All Forum Posts by: Mindy Jensen

I bought the cheapest paint I could find, and it took 5 coats to cover the paint below. Now I use Behr paint, sold at Home Depot. Light to light-medium earth tones is a good bet. Make sure the paint goes with the flooring and you should be fine. There will always be someone who says they won't buy/rent it based on paint color alone, but they are not the norm.

Another way to save on paint is to stalk the OOPS paint section at the home improvement stores. Mis-tinted paint sells for $7 at my Home Depot. If I need another gallon, they can match the first one, and I still pay less. Mix both together in a 5-gallon bucket to ensure consistency. Or get two similar colors and mix in the bucket. Good luck!

The house next door to me is a duplex rental. Market rate rent would be at least $1100 each side, but current long-term, month-to-month tenants pay $700 on one side and $500 on the other. Snatched out from under me by another buyer, who sent very nice letters to the tenants, informing them rent would be increased to $1000 per month in 60 days. CO law states a 30-day notice for month to month tenants to leave. An easier way to get rid of them is to just give notice the rent will be significantly increased. Give them time to vacate on their own. Maybe even explain that your mortgage is $XX and you just cannot afford to continue to rent at that low price. They know they are paying far below market.

It does sound like you need better representation. Your agent should be telling you all of the things the BP group has been, like estoppel. If the agent is going to get that commission, they should EARN that commission. Good luck!

Is the owner in violation of any city ordinances or building codes? If so, and he won't sell to you, file a complaint. And Tyrus S. is right, consider the whole block, not just next door, when you are looking at rehabs. You never want to be selling the nicest house on the block. Good luck!

I have owned 3 houses with hardwood in the kitchen. Not my favorite, but it works just fine. Why do you HAVE to have two different floor types? Older oak flooring can be matched or something so close you can't really tell.

If there is any part of the flip that none of you know how to do, hop on over to youtube.com and type in what you are looking for. You will most likely find thousands of videos on that subject. Some are great, some are a waste of time, but you should be able to find in-depth videos to teach you how to do almost anything.

I would recommend option #3. By not raising the rent in a tight market, you are showing them you value them. If they had to move, they would incur lots of expenses and hassles. Talk to them now. Tell them that you would like for them to stay, that you would like them to stay long-term, and you are willing to forgo a nominal increase in rent if they sign a longer-than-year lease.

Good luck!