All Forum Posts by: Marian Smith

I just checked out a book, Black and Decker Codes for Homeowners, from my library in electronic format.

i have found that manufacturers often have very good instructions on their web pages. USG, Custom Building Products, flooring and siding companies.

Hey Andy,

Please dont say you have a green that all the females loved and not share the actual color!

I use pintrest to see what colors trendy people seem to be using. Houzz has a milion photos of kitchens nd baths to see color schemes.

The rule of thumb I have heard is dark, light, dark or the reverse when choosing floors cabinets and counters. I would tour and copy a model home I liked. That way you can be sure what it will look like.

I use antique white and an accent wall of whatever color I decide will look good. I have used grey, sage and " pumpkin butter" as accent walls--in different houses.

I set up the same sort of service with Prudential. Have used it for years but recently the link is broken. I still get email alerts but I need to go to realtor.com for an expanded listing.

Samantha, I said I didn't understand it. You didn't tell me how it worked, but I am assuming it is the "We Buy Ugly Houses" model

I have never heard of a monthly fee for comps. but that is good to know.

And 50k for 8 hours of work is very impressive.

I really dont understand the wholesale business model--inTexas--unless it is strictly a secondary income. You have to work a small area OR have to be a realtor to have access to mls sales data which is pretty much the only way to get accurate property values. Realtors cant really knock on doors except to sell on the mls--unethical to otherwise. So no license and specialize in an area. And wait for a funeral or foreclosure posting? And how many foreclosures have equity? And how many estates can be persuaded to sell cheap for expediency? It takes 10% to sell in the traditional manner; surely wholesalers have to get a property for much less than 90% of market value whatever the condition to make a buck.

i have seen a foreclosure with equity change hands prior to the auction. whether a wholesaler or an investor that saw the property the same as I did but had the gumption to knock on the door, I dont know. But I cant imagine there being much opportunity to find those, like fishing in McGelligots pool:)

14k Dell employees in the Central Texas area. Dell is going private to restructure its emphasis to higher profit areas outide selling computers. Could have an impact on the area depending on how that plays out.

That said, anyone have an estimate on how much it costs to build in the area?I heard one guy say he coulld build for $80 a foot--couple years ago at a xmas party. I figure if I can buy and rehab 1200-1500 sq ft for about that much I will have gotten the lot for free. But I havent seen a deal like that in a while.

26 days for a flip? Wow. You must have quite a system down. So would the average flip include popcorn removal and re-tiling tub surrounds? i always seem to have something weird. Current house had a pocket door in the back of the master closet behind a garment rod. The pocket door room was space taken from the garage and it had nothing in it but they had added a gfi outlet. We think it was a grow room. We went ahead and took down the wall and made it one big closet. And reused the pocket door to separate the master vanity from the bedroom. Why did they do that in the 70's, to make the master seem larger? so our rehabs take forever.

you could get a foundation leveling company to give you a bid to repair the foundation for free. They should tell you if it doesn't need repair.

Thanks all. I ask because Home depot's site and amazons have lots of reviews with people saying it is easy to texture with one of those hoppers. Orange peel is the easiest and I am perfectly fine with an orange peel texture. My current orange peel is light. I want to know if anyone has ever done what amounts to a "second coat" thirty years later just to refresh the texture. In 30 years lots of pictures, posters, towel holders, Etc. have been moved around and there are repaired bashes, and a few cracks. This is a rental and I would like to do the best job I can. I assume a pro would cost over $500 and for that amount my future tenants would rather have a dual sink master vanity and imperfect but freshly painted walls.

Anyone ever use one of those hopper guns that you attach to a compressor to lightly retexture over old orange peel ( light small blobs)? The texture isn't bad enough to skim coat, the whole house. I want to texture match my repairs--moved a window added a wall-- and then do o light coat all over to kind of blend it in and resurface 30 years of used wall in the rest of the house,

Ever done it? I like the texture now, it just seems if I have the equipment I aught to "dust" the rest of the house with texture to make the walls look newer. My husband will do it and he's pretty good at that kind of stuff.

Did you prime first? Is there a material that doesn't have to be primed afterwards? Or mix primer with the all purpose compound? Thanks.