All Forum Posts by: Noah Barba

@Clark Kirkpatrick @Kyle Bliss Meet Kevin and Graham Stephen are great! I know Graham's been on the podcast before, that's actually how I heard of him. Graham I prefer for more personal finance and Meet Kevin for real estate and rehab related talk. Either one is great though!

Loving these responses. However, I’m going to be doing almost all cosmetic work as I work in renovations and have decided that to be my current competitive edge. That being said, what if I need to drill through walls or remove portions of drywall. Should I just throw on a certified respirator and seal off the room? How careful do I need to be when sanding, patching and working with lead paint? 

 Thanks. All responses were helpful but this was probably what I was looking for. I’m totally fine with pricing in remediation into the offer. Any chance you or another has a recommendation on encapsulation versus actual removal? I’m currently looking at a total rehab, and since I know walls will be sanded, drilled through and maybe even moved, should i just go for total abatement?

Hey Everybody, after finding a potential fix and flip, I noticed mold and asbestos. That got me thinking about lead based paint. This is a house build in 1930 in Garden City, MI. What are the chances this house is covered in lead based paint? Should I be getting any property built before 1978 tested for lead? I feel like this is something not talked about that much, but something that terrifies me as either a fix and flipper or landlord! Any body have an input on this subject? Thanks for your time!

I work for a renovations company here in Michigan. I'm most likely going to be getting my builders license in the next year, but I'm doing it so that I can actively work on my own rehabs (with help from some subcontractors). The benefit I seem to have learned by talking to various contractors including my boss, is that with the license, you can have less difficulty pulling permits, potential lenders could feel safer lending to a licensed contractor, and you can have less liability if someone were to get hurt due to what you've renovated. If you aren't touching any of your rehabs directly, I would say to not get hung up on the license. It will only teach you code and business law from a contractors position. Instead, I would purchase a shortened, more user-friendly book about builders code and learn how to look for certain things that could eat at profit (Also eat up everything you can from youtube when it comes to remodeling). 

@Greg Dickerson @Matthew Paul gotcha. Sorry, I also forgot to mention that I would be doing most of the renovations because that’s my niche in this business. But I will heed your advice and focus on both

Hey guys! Currently looking at a potential REO foreclosure fix and flip. Quick question that may not bear any importance: Should I focus on rehabbing the interior or the exterior first? I heard on one of the podcasts (I believe) that if you renovate the exterior first, it gives you free marketing of your property as people notice the construction and cleaner look of this once ugly house. However, I also feel that if you do it first, you are inviting the small chance of a burglar to also notice this newly renovated house. Also, if you can list it as soon as people take note of it, I feel like that would be better as it is fresh in their minds. Any thoughts? Is this overthinking it?

I've been stewing on this thought for over months now. I thought I had the answer once I talked to my boss for a day about it (we are a Renovations company). However, after reading about permits in J Scott's "Estimating Rehab Costs" book,  I learned that some jurisdictions don't allow rental property owners to pull their own permits. My boss seems to be convinced that you can, as any liability will pass to you, and therefore code is enforced in order to protect the general contractor. But other forum posts seem to indicate that code is there to protect the general contractor and tenants, which seems fair to me.

My question now becomes: If I intend on doing most of the renovation work myself, whether it be a flip or Rehab Rental, am I legally allowed to do the work without a builders license? This would include pulling permits and scheduling inspections, and obviously all the work as well. I plan on one day getting my license, but if I find a property before then, I don't want to screw myself by buying the property and then learning that I can't perform the work myself, thereby under budgeting my rehab costs. 

Thanks to all that take the time to read this!

Hey @Matt Kukulies, thanks for sharing about this flip. Two questions if you don't mind answering. First, what exactly did you do with the basement (for example, add bedroom/bathroom? Finished living space? simple flooring and walls?). Also, since you said you used "craigslist specials", was everything that was done up to code? And if so, did you go through the process of getting an inspection?

I'm currently figuring out what my niche will be in REI, but I'm considering starting out in flipping since I have renovation experience, hence why I'm interested in what you did. Thanks in advance!

@Dutch Langley Thanks, will do. I know for sure that my first couple properties I will be relying on friends who are contractors to help guide me