All Forum Posts by: Melissa Robbins

@Stephen Girard - I am scared to find out what is behind it. Hopefully, it's not terrible. Whomever I select, I will for sure be coming to KC since the risk of more work is high.  Maybe I should just sell it. The other homes in the neighborhood are already selling for $30K more since I bought this in March. And the inside is nice with no major repairs needed.

@Bruce Woodruff The work IS horrible. Thanks for chiming in on this. I don't know anything about siding so this has been a helpful discussion and I understand the problem more.  Thank you to all for the help!

@David Song YES, you are correct. I remember the person I received the bid from said the old homeowner used the wrong sized sheet and should be 4x9.  If this material is that bad, maybe I do need to look at replacing all of it. Ugh. Thanks for offering that info David. Its helpful to know what the material is called.

@John Teachout - Yes, its a composition material. I say wood but I am not using the correct label. The house was built in 1995 so I am sure this is one of those gazillion! I hope the product they use now is better. KC is a humid area with a decent amount of rain.  I think I will find someone who can fix the gutters now, save up my profits to fix the rest later. 

@Steve K.Thanks Steve. That's good advice. I didn't think about not being able to paint over it. I got it rented May 1 and the cash flow is about $500 per month so right now I don't have much profit saved up to cover it but if it can wait a year, I should be able to cover the cost as long as nothing else goes wrong. I really don't want to take money out of my personal savings. 

Since I've received many good tips from everyone, I've done more research and have three other vendors to call on Monday. And flights are affordable from Denver to KC so I can make a day trip or stay with family while I am there. 

@Bruce Woodruff - There are areas all over where the wrong size trim was used, seams and screw holes were never sealed. I would say 30-40% of the home needs work. Here's a few other pics. 

@Theresa Harris thanks! Yes, woman and out of state makes it a little more strategic to get to the right answer.  I apparently need to learn more about wood exteriors so I can talk more intelligently from a distance. Being a newbie makes me more vulnerable. 

@Bruce Woodruff - I'm not sure of the exterior SF but this is the house. Inside is 1342 sf is exact. Good to know I could potentially paint over wood rot for now and buy it some time. I might also get quotes for just touching up the paint over the repaired wood rot and then getting the whole thing painted at a later time. 

@Derek Felch - Thank you. Just by you saying don't sweat it too much, lessens my anxiety.  The wood rot is in sections all over, some small, and some more extensive, because the previous owner didn't use the correct size sheets and never sealed seams or nail holes. I think you are right that gutters should be addressed now regardless.  I do belong to the Bridge investment Group. This is where I got the name of the company with the $15K bid.  I used that company to rebuild a deck for me at my other rental and was happy with the quality for the price. I know they work with other investors. I will go back through that site and read through comments on other companies.  That's a good idea.

@Theresa Harris -  I received another bid for vinyl thinking it would be cheaper and that came in at $20K.  I've talked to one other company that was supposed to do a bid but I never heard back from them.  But you are right, I need more bids to truly make a best decision. 

Investors - I'm torn on making a decision here and am curious how some of you would handle this situation. 

For starters, here is my background.  I am a new investor in KCMO, but live in Denver. I bought three SFHs at 2.785% in KCMO area in March with 25% down, All are rented at double the mortgage payment. I'd like to hold these for 10 or more years. 

I'm learning one home has a larger amount of wood rot on the siding than I originally realized and it needs gutter work as well.  This is a classic raised ranch (bi-level), 3x2, at about 1500 sq feet, built-in 1995. 

The seller noted this in the disclosure but did not provide detailed comments and the inspector noted some wood rot but did not mark it as an urgent item. Sadly, the inspector has since passed away. Clearly, I knew about this but did not know the extent of the problem, and I did not push to get bids before the inspection resolution was complete. My fault. Lesson learned. I've received one bid for $15,000 to fix the gutters, power wash, replace wood rot and paint, and trying to collect more bids. I have the cash to fix it but would rather spend it on my next purchase.

My questions to you all are this. 

• I've never owned a home with wood siding. When will I know the exterior wood rot is at a point when it HAS to be replaced because it's affecting the value of the home? 
• What alternative options, if any, would you use to temporarily patch the problem to buy time and fix it later?
• Does anyone have a trustworthy siding expert in the KCMO area they would recommend? 

I'm probably overthinking this but obviously concerned I've made a $15k mistake. And I want to show the banks these are profitable so I can continue to finance more deals next year. 

Curious how some of the more experienced investors would evaluate this situation. Any advice?  Thank you for your time!

@Trevor Morrison - Hello Trevor. I just began investing in KC (three SFHs this year) and also live in Denver. I'll send you a connection.  But feel free to reach out to me anytime and I can share what I've learned so far.