All Forum Posts by: Randy F.

Ive seen it mentioned here on BP that investors should not pay contractors "retail" pricing on rehabs? I'm interested in hearing the rationale for that. As an investor, are you getting special pricing from your contractors, and what incentive do your contractor have for giving you that pricing?

Jon... You oughta get the mustache award, too! Pretty sure that award comes with wax.

I grew up watching my mom do painting, wall papering, reupholstering furniture, refinishing furniture, etc. There was no internet and I never saw any kind of how to books laying around. We couldnt afford to hire things out so she just did it herself. And did it well. After i moved out of the house, my dad remodeled the basement by himself. He had worked in a suit his whole life. He did a great job.

Some people just have the aptitude and dexterity to do this kind of work. Others dont. The key is in identifying which kind of person you are. Too bad there isnt some kind of test out there for making that determination, as Ive seen multitudes of people in the trades who DO NOT have ANY business in the business!!!

BTW... If I had the opportunity to choose my workers from a pool of DIYers whose projects Ive seen, 80% of them would be women!

Hey Zack,

Would you want to share with us what your rehab looks like? Are you remodeling or renovating? An idea of the extent of the project will help us help you. I can assume that since you are following Aarons advice on architects, you are doing structural work? Is the work being permitted? Is this your first rehab? How did you come up with your pre-purchase rehab estimate? What do those numbers look like? Anything youre willing to share will help us to know what your level of knowledge and experience is. The larger and more complicated the job is, the more costly the surprises can be. You may as well us the experience found here to your greatest benefit.

I have a landlord who wants me to install Allure Dark Bamboo plank throughout an apartment. I'm an old school, high end guy and if its not tile or hardwood, i prefer higher end engineered hardwood. Allure seems to be a popular choice for rentals here on BP, however reviews are mixed across the internet.

The most prevelant issues seem to be an offensive odor, corners lifting, scuffing and scratching, and mold. Not concerned about mold because this isnt on slab. But I AM interested in hearing about any other issues anyone has encountered.

I agree with Karen 100%! Ok... 99%! I dont see it as a political issue. It's a "rule of law" issue. It becomes political when politicians use it to pander to a particular voter block. It is very simple. We have laws in this country. If you break them you are a criminal. If someone enters and works in this country without having followed the laws, they are criminals. Those who knowingly hire illegals are also criminals as there are laws that prohibit doing so. And as far as I know, ignorance is still no defense. It is not a moral issue. I am all for people coming to our country legally to provide a better life for their families. But I am not sympathetic to those who do not respect our laws and come in illegally, while many thousands are on waiting lists and willing to jump the hoops required to obtain legal status.

There are many jurisdictions that rarely if ever convict those who hire illegals, but I wont talk about the local governments that thumb their noses at the laws cuz thats political! :c)
But as others have mentioned, there are many other ways that hiring illegals can and likely will come around to bite you... even ruin you.

Is there any reason your guy cant or wont get licensed up? I can certainly understand wanting to keep a guy that getser done for ya, but if he isnt legal, you both will be limited in what you can do and get away with and youll both regret the day an inspector has a job hes looking at down the street, and sees the trucks or a dumpster and decides to stop in for a surprise visit when he doesnt see permits posted!

If you want to use him and not getting licensed is about the money, why not write up a promissory note for the license fee, amount of the required bond and initial insurance payment, and let him work it off.

Ahhhhhhhh.... Ummmmmmm.... I wasnt saying my business or my life is straight forward! I must have meant this site is!! :c)

It all depends on what your focus will be. Do you want to be a general contractor, rehabber, real estate investor, a combination of those, or do you want to be a carpenter with a few investment properties.

Many a carpenter chooses to just keep themselves in enough work to pay the bills and live their version of freedom. If you so choose, you can certainly pick up a property here an there, even thin deals, that will keep you working and may slow but sure build you some equity and a bit of passive income. But your choices from the start are very important if you would like to leverage your skills into a growing business concern.

I recommend that you do a search here on LLCs and consider getting set up with both a contracting/carpentry/remodeling business AND a seperate REI business. Two sets if books and two bank accounts, neither of which is your personal account. Look for properties that meet the criteria that is put out there by the pros here. Do your estimating and numbers based on the idea that you will hire out the rehab to a GC, even if tou will do the work. Track all your time and expenditures to hone your estimating skills. Your investing company will pay your contracting company and your contracting company will pay you. And your investing company will also pay you for your time finding and getting properties under contract. When its all said and done, your companies will pay you a living wage while they both make profits. Resist the urge to take draws and allow them both to build working capital.

Once you have both sides of the rehab business down and have two successful concerns going, you will have much to bring to the table should you choose to do rehabs for other investors or partner with them to turn more projects than you can do on your own.

Good luck! I wish I was just starting out and had this site to motivate me to go for it in a logical, straight forward, and business smart fashion. I learned the hard way. Would have saved me years of working my butt off for wages while making other people money!

I ran across another "dont" yesterday that has always irritated me.

It is not necessary to put thread tape on compression or flare fittings. On these types of fittings, the seal is NOT made at the threads. Applying tape or teflon paste to the threads not only will have no effect on whether the joint leaks or not, tape may in fact cause a leak. Compression nuts are generally very thin walled, soft brass and thread tape can cause the nut to crack over time with expansion and contraction. And tape can cause nut to become out of round upon tightening and can jump thread, not allowing it to get that last bite.

I also found black iron pipe nipple on water supply. Always use galvanized pipe for water, as black iron will rust from the inside out.

Also cleaned dryer vent last week and found sheet metal screws had been used to connect pipe sections. Dont use screws on dryer vents as lint catches on them and accumulates. Foil duct tape is best in this application.