All Forum Posts by: Dumitru Anton

 one quick thingy: concrete floor sound index should be around 25 by itself.

i think residential you have to be around 55-65 as a sum/whole

for your own good (or kids if you have or plan to have little ones) if floor not including heating, use something with thermal isolation properties (cork, other thick-ish substrates).

your comfy-cozy feet will thank you in the winter.

or just add rugs all around needed areas. just careful with back material (not to scratch wood/laminate from repeated moving actions).

oh and calling @Linda Liberatore (does the @ thing works on new BP?). she is in your area and maybe she could suggest solutions already seen working in the area

wish it was that easy..

but let me guess: your building was built pre 80's, the original builder insulated the exterior walls, and NONE in the interior/between the units/up/down/sides.... Am I right?

now, the HOA should also have (sometimes really hidden in the papers or completely forgotten and never distributed to owners) a Minimum sound reduction index per building/multifamily.

you need to beat that.

what's next depends if the builder managed to secure/nail the plywood sub-floor into the joists and NOT INTO THIN AIR...

so you may need 6mm cork glued, some whisperquiet/sound barrier (3-6 mm) , then you wood floor/laminate. some laminates comes with pad included.... also may need to adjust you doors/threshold and live enough space at walls for material to expand.

short version: find the minimum requirements for the sound index for flooring, choose your material colors, go to the floor store in your area (floor and decor, century tile, lumber liquidators, menards, home depot, etc etc) and check with a knowledgeable associate. if not you need to talk with a contractor working in your area...

tip: get to talk with your building engineer/maintenance people. they inspect the work so they/him should know what works and what not, and (key) where you can buy it quicker/cheaper!!!

in your area you may have: Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Floor and Decor, Lumber Liquidators.

calling @Linda Liberatore (she is in your area). also @Kimberly H. and couple other Chicagoland  people posted in your thread. I would contact them for contractors recommendation.

also, tile in this area, unless you have heated floor, BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

calling @Bradley Bogdan and @Marcia Maynard , our resident Section8 and HUD-VASH experts:

a search on BP would also reveal quite a lot....

just remembered a few other stuff:

-the local HUD/section 8 may have classes for vendors/owners/landlords; may also have a website with all documents/criterias posted

-may have excellence programs

-inspection: will be more through if children, especially under 6 are in the house.

-inspection: you or a trusted handyman be there! a misunderstanding cost me one month of headaches for me, tenant and i have one abatement (hud not paying rent to owner because of list of repairs not taken care of) on my record. sometime the inspectors let you do small repairs/adjustments on the fly. understand that the vast majority of inspectors are not there to "get you": are there to make sure there is no danger/slumlording happening.

Section 8/HUD-VASH (section 8 for veterans) is a Federal program, but is very "local" in administration/implementation.

Like others said, you want to qualify the tenant as any other tenant. you are looking for long-term.

check gosection8 for your market.

hud/hcv may have the FMR (fair market value) for your zipcode/number of bedrooms. (google search)

understand you CANNOT ask extra rent beside the approved amount, and sometimes the voucher may include utilities which means the $1,400 on the voucher may be 250 for utilities and 1,150 for tenant portion + hud.

also depending on tenants changing financials and family changes, the % amount paid by hud and tenant may change over time.

i would give a call to local office and also find fellow landlords in the area already working with section8 to network with.

you want nice,clean, durable but not very base level. section 8 tenants usually have choices so DO NOT BE A SLUMLORD.

you are a nice professional provider of quality home solutions for nice tenants!

good luck!

you have 2 locals already contacted you: 

@Aaron Vaughn and @Jerry Stanford.

How about you connect and pick their brains a bit?

Living there in that class is not easy but doable: if the neighbors clean your snow and cut your grass, you are part of the neighborhood already...please make sure to not disappoint them and give something back to the community...

I would also recommend to read @Al Wiliamson, how to be a Leading Landlord, his series of threads here on BP about taking action and change a neighborhood.

also beside your family discount, what does you dad and granpa told you about the neighborhood? (opinions from 30-40 years ago may not apply...)

@James DeRoest,

sorry i could not be of help, but maybe if your time permits, you could go by a lighting showroom (no big box stores) and run those questions by them (usually they know about this or have electricians installing this all day). i recommend one specialized in modern/contemporary lighting.

in the worst case you got some free coffee, nice ladies to look at and maybe some clearance items or some networking with lighting designers...

Rick H.,

LOL, quote of the day.... and you are earth conscious ahem recycling.... tooo

@James Joseph,

couple alternatives:

-large tiles (already mentioned in the thread) :

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/229...

- resin covered (already mentioned briefly):

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/84/topics/149...