All Forum Posts by: Jim Stardust

What are you guys paying for higher end flooring options, say hardwood, for mid to higher type of flips?

If she's a keeper, I would pay attention to the signals she's sending or you could end up on the losing end. It's happened to a friend of mine, his wife ran out with one of his friends, he was devastated, and it took a toll on him and his career was in ruins.

So pay attention, quick weekend getaways, take her out to dinner and do things she likes, you can allocated a bit of time for her. Most importantly, explain to her that this is temporary and that by X time, you should have built your career and should see some normalcy. Include her in some of your work, if she's available, she can do a research or accompany you when you're running some errand. Now, if she's the naggy/needy kind and she wants ALL of your time and attention, it may be time to walk away and concentrate on your work.

Good luck!

Hey Hoang, check out Edgco Wholesale in Hamilton (just north of Cincinnati). They manufacture good windows and I just bought from them, cost around $150 a window (some larger than 101 UI and some needed grids). They advertise their starting windows at $119.95. You can get a reputable installer through them or someone else. Mine asked for $50-$75 a window (install plus wrapping, etc.) but for that order you can probably work on a deal with Edgco and with the installers.

I got quotes from Windows City and Window World (both advertise for $189 windows) but when they factored in the Low-E and wrapping/grids, came out to around $270 or more per window. Good luck!

Zillow has a $1 billion of currency now, I wouldn't dismiss them as a single product. They're looking at the future of real estate marketplace, I can almost bet you they'll be making acquisitions in the space to create some sort of an alternative MLS system. That's where the money is, think eBay or Craigslist for real estate. The company is run by top industry veterans so there's a lot of talent at the top. I can see them acquiring FSBO or technology to build something similar. There are companies like Trulia that would make a good fit with Zillow. Also, the successful launch of their IPO and the interest from money managers and investors, especially if it continues, is going to give them great legitimacy so they will have a lot of leverage to deal with the power players in this field, e.g., The National Association of Realtors. Although I think Zillow's valuation is ridiculous based on their current revenues and income, I do think they have a good chance of succeeding, think about it, this space hasn't seen the type of innovation and game changers as we've seen in other industries or media.

As I thought about Joshua's question a bit more, I think Zillow will have a positive impact on this industry and this space in general. It gives sites like this more legitimacy and viability. I bet you the more developed companies in this space are already talking to venture capitalists and will be dropping the "Zillow" name quite often, those VC's who may not have considered this space as viable or potentially lucrative a couple of years ago will pause and think about the next big thing.

Is it a legitimate collection? Is it on all three bureaus' reports? How does you credit look otherwise? Is it possible to go to Sprint directly and see if you can settle it with them, if it's recent and just a single bureau, they may be able to retract it or you can send a comment to be put into that report. You could try to dispute it, it might help your score briefly as you apply for a loan, but banks have caught on to that. Is the 644 your FICO score or is is a specific credit agency score, if so, which one? You're going to have trouble with a 644 score anyway, some underwriters insist that you settle all your debt obligations before they approve you.

The valuations some of these companies are getting are simply mind boggling, you'll think we're in the internet bubble 2.

I guess Zillow can now use its stock currency to make acquisitions in this space and increase its product offerings and audience. It's not easy to become the #1 real-estate destination in few short years but it's managed by some top industry veterans.

I'm not sure about what you mean with impact on site like this Joshua, what type of plans do you have? I'm not trying to put you on the spot, but let's say you get approached by someone like Zillow, would you sell it now? I've used Zillow and I found the knowledge and expertise on this site to be much more specialized, deeper, and the sense of community is much greater. I would say you have more in common with LinkedIn than Zillow but I could be wrong. Zillow's traffic is mainly coming from home buyers and sellers looking for answers and solutions. I realize they have somewhat active professional community, but I don't think it's the main attracting point.

I do think the future is bright for this site, it's well managed and promoted, you are building a social "professional" community and with due time you should achieve success. The site and this community is the the future, so it's just a matter of execution and making the right connections/moves.

Look for people with integrity, if you find them, do your best to treat them well and keep them as part of your team. This applies to everyone you deal with in whatever aspect of REI you're in.

Integrity Matters!!!

Hey Charley, I thought there are other "red flags" but she sounds fine. Some people ask for 2-year leases because you're afraid you might sell the house or not renew, etc. You could have asked her. I would still check with the past landlord. I would also call the bank and verify the statements.

As for my criteria, the most common are credit scores above 600, preferably above 650, income 3x rent, no criminal history, no rental collections (but if she checks out and resolved this one, you may give her a pass, things happen), verifiable employment and bank records, positive or neutral remarks from past landlords. There are few more based on the circumstances, some people check the car the tenant is driving, their punctuality for the first showing, drive by old rental place, personal appearance and hygiene, other little stuff to give you a clue what kind of tenant the person may be.

I would encourage you to check out thelpa.com, they have a very active landlording forum and products that may of help to you as you get started. There are other places if you google landlording.

Check your State law, but I believe in most States you should pick the first qualified applicant you receive. However, this is your property and if you have 4 applications, I would screen them all and pick the strongest applicant. Though as we all know, the strongest might not be the best tenant overall.

Anyway, you can send the others a short letter, saying another applicant made a better fit for your property, don't say anything about qualification or such. Good luck!

I know a guy who used to finance a flipper than landed a TV show (only ran several episodes back in 2008). The flipper was getting paid close to $200,000 per episode. He said everything was produced and staged, the crew was getting paid by the producers as well, not just for their work but also for their appearance and "cooperation" with the plot of the show. Because of the production crew schedule, they would line up multiple contractors and at times tens of people working (but not shown) to get a portion of the house done in a day or two. They would sell properties for 20-30% under market and they often did get offers very quickly, most times from other investors, who were also in on the project. So yeah, take everything you see on television with a grain of salt. I was told that the producers of the show got very annoyed because the work at one of the houses was going very smoothly and there was no drama, so they manufactured a "water problem" to get things a bit more interesting.