All Forum Posts by: Lee L.

@James Qiu I was just going to say to Advion from Amazon. A pest control company I know even uses it.

@Meena Balaji It's hard to change people's habits, and the roaches are completely on them. Based on my experience, once the place gets clean, the roaches will go away. You might want to walk through their unit and point out the problem areas so they realize how they aren't clean. Check to see if there are scraps under the fridge, near or under the stove. Check to see if they have a sealed trash container. Make sure they have a sealed pet food container if they have pets. Take a look at their pantry. Tell them that next time, pest control will be at their expense. 

I once rehabbed a unit where it was filled with hundreds if not thousands of roaches. Basically, in that apartment, anything you pick up - a sheet of paper, a can of coffee, under the microwave, behind the sideboards - there would be a roach (or 5) under it. We paid the tenants to leave and did an extensive remodel, which took a couple of months, and probably starved those buggers. We moved in new tenants who are spotless, and I've not had problems ever since. Make sure the tenants are throwing out food waste. Target the pantry and ask them to throw out everything that's been opened for fear of contamination. And if they have pets ask them to store pet food in a tightly sealed container  

Perhaps the Raleigh-Durham Triangle area in North Carolina. I went to college at Duke. You've got mostly mild climate but a bit on the humid side. It has a tech industry within the area bounded by three schools - Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. Forests as far as the eyes can see. Very affordable compared to L.A. Snows maybe 1 week out of the year. Doesn't get crazy rain, though it does rain sometimes. Friendly people. Best fried chicken. Many lakes, and you're a few hours from the ocean, though I don't recall big waves ... just beached jellyfish. 

I've been thinking about investing there if I ever decide to invest out of state. 

@Aaron McGinnis Thanks. I think I'll go with the clicky type of plank flooring. 

@Michael Zach Have them sign the lead paint disclosure

I'm considering Utility Oak Grade Flooring for a rehab. Does anyone have experience with this this stuff?  Were you happy with the result? How much did you have to waste? Is there significant savings? Did you have to wait to get your order filled?  Pictures would be awesome!

Per Lumber Liquidators, Utility Oak Grade Flooring is:

"Utility grade flooring Will have defects, knots, open knots, missing tongues, machine burns, splits in the wood and short pieces (12"-8").
Sold as is-no warranty, no returns, no cancellations.

This product comes in square-edge or v-groove and may be mixed product. Please note unfinished flooring is sold in open, strapped bundles and not sold in boxes. This product must be purchased in bundles. Bundle size may vary.

This material is on an accumulation basis which means this item may have an excessive wait time." 

@Elex Price I've tried that before. Unless you're "friends" with them on FB, the message won't go through. You might try googling names of some of their good friends or family members on FB and see if you could find an e-mail, for instance their work e-mail. E-mail the friend or family member and explain the situation, and ask them to forward your message with your contact info. I was able to reach the person I wanted to talk to this way, but didn't end up getting the house. 

Get The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs written by J Scott. You can also try to get your hands on inspection reports from other homes, study them and find out what to look for. Focus on the identifying the more expensive things. Invest in a good flashlight, take notes when visiting the property. Let the agent know your concerns and ask plenty of questions based on your observations

@Vic Vega That's the biggest deal for me - the water bill. It's a huge expense, especially here in CA, and we have the risk of water restrictions with the unreliable supply of water and all. 

As you know, it depends on the market. If the tenants pay for the water, then I'd say have yourself a washing buffet. Otherwise, I would skip the washer/dryer for a 3+ bedroom unit, especially if it means huge families with a lot of clothes to wash. If the unit has 1 or 2 people, and it's an uppity market, it could be a solid value add. Same thing with dishwashers.  

@Christopher Dunson 

This 5-minute test is available from Amazon claims to test for toxic variety of mold.  

"Healthful Home 5-Minute Mold Test. Aspergillus/Penicillium and Stachybotrys" 

I tried it out while I had a property under contract. Fast and easy to use, results were clear ... though judging by reviews, not everyone had the same experience. The result came out negative for toxic mold (it can come out positive, negative or inconconclusive). It made me feel a bit more confident about moving forward, though I ended up backing out for another reason. 

@Christopher Dunson