All Forum Posts by: Andy Luick

Yes sir - that repairs to blistering, peeling or cracking paint....has nothing to with LBP. Are you buying a HUD house to live in or for an investment?

Sure, why not talk to them now? I've done it that way a number of times and buyers were pleased to be able to pick their finishes. Just make sure they are either cash or pre-approved for financing at a lender.....not necessarily through a broker. If you can write the contract now and have it pre-sold...it doesn't get any better than that! Happy Investing!

@Account Closed - go info - hadn't ever had to go to that length. It's little known, but we do have a bit of a problem with radon gas in the metro atlanta area. A lot of the homes I buy have had broken pipes when they didn't get winterized so we deal with the resultant mold pretty much every week. I pulled a sink vanity away from the wall on a house we are working on right now and it's entirely black with mold even though the walls themselves had very little mold. Head to get more Microban to treat it in a little bit!

Anytime we buy a house that has been sitting without a/c in our market, we clean and treat everything with Microban....just to be on the safe side prior to repainting. Great share!

All great points - thing to remember is that you can put almost anything you want into a lease but only good people will honor it....and leases are really written, at least mine are, for the BAD renters. With shared housing it is a little different, we usually do 1st month & 1/2 towards the last month rent but it just depends. In our area, tenants are quick to think they can sue you if you haven't handled the security deposits properly. That's why we switched to first & 1/2 of last month's rent. Plus, we want to make it affordable to our clients who are mostly coming to us to save money. Happy Investing!

@Rick Baggenstoss - it will if the area has been properly treated with Microban first. Microban has a residual killing effect....kind of like Raid bug spray...it kills mold on contact and will continue to kill new mold spores that come into the treated area. I just personally never like to seal up ventilation...on the problem crawlspaces I work on through my contracting company, I am usually adding vents. We do a ton of water remediation work and the mold clean-ups that come with it and it absolutely amazes me the bids I see from my competitors....most never really address the source of moisture at all just overkill it with expensive systems and treatments. We did one in alpharetta last year where the owner had bids of $25k to $35k for clean-up and treatment. We came in and did everything for about $8k and are going back this spring to address some drainage issues for the homeowners which should run about $2,500.

The old time builders had it down pretty good. Mold scares most but those are my favorite buys as an investor...either on my own or with my group investors....great deals if you know how to handle it.

Every property that we take over in metro atlanta, if it's been vacant for quite a while, we treat every surface with Microban prior to painting. We're doing that now on one we are renovating for shared housing. It's just an added precaution for us that we have learned to take over the years. We sell most of these homes to passive investors and include a 1-year warranty on all repairs. Mold is a really serious issue in our market. I would be concerned about completely sealing in a crawlspace. Many of our older atlanta homes were built on piers with open spaces under the homes for storage and ventilation. Most of these have been closed or bricked in over the years and caused mold problems & dry rotting because the houses can't breathe anymore. Carefully assessing and addressing drainage & gutter issues will solve 75% of your problems, using a thick vapor barrier on dirt crawlspaces and making sure you have adequate ventilation will take care of the most of the rest. If you take away the moisture your mold will go dormant and only flash again if the moisture or humidity returns.

Write-offs are great but it becomes the catch-22 for self employed people all the time...they write down their income but also their ability to borrow. I don't think you'd even want to consider a hard money loan...as you'll likely be creating a nice rental property for them when they take it back from you. As the others have said, HMLs are strictly for short term.....in and out deals which you aren't doing here.

What was your taxable income for last year? Most importantly, what is your credit score? You will need at least 3 lines of credit with no lates in the the past 12 months to qualify with most lenders. You may want to try and qualify for a lender handling the FHA 203 streamlined loan in your area. This loan will allow you to purchase a home needing repairs/upgrades where the funds for repairs are included in the loan. It's a 30-year loan and perfect for people like you who intend to live in the property. Homesteps is also a good program to take a look at as they have a similar program. You will still have to qualify for the loan though and that will be based on credit & income. You might look at Carrington Mortgage Services to see if they are active in your market with the 203. While not intended to be used as an investor loan...you can use the loan every two years. A common strategy would be to live in the new unit for 2-years...rent it out preferably as shared housing with 12-month leases and then qualify for another 203 for the next unit. Over the years, I have worked with several clients who have used this process to get mortgage free or build up a rental portfolio. Happy Investing!

Why not let them use the wiring....it would probably be an added bonus for someone renting the house is the media room or whole house were wired for sound. I'd leave it available to them and if you are concerned but a clause in their lease that you are not responsible for damages to their equipment from said use. Happy Investing!

Honestly, you've stumbled on one of the greatest sources of information available to you simply by networking and reading posts here at BiggerPockets. Often, the "classic" real estate investing reads will lead you down the wrong road today. The information you will find here on BP is timely and fresh from active investors all over the country and world. Happy Investing!

Having an up & down unit with the thermostat downstairs is going to be a nightmare to control unless the lower tenant likes it on the cooler side. Heat rises and the upstairs tenant could be blistering hot while downstairs is too cold. You get into the situation where the downstairs tenant is calling for heat and the upstairs on wants a/c. You may want to price a through the wall unit for the upper unit and see if that might resolve the issue somewhat....you'll still have to be careful with who you put downstairs. I would also put a cap on the dollar amount of heat included per month. We include utilities in everything we rent but put a monthly cap in the leases and the bills are sent to the properties every month so the tenants know where they are. Anything "free" or included is going to be abused....just like going to the local buffer...people tend to gorge themselves and it's no different with utils.

I had 2 post-menopausal women sharing a home...one was always hot...the other always cold....drove them and me nuts...not to mention the utilities. It was a massive house to cool....so I bought a spot cooler for $300 for the girl who was always hot and problem was solved. She could cool her bedroom and stayed happy. Happy Investing!