All Forum Posts by: Dean Rinehart

Bullet holes I have to assume means underlying nails have moved up and out of the decking, slowly wearing holes in the slate above...or maybe bibs have slipped out of repairs, exposing nails below...or maybe surface nails that have since rusted away. I'd ask for specifics, I've never heard that term used. In any case, It sounds like they are certainly repairable by a qualified roofer...either with new slates and bibs or as simply as a temporary application of roofing caulk (if they are small and between slates and more work will need to be done at a later date).

Just make sure you find a qualified slater, not just any roof jockey. You're lucky to be close to one of the best that ever walked a ridge...Joseph Jenkins...

http://www.slateroofcentral.com/

As for the steam, the same rule applies. Find someone who is qualified to work with the type of system you have. The general HVAC contractor will probably cause more grief than good...removing critical parts, over pressuring the system and, in the case of a new boiler...oversizing the system "to be safe" and costing you a mint in fuel...or undersizing to win teh bid and costing you a mint in fuel. Lots of variables.

Have the boiler cleaned and inspected and look at the efficiency numbers. Boilers can look a lot older than they are and replacement is completely unnecessary. What I can without a doubt guarantee you is that your radiator steam traps (if you have a 2 pipe system) are all shot and you should replace them all this summer. Steam traps are good for 7-8 years...but most homeowners have never replaced them and the money goes right up the flue. Unless you have some sort of documentation that the traps are less than 7 years old, have them replaced.

Since I'm a complete n00b here and can't offer much in the ways of investment knowledge, I'd like to just offer up my experience and research on slate roofing and steam heating. I'm as close to an expert on both as I am on anything else, so please ask here before paying someone completely unqualified for bad advice. Mine is good and free.

In most cases, expensive repairs or replacements of slate or steam is unnecessary. In many cases, a new, $7000 roof replacement due to a leak is a $150 fix. With steam...well, its almost always expensive, but rarely is replacement needed. Just an understanding of the (seemingly) complex physics at work.

I'd love to save you money and preserve your property's history! Feel free to post in this thread or start a new one...

--Dean

Thanks for the replies!

I think focusing on my local market makes sense not only for familiarity, but management...at least in the beginning.

As for the historic bent, I see your points. It's hard for me to overlook tired properties with great details, though. Historic preservation has become a big part of my life and a good waste of my time. And remember I plan on reselling these rentals in a few years after some time upgrading. But, yes...point taken. I'll have to be careful.

I would not be buying any homes in historic districts with a review overlay though. I'm pretty much opposed to rentals in these districts, and most around here are huge and not really rental props...so no worries!

So...after introducing myself over on the introductions forum, I figured I'd jump in feet first and ask the same question that's been asked thousands of times by newbies on this board:

How should I get started?

I'll give a quick financial background...

I don't own any property besides my own, I don't have an LLC. I have about $300k in equity in my own home and I rent out my 722 square foot, single room guest house on a month-to-month lease at $890 per month. I have about $40k liquid in the bank, more in investments. No debt beyond the mortgage, now at about $320k with 28 years left. My income is about $100k/yr, my wife is a stay at home mom. Take home is about $5,400 per month, mortgage is about $3,200. We put money in the bank each month, but then end up using large chunks on rehabbing our own home. Year over year, we are pretty flat in terms of account growth thanks to fixing up our home.

I'm thinking of buying small to mid sized historic cape-cod, cottage and foursquare urban homes and renting them out and rehabbing them as time and money allows, probably selling a few after a few years but keeping "the best." I'd like to eventually find my rentals making enough money to stop working full-time, or sat least allowing me to go into an enjoyable business of my own with little financial stress.

I like to think I'm in a good position to get started...but what do you think? If this was your situation what would you do? Would you go for single homes or multifamily units? How much of my equity can I eat up to finance purchases and who would I get my money from? Is it safe to focus buying in my own neighborhood or should it be diversified?

Excited, confident...but totally in the dark,

--Dean

Thought I'd jump right in and ask all the dumb n00b questions. First though, I'll give some background.

My wife and I live in Bethlehem, PA, about 80 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philly. Our city is enjoying a pretty boomy post-steeltown era thanks to lots of good small and medium sized business in the area. People are also watching for the late 2008 opening of an $879 million Sands slots casino project on the Bethlehem Steel brownfields...some eager, some not so. While I'd rather not have the old site turned into a casino, there is really noting else that can bring in that money, so I'm a big supporter.

We're the center of the Lehigh Valley, sharing space with Allentown and Easton. Growth is all over the place thanks to the influx of NY and NJ ex-pats looking for cheaper cost of living, though lately it feels like it's starting to even out a bit. Our cost of living has risen dramatically in the past 10 years.

My wife and I own an historic Tudor home on Prospect Avenue in one of the five nationally recognized historic districts in the city. I helped push for and eventually pass an overlay that requires historic board approval of exterior changes in order to preserve these prominent homes in our west side neighborhood. These 27 homes were all linked to the Bethlehem Steel heyday, mine was owned by F.C. Rabold, a vice president of the Steel and also by the founder of Just Born candy company Samuel Born (Some call it the Rabold House, some the Born House...and some even call it the Peep House after the marshmallow treat made by Just Born).

As for investement properties...well, our place is it right now. We have a guest house on the property that we rent out to our gardener. That's it. But we have at least $300,000 (possibly more) of equity in our house and talent for finding good properties. We want to put that equity to good use.

The local market seems ripe for buying homes, doing minor rehab and renting them out. I don't see myself as a flipper...I don't have time to work on anything but my own money pit. Maybe as I learn more I'll change my tune, but for now I'm thinking I'll buy up a few multifamilies and single homes and run with that.

I'm about as green as you can get regarding investment real estate, so that's why I'm here. I promise to search for as much info before I drop the daily dummie, but sometimes I'll probably just not know what to even search for.

Looking forward to spending a lot of time here and hopefully becoming a valued contributor.

--Dean