All Forum Posts by: Paul S.

Hello BP community. I have a SFR in North Carolina with a deck on the back of the home that is need of some serious repair. I built this deck myself with treated wood from HD. The deck is approximately 19'X20' (16" on center joist spacing) with a hot tub in the middle of it. (Deck was built around the hot tub) I initially used wood because I liked the look and that is what I could afford at the time. Over the years I have had to make a few small repairs due to a few soft boards here and there. The deck also gets (got) stained every year.Well it is time to replace the entire decking surface and I am considering using composite decking materials. I was wondering what the communities' opinions are about composite decking versus wood decking.

I do realize that the price will probably be around double ($15 sq. ft. wood) compared to ($30-$35 sq. ft.) for composite but most of the warranties (limited) are 25 years against rot, termites, or insect damage. Additionally composite costs a bit more to install and has the potential to get hot due to receiving a lot of sunshine.

I have also seen numerous websites with horror stories about composite decks failing and companies no longer in business to honor the warranty. If I chose the composite I will likely chose one of the more popular brands such as Trex or Azek. Even these more popular companies have had some serious issues and although these are “low” maintenance they must still be maintained and cared for, something the tenant will not do.

So, I was wondering what opinions were floating around out there and if anyone had good or bad experiences.

@David Levitt I personally am not against it. I know some out there may say it is a bad idea but I think it is OK to leverage equity in one home to make a deal on another. Just make sure that you can cover the debt service on that LOC or you may potentially lose that property if things go awry. I really think credit cards only benefit the banks and take advantage of the undisciplined consumer but, I think it is possible to get a 0% CC then use that to fund a rehab if you are planning to pay back the rehab cost before the rate goes back up. I have seen a few 0% for 18 month deals out there. Personally I used the revolving 0% CC's to get out of debt and my credit took a hit for a while but in my mind it was better than not having the ability to pay my bills which would have impacted my credit even more.

I getting a LOC right now to fund my next investment as this is one of about two options I have at the moment to raise capital for the purchase.

@Blake Woodham  I had a similar experience with a trampoline. Just as @Jason Bott mentioned anything "fun" insurance companies are against. I was not able to keep my policy if my tenants kept the trampoline so I asked them to take it down. They did without any complaints at all. The thing that surprised me was that the trampoline was actually hidden pretty well. The insurance company must have had someone with a ladder look over the fence in the back yard in order to see it. This property is in Valparaiso, Florida and the insurance company was All Risk insurance I eventually dumped them as the customer service was horrible after my agent left. I did find a new company but there is no trampoline this time.

best if luck to you with the diving board.

@William Grant  welcome to BP. I hope I can catch up with you sometime and talk about the MHP investing.

@Dawn Roof sometimes the HOA fees cover outside maintenance and insurance for the building (not what is inside) i would request a copy or look online for the HOA regs. I think they are supposed to be online but not sure. Reviewing those might give you an idea of what to expect if anything from the HOA.

@Steve Boyd 

 welcome to the site, I recommend the podcast and setting up key word alerts. You might also want to look up @Chris Clothier and connect with him.

@Janna Rubright in Fayetteville oil heating is probably more common in the older homes, but it might put some people off in Charlotte. @Matthew Paul is right people will complain about it but one thing I have seen in Fayetteville is that when people move out the oil company can suck the oil out of the tank and reimburse for what was not used. Another common item in the Fayetteville and Raeford areas are the big gas tanks in the yard since many homes outside the city limits do not have gas lines run to them. 

@Dawn Roof it does seem easier to just buy something that already has renters but you never know what you might be getting. I have never bought anything with tenants in place but I think I would look more at rental history than if the units were tenant occupied or not. You might want to search BP for some key words like estoppel then go from there. 

A very very rough estimate may be:

Good=$2/square foot

Average=$3/SF

Mediocre=$5/SF

Poor=$10/SF 

A complete gut job will most likely be a bit more and I would go with what @J Scott  says with the 30K being the bottom end of the spectrum. 

@Dawn Roof forgot to mention welcome to the site. This is a great place to learn and don't be afraid to make connections and ask plenty of questions.