All Forum Posts by: Leland S.

That's definitely the best way I'm sure. I have 9ft ceilings, but adding a whole new framing and moving trimouts would be a much bigger job.

 Yes. Guests provide reviews that noise transmission is high and privacy is low. It is far too transmissible, both vibration and voices/music. I understand vibration cannot be dampened, but I think voices and music would be dampened by this method. 

I'm looking to reduce the sound between two levels of a townhome, as I rent them separately, but they were built with standard drywall on the ceiling. The second story is supported by 1.5" open joists. 

After some research, I've come up with the following:

- Blown-in insulation to fill the joists with hard-packed cellulose
- Add asphalt panel board layer across the entire ceiling to the existing drywall and fill the cutouts. 
- Add a second layer of 5/8's drywall to the asphalt board. 

It was suggested that I use sound caulk for a second layer of drywall, but I think the asphalt board will help dampen the lower frequencies more. 

I'll just need 2" screws to reach the old J-boxes in the ceiling for the trimouts. 

I've read the J-boxes also need to be sealed somehow but I'm not sure how. Maybe caulking any gaps or cracks in them should suffice.

Experience appreciated. 

 I'm in the same boat, and wish to have a mountain home. As I looked into Gulf beach house investments, the numbers there are break even. Likely the same thing, people are fine with having a zero cost vacation home. 

When the STRs are now selling at the 1% rate you expect for a long term rental, the market has become saturated and too risky. My STR property has seen a hit. Getting a $150/nt on a 4-bed house, then getting $200 damage and having to haggle with Airbnb to get it paid out is just boorish.

 I listened to David Greene's book on long distance investing when I was in the middle of my remote rehab. 

I could probably write my own e-book on this topic, but just to cover your posted questions, I really need more context. Are these long term rentals? Do you not wish to pay a rental manager? Are they furnished rentals? I only have furnished rentals, so I maintain the wifi networks which allows me to control digital locks remotely for tenants, they are fine with code only access. I do have a lockbox with backup keys. I have a reliable handyman to fix nearly any small items, and if needed call in the licensed guys. I use Zillow and other listing services (I'm hiring out this part soon). I use Zillow for background checks and there's another service I had paid for through FurnishedFinder (keycheck). I have a docusign account and created my own contract by merging multiple templates and having a lawyer review. I take all the payments from tenants directly using Zelle or Venmo. For showings I have a local guy I've used for multiple odd job tasks that I trust to let people in the house or check on things as needed. I found him on Task Rabbit or one of those sites. 

Unsure why you think buying a home is better than construction. Aside from getting a great deal on a fixer and executing a nice flip, I find new construction provides better margins. Economics are all the same no matter which route you go, just a matter of doing the research.

Cant do this one but maybe in future

For some reason, I've decided I want to build a beach home along the Florida gulf coast. I want to make sure it can perform at a 10 cap or above. My understanding of Destin it's too expensive and returns aren't great. Panama City is a grungier environment but has higher returns. I was liking the Laguna Beach area, however, I saw lots in not-ideal places running for $500k. For that price, I'd have to put in a $2M total product - 4/5 bed home with pool/hot tub etc - which only grosses me 150k. Then I learned of Fort Meyers Beach where an agent told me sand is going for $300K, but a quick internet search shows sand is actually going for 1.7M. Possibly the demand is still too high for beach homes to make the numbers investor friendly, or possibly I just need to make sure I find the right spot and build the right product. 

I'm thinking of taking a week's vacation along the coast in a couple of weeks for my birthday/investment trip to do some field research. Contacts would be nice.

Go big or go home. If you're not uncomfortable you don't grow as fast or at all. Stagnation will be your biggest regret. That said, find a mentor before you start to bounce ideas off, or just use this forum for big decisions along the way. The $100k properties will be in undesirable areas and your equity will die in market downturns (which we may be in now). Make sure your numbers have solid margins before executing that way it will always be investable to someone. Buy right.