All Forum Posts by: Nathaniel Walker

Every morning when you wake up in the RE jungle you have to look out your tent to the right and then to the left to see if the coast is clear of lurking tenant or rehab issues. Then you race out the door as fast as you can to get started on your day before one of those issues hijacks your day. You have to address issues but you need to prioritize as you have other things to do.  You have to run faster then the slowest other real estate investor (your competition) and slower than the fastest smooth talking wholesaler.  You have to be prepared to climb the highest mountain to find the best deals and swim the widest river to avoid the wiliest contractors. Once you make it back to your tent at the end of the day you have to look up and count your blessings and down to shake the mud off your boots so you don't carry your troubles home.

What you put out into the real estate universe goes around and comes home. It is the intersection of the law of attraction, murphy's law and karma. I have met real estate investors who can fall out of bed into amazing deals before they have their first cup of coffee and others that wherever they step it is into the foulest smelling crap.

Some individuals approach investing like playing poker with your favorite comedian and your worst enemy.  Despite how ridiculous the comedian may sound (i.e. sellers asking insane prices) or how angry your adversary (i.e. bad contractors) makes you, at the end of the game you want to be the winner or a head. 

How you are in everyday life shines through in everything you do. If you over analyze, worry about everything, nit pick, complain, poorly plan, fly off the handle, etc. all of that potentially will surface in your investing and you need to know how to manage those behaviors to your advantage and not disadvantage.

Does fate shine or dump on you? Education, which is abundant her at Bigger Pockets is amazing but don't forget about those other things like empathy, persistence, and enjoying both the journey and the destination to financial independence.

The golden rules to a successful contractor relationship

1. Inspect what you expect.

2. Don't let the money get ahead of the honey (completed work).

3. What separates Hire from Fire is Ire (anger/fustration). Don't get angry but INSPire. (the INSP = Inspect frequently). 

If it is a complex job with multiple aspects and you can find a reliable contractor that requires little to no upfront money to start and are willing to work on a reasonable payment schedule then that is the contractor to hire.

If they want large sums of money up front then walk away no matter how good. Just because someone did a good job for another person is no guarantee they will do a good job for you.

If you have never used the contractor before then start with a small project and build a mutually beneficial relationship. 

If you believe you have no options but to hire a contractor then you should also find an independent boots on the ground person to verify all work preferable before intermittent or final payments are made.

Some new investors make bad decisions because they get overly optimistic about the character of a contractor because they are desperate to get the work completed. That is going to cost you in the end in either money, time, quality or your faith in humanity.

The challenge with foundation companies are that if you approach them for an emergency or need quick repairs they will overcharge. I am not sure how it is in your area but our foundation companies are scheduling months out.

The strategies are:

1. use temporary supports if you are able and schedule it during a less busy time in the future and you may get a better price

2. try to get additional bids and use that to get them to compete for you business

I love properties with foundation issues because most people run from them. I am working on my fourth property with foundation issues. They are fixable you just need to get a good company with a fair price. 

I started flipping in the 90s and was able to quit my 9 to 5 at 52. Know at 55 I  am ready to quit my second job as a flipper to live off my assets. God bless America.

I understand the frustrations and cost of paying for home inspections on deals that do not close and while your issue can be mitigated with an renovation knowledgeable realtor that individual will never represent your interest like you so that makes it very difficult to do remotely but not impossible. While this is not the best solution one thought is to get someone local who is able to walk with the realtor and facetime with you at the same time. If the person is knowledgeable about renos great. I would give them a checklist and the prior inspections to help them know what to look for.  Everyone always says a good home inspection will save you from buying a bad property but they add up over time and eat away at your capital especially if you do not have those type of reserves.

While certainly you do not want an adversarial relationship with a tenant, if you allow them to dictate how you manage your property it may spiral to that relationship and infect your other tenants once they hear they can negotiate rent increases. As you pointed out communal living in a multi-family is going to involve some level of discomfort at times. Discomfort that improves the living condition and property (repairs/maintenance) is different from discomfort that interferes with the peaceful enjoyment of one's living environment (constantly barking dogs). I would not acknowledge the renovation noise if it was not unreasonable or excessive. if it makes it easier you can tell them that you were going to raise the rent to $40 and choose to only do $20.

Check with a glass company to see if you can replace glass if frames are good.

Welcome. I am currently an investor in Toledo winding down after over 20 years flipping. Let me know how I can help.

An accepted offer without a signed buyer's contract is not a true accepted offer and the seller can walk or accept another offer. If you pay for an inspection both you and the seller are not obligated to move forward, however, if you find something significant the seller will not be able to claim that he was not aware in the sellers disclosures. I suggest review the seller disclosures prior to the inspection, get the inspection if you really want the home but be prepared to walk or lose the home. If that happens advise the seller that now that they are aware of the issues they will need to disclose them to the next potential buyer which could affect their ability to sell the house which might give you leverage with the seller.