on Louisville or Northern KY, but I am sure those markets are doing great too.  My wife is mega agent is Lexington and is selling her conventional sales in less than a week for top dollar.  Vacancy rates are very low and I don't now how they compare to the rest of the state, but they are very low.  Cashflow may be a different story, and that is why you have to either pay a substanical downpayment or buy with alot of equity to have good cash flow.  My professional opinion based on 20 years of experience as and appraiser and investor is these are the best markets. Thanks for the post and have a great day! Go Cats!