All Forum Posts by: Maurice D.

I Used to have a 2001 Dodge cummins, I picked up years ago with a plow and "Property Management" sticker on it! I regret selling it to this day.

I just brought a 2002 Dodge 1500 single cab, 8 ft long bed.  very hard to find, but when it's about hauling stuff I don't need or want a quad cab.  it helps to know some things about the particular trucks you like, as you can negotiate the price down.

In my case, the dodge's cabin fresh air door  always breaks and the air intake plenum gasket on Rams is also usually broken.  

Not having a truck makes you miss on small deals where you can't rent a truck or get there in time.  For example, I recently wanted a matress that showed up at Costco.  now gone. 

fyi, 5miles.com has a good selection on vehicles, better than craigslist and seller ratings.

I was trying to unarchive a craigslist post the other day and ran into this..

https://www.harmari.com/

They scour craislist, facebook, etc for short term rental adds and built a database. they sell short-term compliance data to cities to find/fine unlicensed STR's. BEWARE! Technology and Artificial Intelligence can get you busted in a heart beat these days :(

Going through some of this myself,  I work full time and purchased a live-in flip.

Estimates in Dallas area beyond gouging so I decided to do my own attic work.. 

my recommendation, is to set realistic expectations of your time in order to avoid the stress of delays.  For example, give your self small but specific task goals for the day: "install fan".  get it done, and anything else is a bonus.  

otherwise, you will  be overwhelmed with what's left to do.. 

Almost every evening I'll have something to do, or prepare.  

same scenario here.  just move from apartment to my live-in flip.   I didn't get a chance to have the bedroom carpet cleaned and they just replaced it, and prorated the cost.  I didn't even have pets, it probably just needed a cleaning.  :(

Property tax records / foreclosure notice may have mailing address of owner or pay for a skip trace.

you can buy it at auction or if you get a hold of the owner (and if there is enough time) attempt to cure the default in a subject-to purchase. 

Let's see if this works, hot spot in a ceiling, insufficient insulation near suffits

I'd say it depends of the age of the house.  I opted to buy a used camera and did it myself, it will pay off in a few homes, the value here is I can walk away from a home before even paying for inspection if there are a lot of hidden issues, or negotiate the price down (with photographic evidence).

As an example, my most recent purchase, 1968 brick home had some cooling issues and I suspected attic and insulation, and what happened was they added blow-in insulation and covered suffit vents up.  camera also shows a lack of insulation above the kitchen cabinet etc.  Just going over the house with this camera gave me loads of insights.

Here's the home inspector's take on them and examples of what they have found, even down to evidence of mouse infestation! 

https://www.nachi.org/forum/f58/found-thermal-1304...

sounds like a good option for you if your electric bill is high.  I'd recommend owning it outright over lease.  30% federal tax credit on the installation.

I'm looking into this for my current live-in property.

Also, depending on lot size, configuration you are not limited to just roof mount.

I'm need a carport so likely going to cover it with panels.

here is the deal.  longer warrantied tanks include a thicker diameter Anode rod.  

Most people don't know this, but the anode is a wear item.  it's a sacrificial metal rod that corrodes easier than the tank (by design), so that the tank itself remains rust free.

so some tanks come with 5/8 OD diameter rods, others with 3/4 and I believe 1".

I change them out every 4-5 years, they cost 10-20 bucks... 

I have a 2006 tank which is spotless inside because I keep up with draining it every few years and rod maintenance.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-11582-Aluminum-Anode-...

Bottom line is, you can even buy a used tank or lowest warranty tank, put a thick rod it in and run that thing for over a decade. 

if you allow this to slide, it sets a very bad precedent.  it's not up to the tenant to decide a "discount".   on the other hand, why did it take a week to get the water fixed?