All Forum Posts by: Andy Luick

I prefer Lowes to Home Depot but that's mostly because Lowes treats me like a mini celebrity.  Get with the commercial desk and you can probably get a 10% discount on most things by developing a relationship.  On larger purchases, price compare and then get one or the other to beat the price by 10%.  Depending on the size of your market, network online and track down who is dealing in pallets of lighting, plumbing or other "restocks" that home depot and lowes sell off by the trailer load.  I have a few great resources in atlanta that I am happy to share via PM.

I buy some of my lighting packages this way and typically save 50%....same with plumbing...appliances I usually do reconditioned or changeouts posted on craigslist.  Don't rule out CL for materials....it's a great place to pick up tile, carpet, cabinets and most everything you will need at a huge savings.  My lighting supplier will call me when they get near the end of their load for an added discount if I can use the stuff.

I think ANY investor should take the licensing course in their chosen state as you will garner a ton of valuable information....plus start networking as that's going to be a huge part of your success or failure.  Having a license can be a deterrent later on both in buying deals and property management.  It's great knowledge though.  Most states have a real estate board that will offer a digest or book summarizing the issues and laws in that state.  I think ours is called the GA Real Estate Digest and can be purchased at the local real estate board.  It's worth having or any investor and then you can read up at your leisure.  Happy Investing!

There are pockets of theft all over metro atlanta now.  Parts of gwinnett have completely gone to crap and I wouldn't own anything there.  @Janice Traub - any decent deterrent will be appreciate by your target audience but it won't be perceived as a positive in selling or marketing the property....just a great....we have the security of a cage.  Reality is that a cage is just slowing them down.  I held a property on pleasant hill for years with 12k worth of new hvac parked in the front yard that never got touched...because the road is so busy.  The unit in the back was robbed & gutted and the building broken into repeatedly no matter how well it was secured.

Atlanta has a huge drug problem..between heroin, meth and crack....addicts will continue to roam around and rob empty houses wherever they are.  The higher end homes are usually robbed by those losing them.  Good luck with the product!

@Wilson Churchill- yes by mixing it with equal parts baking soda and dawn it will work well on light curry.  We have a had a ton of indian clients in our contracting business over the years...especially when they are prepping their house for sale or rent and quite a few indian rents both in single fams and shared housing.  Sometimes the home remedies work the best.

@Account Closed- you're in state college though so it's pretty laid back!  I went to Dickinson Law before it got merged into Penn State.  Great little market up there...you always have to make time for the family or you won't have one!  

Cali is a very expensive place to invest...especially at current prices so make sure whatever you are buying is cashflowing very well.  When the market corrects, you will likely be upside down on all of it if it's financed.  Keep at it though!

@Wilson Churchill- a decent way to clean but it won't touch curry plus it can damage some finishes. Great for exterior work but rinse everything off....especially plants. We use TSP to kill mold/mildew (bleach just knocks it down) and etch the surface for the new layer of paint.

Curry is right up there with cat piss....just tough to deal with.  Put a clause in the lease that they will lose their deposit if the unit isn't returned curry free. Aside from that, we've used a product called Fresh Wave to get rid of light curry on walls and cabinets.  It comes in a spray or a gel and can usually be found at Ace Hardware...when you can't find something...try your local Ace, you'd be surprised.  We buy a number of products there both for our contracting work and our rentals.  You'll need several applications.  You can also try filling a large bowl with distilled white vinegar and placing it in the middle of effected rooms...let is sit for 24 hours.  I can't explain how it works with smells but it does.

Curry usually goes with saffron....hand in hand....and the two will combine to place an oily covering on kitchen cabinets.  Those you need to clean first with something like an equal mix of Dawn, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda.  It will take several attempts if it's heavy.  You will then likely still need to prime cabinets with an oil-based primer and repaint them.  It really depends on how much cooking they did.  Hope that helps!  

Looks like Bed, Bath & Beyond is carry it now too.

You're missing the true answer my friend - none of us can really answer it for you.  Who knows if it was actually built per the plans.  If you're serious about it, spend a couple of bucks and get a structural engineer out there to inspect it and sign off on what you want to do.  Anything can usually be removed and reworked....just a matter of how much you want to spend.  When 3 of us say...."sure go ahead and knock it out" and the thing falls down....you won't be very happy and someone here will say "I told you so."  A structural engineer...not a contractor or an architect....is who you want....he can then give you the specs in writing for a contractor needs to do to open it up for you.  Luck!

Pavers are nicer - I think your area has a sandy soil.  Go with @Bob H. and rent a compactor at Home Depot to risk it settling over time, little gravel base with sand swept into the joints will do the trick.  A benefit with pavers is that if a root ever pops them up, you can trim the root and lay them back down....can't do that with concrete.  We've done a bunch of these over the years for clients and on some of our rentals with great results.

The 203 is a great loan for what you are trying to do.  There is also a 203 refi product available that I wasn't even aware of.  You can't take cash out with it but you can make repairs & improvements.  I believe you can use a 203 every two years.  I'd talk to a couple of 203k lenders.  I can refer you to a national lender for a chat if you wish.  How long have you been in the current house?  If your credit and equity in the current property is decent, I'd look at getting a lease for a renter on the unit you're living in and refi it or sell it off.  Then you could use the 203 to purchase a quad instead of a duplex to accomplish the same purpose of buying a 3rd property.  I'm not a lender and others can chime in....there are lenders floating around on the site.  You're in a major metropolitan market so there's a way somewhere to get it done...provided the numbers are right and your income & credit are solid.

Beyond that, you can always keep the unit you are in and seek another unit with owner financing....where someone is sick of it or is retiring.  Alot of the retiring owners don't mind holding private paper...and it pays them more than cash sitting in the bank at less than 1%.

There are some bright stars in here and some thugs...don't be discouraged.  There's nothing wrong with being creative...it will lead to your best returns but, when it comes to federal loan programs...it's strictly by the book.  Most of us who have been around long enough have seen plenty go to jail for mortgage fraud so that is the concern raised by others.  Luck!!