All Forum Posts by: Richard C.

Yes, it will make them harder to rent. The price is not "a bit" more.

Also, make sure the electric service in the building will support electric heat. That is not a given. Especially if you plan to do this yourself.

Aren't you the same guy that was on a few weeks ago asking if it was OK that you told your bank you were buying a place as an owner-occ, when really you were renting it out?

So it is OK for you, but not OK for someone else? Even though you don't actually know that he is doing what you openly admitted doing?

Interesting.

Moisture barrier, framing or furring strips, sheetrock. In use in all sorts of climates. My advice is not to overthink it. I have no idea how you would attach vinyl planks to a sheet of plastic. And even if you figured it out, I am trying to imagine what it would look like. I suspect either offbeat be somewhat cool, or hideous.

Drywall is cheap.

If you have available cash (I'm guessing, since you are not worried about the down payment) than you can do some things that some would say are financially dumb, but will improve your DTI.

Refinance on your primary residence, for example, even if doing so would not otherwise be worth the fees. You could also buy points when you refi, to reduce the monthly payment further.

Or pay off a car loan.

Determining the ACV involves some extra steps. You need a more detailed inventory, especially for anything damaged beyond recognition. Specifically how old it is, so they can calulate depreciation. And then the same thing for the final adjustor's report, they have a little more math to do.

I imagine in theory an insurance company that wanted to be a pain could quibble over some of those numbers. In which case you may want to call in a public adjustor, and then yes, things will take longer.

If there is more to it than that, I would also be interested in what Rick has to say.

No, no, ask to raise the deductable.

You will find they are all too willing to say yes if you ask tot raise the premium :).

Does your neighborhood make renters wear a scarlett "R" or something? Renters do not inherently reduce property values; bad behavior does. If anything, the behavior of renters has more controls on it than the behavior of owner-occs.

The only place this complaint is ever legitimate is in a condo development, where a high percentage of renters can in fact impact the salability and therefore value of the other units.

You got lucky. I am sure it wasn't intentional on your part, but you pretty much had the whole gougers checklist going there:

Calling wear-and-tear item damage? Check

Unreasonable number of hours for repairs? Check

Unreasonable hourly wage? Check

Personal residence? And you put 10% down. So I am guessing you are paying PMI? I would pre-pay the mortgage enough to adjust or refi out of the PMI.

One of the mainstays of this site has a footer on all of his posts that reads, "No Legal Advice."

I think posts in this thread should be tagged, "No Marital Advice."

What is your living situation now? Moving from a SFR to a duplex would be a pretty impossible sale for my wife as well. When we lived in apartments, it would have been a much easier sale.

While I like single families, there is a real danger that if you are living in it you will make upgrades based on personal preferences rather than potential return. And also that you will settle in and not want to leave. Those are the points I would make to my wife.

Then I would by a SFR, because she tends to win this sort of argument in our household. cf, Lysistrata.