All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

My question pertains to how to avoid being ripped off by contractors. I had an experience recently where I asked for a bid on a project and it seemed pretty high. When I asked them for another bid with a couple of things changed, he wouldn't give it to me and instead wanted to know "what my budget was." 

At that point, I was kinda annoyed because he wouldn't give another bid and it felt like he was trying to rip me off. I ended up getting someone else to give me a bid on the project (with the changes I asked the original contractor ) and went with them. Turns out I saved quite a bit of money!! 

I've talked with a couple male friends and they've told me that women need to especially be careful dealing with contractors because "it's easier to rip off women."

I totally understand contractors need to make a profit and there's nothing wrong with that. But I also don't want to get ripped off either! This whole experience really demonstrated to me the importance of getting multiple bids and not disclosing a number to "my budget." 

What else can I do to make sure I'm not getting taken advantage of? I'd really love to hear from some female investors, but I know men can get ripped off, too!

Good point. Makes me wonder why a guy with that much experience would  be looking for this kind of arrangement. Lol

Thank you for sharing. I'll keep my eye out for some properties in my area. Since I'm near the Seattle area, prices have gone up quite a bit and go pretty quick though. I'm in a pretty good location right now and don't want to move out of the area. My mortgage is very affordable. I think I'll just focus on working extra OT and go from there.

I came across the following ad on Craigslist: 

"Hey. I am looking for a caretaker or handyman type position. I have over 35 years of experience is the building trades, building and facilities Maintenance, and as a handyman.

I need a place for me and my very well behaved, super friendly, kid and pet safe, 11 year old dog. I will do any kind of work needed, in exchange for rent." (https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/sha/d/need-hand...)

Anybody with experience doing a work/trade partnership like this? Is this a bad idea? I have a spare bedroom and a house that needs some work done. Would I be better off focusing on working more OT to save up cash to hire somebody instead? Sometimes things seem like a good idea, but they're really not. I'm just not sure if this is something that might seem to save me money in the short-term, only to regret later on. 

Any input would be great. Thanks.

Nope. Bought the house before we were married. He is on none of the paperwork. He tried fighting me for the home though. But I proved he bought some real estate with marital assets (and hid it from the court) before/during the divorce. He created an LLC to pull it off. He's lucky I didn't ask for all that in the divorce settlement because the judge was not pleased after learning he did that. Lol But I'm glad all that is over with.

Yes. That's pretty much the game plan. It's going to be hard work, but definitely worth it. 

That's pretty much my goal. I just gotta get some of these projects underway without breaking the bank. I will rent out which ever unit that can make the most money. Each option costs differently and are kinda reliant upon the other. No kids, unless you count my dog... And he's very much like a child. Lol

It is definitely a good idea though. Maybe after "house-hacking" my current place for a while, I can make that happen for my next big real estate investment.

Assuming I earn $80,000 from the sale of my house... and say I find a unit for $330,000 that's a $250,000 debt (and a much more expensive mortgage) that I'd be responsible for. I would have to be reliant on having tenants in all units to keep the mortgage current. That's a lot more risk than I'm comfortable with right now. If I had more in savings, I might be more interested. Maybe I could do something like that once I'm in a better position financially. I'd hate for something to happen and I lose everything.