All Forum Posts by: Matthew Scott

I am asking this question for a friend of mine in Chicago. 

She has a tenant that stopped paying rent about 9 months ago. When confronted he just suggested she go through the eviction process, presumably because he knows that it will be hard for her to do because of the pandemic. Do you guys have any suggestions with this?

The more pressing issue she is facing is that there is a leak that needs to be addressed inside that person's apartment. Something in his bathroom is leaking and she only found out about it once water started filling up a light fixture in an apartment below his. She has called and sent him messages multiple times. She had a contractor show up to his place yesterday and although the could hear him inside, he would not open the door.

How can she handle this situation so that she can allow a plumber inside to fix the leak issue?

Thank you for any suggestions. 

Dennis,

Thanks for the advice. Someone suggested I have sign a sub contractors agreement stating he has health insurance and workers comp. I know he has health insurance but I do not know if applying for workers comp is something he would do as a 1099 employee. Do you know how all of that works?

I complete full rehabs for myself as well as picking up construction and maintenance jobs on the side. I pay subcontractors and have one consistent worker that I plan to 1099. I am in the process of calling around to get myself insured so that I can apply for a contractors license with the state because that is how I will be able to get permits correct? What If i did a job like building a shed or porch roof without permits? Any advice on this topic is helpful.

I am new to investing and after flipping a home I was able to use that money to purchase a duplex that I am adding value to and living in for free because the tenants pay my mortgage. There is a family friend who is helping his daughter sell her house in my area. He has a lot going on and I think he sees this property as a nuisance. He is also aware of what I am trying to do with real estate investing and is supportive of me. All this seems like a perfect opportunity for me to approach him with a solution that benefits both of us. 

I do not currently have the income to qualify for financing for the 300k selling price he is looking for. My hope is that I can come up with a seller's financing option. I am thinking maybe a 30 yr fixed rate with the option to pay it off after 5 years. So they would receive monthly payments from me and after 5 years I can refinance and pay them off. 

Is this a plausible idea or too far fetched? And who would I contact to help right up the paperwork to complete seller financing?  Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My unfinished basements concrete walls are very porous and water has been creeping in. I am painting the outside of my home in a few months anyway so I figured I may as well paint the bottom part of the building's concrete foundation with a water sealant masonry paint. 

How do I best prep the walls for this paint? Im assuming that I should

-fill cracks with high strength cement and flatten out to match rest of all as best as possible. 

-Use some sort of sealant where the foundation wall meets the concrete patio

-power wash cement

-possibly apply a chemical cleaner

-paint once dry

Any advice this would be much appreciated.

 I included pictures of some of the problem areas below.

I have organized the rehab of two properties myself and plan to continue more in the future. I have also picked up a lot of side work with other property managers to keep money coming in. I decided to legitimize this money by creating an LLC. I figure this will help me keep my own rehabs organized while also showing a stream of income for the handyman work that I do. If anyone has started something similar and has any tips or questions for me I would love to talk.

My main question that I am looking to get answered right now is how to handle my 1099 employee. He is a friend of mine that has been helping me with projects for a few years now. In the past I have paid him cash but now that I am running things through an LLC I believe I need to pay him as a 1099 employee. Is this the best way to do it or should I try to get him listed as a full time employee with an hourly wage. How will this effect any type of insurance I will need for my company?

@Toby Thompson Thank you that was extremely helpful

@Matthew Scott I was hoping to post pictures but I can not seem to do it on my phone right now. I'll try on the computer tomorrow!

I am trying to decide what to do about this crawl space at the bottom of a duplex. The house is on a hill so it has only about 2/3 of a walk in unfinished basement and the rest is a small crawl space. Although there are a couple 2by4s blocking the hole to get into the crawl space I can remove those without making the structure any weaker. The hole to get in there is only about 20 by 40 so it is a tight squeeze. I may be able to saw at some of the cement to make that opening a bit wider. Once you're in there I am guessing there is about 2 feet to work with. Right now there is no insulation on the bottom of the floors above it and there is nothing but dirt and debris on the ground in there. I know this not acceptable so I am thinking I need to remove the debris, spray for mold, paint with mold resultant paint on the joint beams to be safe, lay insulation plastic over the dirt. I know there must be things that I am missing. I would be wearing a protective body suit while doing this. Do you think this is a project I should tackle myself or should I pay much more and get some quotes from contractors. Which type of contractors would want a job like this? Any advice is appreciated!

@Mary Mitchell Thank you!