All Forum Posts by: Nathan Mansur

Congrats on your first place Holly Ann!

I have found many great sub contractors on Thumbtack! Great suggestion @Michael Karl. There are all sorts of contractors on there. When interviewing contractors always make sure you get multiple prices until you start understanding how much things cost and which are the good contractors. 

Also, make sure that you compare "Apples to Apples" because sometimes one contractors idea of complete and quality is different than another contractors idea. 

Have a firm deadline if you need one, and overestimate time ALWAYS because it will usually go over your original timeline.

Often a handyman can do work for much less if you have a list of items to get done eg. install toilet, install cabinets, install hot water tank, tile a bathroom, drywall one bedroom, painting a few walls etc. etc. 

Then you have larger projects for framing, structural work, plumbing, roofing, siding, driveways, whole home drywall, large flooring areas etc. etc. and that's where specialists come in with a large crew and bang out a job efficiently and professionally. 

Biggest takeaway, be your own GC for your first property. Then you will know what goes into being a GC and how much things cost, and time-frames. You can't pay for the education of putting in some sweat equity and being involved every step of the way in the beginning. 

We own a duplex with single meter for a gas fired boiler. The boiler heats radiant coils in upper/lower. The lower tenant controls the heat. We pay ALL inclusive for both tenants. It's fairly low cost, and the upper tenant has been a long term tenant without complaint. I really like @Ashley Cann's idea of the split thermostat with 25% upper and might try this. Great question @Braden Hobbs and thanks for a great answer. This helped more than one of us.

Are you considering this deal for your own cash flow or are you considering finding a buyer to purchase the home? Homes in the city of Buffalo are much less in taxes than Tonawanda, 50-75% less in most cases. This lower tax rate would increase net profits if you're considering your own cash flow property. 

Also, in the lower income neighborhoods you have to consider how easy it is to rent and the type of person you would be attracting to the deal. For example Section 8 tenants often are unsavory characters in my experience if that's who you'd have to rent to.