All Forum Posts by: Karen S.

Andrew, I like your plans

we bought a rental duplex in 2005...not turnkey (one side needed work) but rentable pretty quickly. after learning a lot, we just got into BRRR in summer 2016. working on purchase #3 (rental unit #4) now. good luck!

I was just going to say that if the bathrooms are ninety percent finished, and the remaining 10% includes a missing sink or toilet, I would work on that first. Who wants to waste time going down the block to Mc D's to use their bathroom once the workers arrive? 

I love your idea! It sounds like a spray on truck bed liner. I would use a color of flex seal, rather than clear. But then the sink base is already water damaged...who wants to look at that? I have a related tip that I am a little bit proud of. Maybe you know it? We use furniture feet on the bottom of our vanities before installing. That 1/8 inch of clearance protects the particleboard from the inevitable water on the floor..

I typically would have used two coats of primer (cheaper than paint) and then tried to get away with one coat paint. I liked the idea of a second, touch up roll coat of paint. That is, don't plan to paint a complete second coat, wait until the light is right, or use your favorite painting lamp and run around the room touching up the show through spots.

It's a little late, but i wanted to add my voice to the group of people saying "avoid tenants with a history of eviction". I would add, with a history of any settlement with any housing creditor. In our experience (only 2 units, but over ten years) the worst of the worst tenants are those that made the choice to damage housing or not pay for housing when times got tough. If credit score is low, we allow a co-signer with good credit..that has worked well. Our best tenants were the people with no credit history at all -- two high school grads beginning life together and a family of refugees whose only credit history was their payment in full of their governmental refugee loan. So strange to see that blank paper on the credit report. I advise you to review the screening materials that the realtor sends you and if possible, participate in showings so that you can learn more. Good luck!

yes, i love those membranes! at the time of tiling that floor we didn't know of them yet. What brand is your favorite? i have used the orange one with the little square holes...kerdi? but it was tough going with the mortar.

We have a duplex with a tiled bath floor on one side and allure grip strip on the other, both installed by us. Currently allure is holding up better. Due to the wood subfloor, the bathroom floors have a little give to them and one of the small tiles is cracked. not a big enough deal to replace (2 inch tile) but knowing how difficult it is to stabilize old wood floors with the seasonal temperature/humidity changes in our area...we'll be doing allure in the future.

Hello Jason

I am also new to BP. I am also here to learn...from the Pittsburgh region