All Forum Posts by: Karoline Kaon

Here is a photo of another space that looks like a gap. But I am brand new to all of this, so I am here to learn from you!

Hello BP DIY-ers,

My husband and I purchased our first home! I had this crazy idea to tackle flooring on my own. This is the beginning of DIY Floors. My plan is to install Vinyl Plank that clicks and locks. The upstairs apartment is only 532 SQ FT with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. We are only putting LVP in the two bedrooms and hallway. I have not decided whether to install carpet on the stairs or hardwood. I am thinking about contracting someone to install the flooring there because it seems a bit more involved. But if you have done it, please let me know your experience!

After a long day at work, my husband and I finished pulling out the carpet yesterday. The tack strip and staples still need to be removed. On Friday, we are going to vaccum the sand and dust from the floor. The previous owners had dogs, but once we took the carpet out, the smell was gone...at least for now. I have not gone back yet to sniff around.  Based on the BP forums, google and youtube, I noticed that a lot of people prime their subfloors. Is this necessary if the smell is not prevalent? It seems like moisture is what we want to avoid between the sub floor and vinyl plank floor. So what is the consensus? 

I have also read about leveling the floors and working with a flat surface. I noticed walking on the plywood that a few pieces are higher than the others. It seem like I can nail those pieces and it should even it out? This is a grey area that I can't really figure out what to do. I also noticed some gaps between pieces of plywood. They were extremely small probably .2mm between the plywood. But as a someone with no experience, I did raise an eyebrow.

If you look at this image in the left hand corner there is a small gap. Is that something I can nail down?

The flooring comes in on Sunday and I am hoping to pick it up and allow it to acclimate to my home for a day or two. But how do I prepare this sub floor before I lay any new vinyl plank flooring?

@Dan Ward can I paint a subfloor? I am going to install floating vinyl plank and the former owners had pets but the stench left when we threw out the carpet. However I have noticed a lot of people prime their floors with Kilz or shellac paint. Have you ever done this and do you thin kit is necessary?

Thanks @Vonetta Booker. It has been quite a stress relief to forget about that property. But I am also worried about finding something else in a timely manner.

@Justin H. You were right! The agent told me a plumber would have to be present when they turn the water on. She also said I would only have to pay him if there were necessary repairs, well I have decided not to take on that risk.
@Marlene D'Souza

@Marlene D'Souza usually the inspection is worth it but after digging a bit deeper, I don't think it is worth it to invest in the property. Since there is potential foundation issues, I would need a structural engineer to evaluate it; A local engineer quoted me $1200 and that does not include fixing anything.  As a newbie with limited experience with out of state investing, this thing started to look like a money pit. 

@Anthony Dooley Yes, you are correct! I can find much better properties that were not flooded and are not in a flood zone. Thank you for your advice. I have decided to keep looking and get my EMD back.

Thank you to everyone who contributed! I appreciate it and ya'll saved me from a potentially $50K disaster.

@Anthony Dooley I will be buying the property cash. I want to buy and hold the property. My strategy is to hold onto it until the area develops. It is in a college town and the locals are trying to develop that area. BAE will be moving in the next few years. Noted, if an investor has not already bought it...there are probably much larger issues. 

@Christopher Salazar Houses in the area average $50,000. I will be buying it $35,500. Yeah, they mentioned that a plumber would have to be there if there are any plumbing issues.

Thanks for the input guys! I appreciate it.

Hello BP community,

I am looking to invest in a property out of state but I will be moving into it for grad school. This would be my first property that I buy sight unseen. It is an REO and I have not yet had it inspected. I just learned that it might have had some damage to the foundation. There was a flood in September 2011 and the water had not been on since October 2011. The house has also been vacant since then. Apparently, the water level was so high, it went over the levee's and flooded the area of the house.

I am under an as-is contract with the bank. I still have twelve days for the inspection but I don't know if it is worth it. 

Another issue is insurance, my realtor quoted $302/year for insurance. Which seems low to me. But because the house is less under $50,000, the insurance rate is lower? 

The inspector would confirm whether there was foundation damage. What do ya'll think? Is it worth it to get the inspector to check it out or should I run? 

@Tyler Austin did you find a local home inspector you'd recommend? 

That's awesome! I look forward to seeing photos when the rehab is completed.

Hi Scott,

I have a BA in linguistics and I am going back to grad school for a MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I am planning to house hack while I am in grad school. I actually wanted to be an architect as a kid. But when I went to college, I studied Chinese and Korean and realized I wanted to study abroad. As a linguistics major, I could study languages and meet my requirements. So no formal real estate education in college but BP and reading about real estate has helped me a lot.