All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Waylon Zook Based on inspection, I currently have single ply modified bitumen. It's a flat rubber roof. So I guess talk to rubber roof manufacturer? Those handymen gave me decent quote but they are not necessarily licensed. My manager has already shown the place to few of those people and not sure how many she will be willing to show to. Any online resources or sites I can use beforehand to eliminate frequent appointment will be really helpful. 

@Waylon Zook I have connections to handymen and some claim they can do the roofing work. But I don't know any roofing contractor in that area.

Hi, I currently have an out of state rental property that needs some major roofing work. And I know almost nothing about good roofing materials. I've been trying to read articles and watch videos to familiarize myself but lack practical knowledge for obvious reason. I have a manager who oversees the house. 

From small works I've done before, i.e installing an exhaust fan, I bought the fan online, got it delivered to the house. But the contractor still charged me for ad hoc things he had to buy during the work since I said I am paying for the material separately. He needed drywall panel, paint, caulk, caulk gun, screws and few other things and at the end it ended up being another $100 bill on top of what we agreed on. I just worry for a major work like installing new roof, those ad hoc stuff could accumulate to a much higher number.

But if I let them buy the material, I am not sure if they are gonna buy good materials given this roof needs to last long. I don't want them to charge me for good materials when they end up buying crappy ones. I have no way to verify what they bought since I won't be physically there. I am tempted to fly to that place but then that defeats having a manager and I am basically adding more to my expense. Plus how will I verify.. I don't know much about roofing either.

What would you do in this situation? Let them handle the material or buy separately? I can ask for their work warranty and get warranty info for the material.. but in reality not sure if they are gonna follow through all those protocol. Anything else I need to be aware of? Thanks so much in advance!

@Ryan Kelly thanks for sharing that info.

Hi @Ryan Kelly thank you for that stat. I actually didn't compare the % of tech job in certain city. Well, I am planning to move from Philadelphia (Philly) to Austin but the HR does not want to adjust to a higher salary.

Based on her opinion, Austin has low(er) cost of labor. Apparently, Austin may have higher cost of living than Philly but that does not necessarily translate to higher cost of labor. She might also be comparing with California which is where the HQ is based out of. Lot of jobs are moving to Austin area from bay area due to lower cost of labor.

My take is, yes, Austin has lower cost of labor than bay area but that does not justify that Austin has same, or maybe even lower cost of labor than Philly. My take is, Philly has less software jobs than Austin so Austin should have more competition both in number of tech companies and number of candidates. So salary must be higher even though no local or state income tax like Philly. To go with your stat, Philly has 4.4% of employment coming from tech sector as of 2019 which is much less than that of Austin. But when I look at Nerd Wallet or Smart Asset, the stat shows in Austin I can earn 9% lower to have same type of living as of Philly. 

Any thoughts?

Hello, I am looking into Austin, TX software engineering market and can't seem to get a conclusive data on which side the city is at this point and where it is possibly heading. I jotted down two possibilities. Basically salary is somewhat related to availabilities of tech companies and the size of engineers' talent pool in the city.

Possibility 1: There are more companies which means more chances to switch between companies. And that means companies need to have more lucrative offer to attract engineers from limited talent pool and that can boost salary. Meaing cost of labor will be higher.

Possibility 2: There are less companies, but more people are moving into austin, so companies have more options to choose from given large talent pool, so they lower the salary because engineers will settle for less salary just to secure a job. This way, cost of labor is lower.

So, which one does Austin currently fall under? The comparision is with, say, a high tax city like Philadelphia, PA. More importantly I want to know, where Austin stands now or heading toward in next 5 years based on more tech companies building their offices there and more people moving in there.

Thank you so much for your insight!

@Victor Steffen thank you for the insight. I am assuming 6 unrelated occupants will have to be under one lease? And the dwelling means single or multi-family unit?

Hello,

What is the law in Philadelphia, PA when it comes to asking tenant if they want to renew lease? I mean when am I supposed to bring up that question? More importantly, how early can I NOT bring up that question?  

And, say, if they do not want to renew, when can I start showing the place given it's occupied? And how early can I NOT show the place if it's occupied? I will give the tenant 24h notice of course. 

Thank you.

Being a resident/investor of Philadelphia, PA where rent per room has strict rules from the city, I am curious to know how that plays out i Austin, TX. Can someone direct me to specific resources or share the rules on renting per room in Texas? In philly, there is a 'no more than 3 strangers' rule but how about in Austin. Looks like there is a rule on no more than 7 strangers for a single family unit but does that mean you CAN has 7 strangers with indivual lease under a SFH? What other rules I should be aware of as an investor? Both for SFH and multi unit. Thank you.

I have a quick question: as a landlord if the utilities are under my name and I make the tenants pay me the bills instead of directly to the companies, should I be sharing my account info with the tenants?