All Forum Posts by: Jeff Miller

Hello

I am looking for a vacant home insurance broker/carrier in South Florida.

Would appreciate any recommendations

Thanks.
Jeff

@Chris Davidson - thanks for the advice. Very much appreciated.

Check out Scarnecchia Mullin, PLLC in Fort Lauderdale. Not sure whether they do creative financing, though.

Hi Chris

Thanks for the response.

Perhaps I was not clear - the $50K estimate is to fix ALL issues. The  estimate to just replace existing pipes was between $15K and $20K. The other $30K is for other items (e.g. renovating the bathrooms).

I would like to own the asset long term but I am concerned about what additional expenses I may need to incur before renting. As is obvious, I am a newbie - so I don't know what I don't know :(

Jeff

Hello!

I bought a property in South Florida at the peak in May. It turned out it has polybutylene pipes among other less serious problems. The total cost of fixing everything will be about $50K. I have already invested about $15K to take care of some urgent issues.

If I sell now I would lose about $50K in commissions and lower selling price.

 I have read horror stories of how it took some people over 12 months to fix polybutylene pipes due to a combination of bad contractors and delays in getting permits and inspections. I am worried that if I take on the task of repairing it may take longer than the 2-3 months I can afford.

A third alternative is not to fix the polybutylene pipes and just to rent as is - but I am worried that it could lead to a big problem with the renter and me later.

Does anyone have experience dealing with these types of issues? Any advice regarding this will be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Jeff

My biggest challenge right now is to decide whether I should keep the investment property I bought or sell it. The property I bought has polybutylene pipes and I have not been able to find someone in South Florida who can get everything done (repipe, permits, repatching) in a reasonable period of time and cost. Horror stories in Google Reviews indicate that a combination of bad contractors and slow permits can make this process over 18 months (!!) long.

Hello

I am planning to repipe a single family residential property (which has polybutylene pipes) that I bought about a month back. I have received quotes from 3 plumbers who appear to be experienced but they all said the repatching of walls will need to be done by a different contractor. I did some research on the Internet and found that there are repiping specialists (as opposed to regular plumbers) who can do whole house repiping much more efficiently (in 2-3 days as opposed to the 5-7 days I have been quoted).

Does anyone have a referral for a repiping specialist in the Fort Lauderdale area?

Thanks.

Hi Luyen
Your comment that "LLC doesn't protect you for anything" is very interesting. Could you please expand on that? Is that true in all situations? For example, do different states have different types of protections? Or does it matter how many properties the LLC owns?

Quote from @Luyen Nguyen:

Quote from @Haley Henderson:

Should we just do an Umbrella Policy and not worry about the LLC?

Hello Haley, from all the information that I've gained over the months made me come to a realization that LLC doesn't protect you for anything. So, I all my purchases are conventional under me or my wife's name. After I close on a couple of more property, I'll probably end up getting an umbrella.

I also spoke to a local lender and he works with plenty of investor and tells me majority of them purchases an umbrella over an LLC. In addition, he also told me it was cheaper when it came to tax time.

Hello all,

We just closed on our first rental property in the Fort Lauderdale, FL area. We bought this all cash in an LLC, Once we get a tenant we are looking to take cash out of the house equity and buy a second property.

Any recommendations of a good local (or national bank) that can help us do that?