All Forum Posts by: Roger Laughary

Jason Lavender does some investor meetups and I think his new podcast is going live this week, or soon at least. I've not been to one but a flipper of mine knows him and finds value in them, as well as some realtors I know. 

Trina Harmon with Sabala, Harmon and Case. Her husband is a well known commercial realtor in the area and she's done my Dad's taxes for a long time, he's a builder. Does mine too. I'm an investor and own a home inspection business. 

 Both ways. If I had time to do the work myself I'd get Mr Cools and put a single zone in 1 br and multi's in the rest more than a 1 br. It's tricky when you pay someone to do it because if there are existing ducts then it may not make sense. Pricing really isn't all that much different depending on your area. I have a Gree in my oversized garage that I basically keep at 70 degrees at all times. Works like a champ. 32,000 BTU. It was not a DIY but a contractor installed it for free since I have given him so much business and it was my personal home. I wouldn't get too hungup on brand because the large majority of them are fine. Gree actually makes a lot of them then wholesales to companies that re-brand with their own logos. If you're doing it yourself the DIY Mr Cool is no doubt the way to go unless you have the tools and knowledge. Lastly, I personally would not invest in an area where even a cage does not deter the thiefs. I'm guessing this is a really bad area of town and not worth it man. Just my opinion. Lots of things will happen in bad areas worse than getting an AC stolen. 

 I'll install a mini-split every chance I get on a small property. Makes sense in several ways. 

I can also tell you after reading this guys excuses I would pass. Doesn't seem like he's taken responsibility for anything. He made poor decisions no matter what, it's not all his friends fault. I don't like victim mentality and I don't like dealing with those types of people. 

First of all, I don't keep A and B properties so I do consider applicants with "1" prior eviction if it's more than a few years old and the credit shows they drew a line in the sand or they don't have anything large that's past due. People make mistakes and some people do actually learn lessons from it. Some of these people that you give a second chance to will become your most loyal and best tenants if they have the right mindset. The trick of the matter is everyone is their best representative when they need something. I have a 10+ year background in a previous career of taking finance applications so I have seen a lot of them, but ability, stability and willingness are all of my top priorities. I have a tenant now who had a past eviction and I gave her a second chance and I've been very happy with her so far. It's all conditional.  

Some CU's do better LTV's for HELOC's fyi, depending on county tax appraisal. If you have a high tax appraisal, you can get more and not have to pay an appraiser fee. Best option for cash flow would be the 30 year refi-cash out at around 75-80% LTV, unless it's a short-term equity need.

Hey, don't I know you @Johnny Nguyen? I believe I've inspected two for you!

Welcome to BP, Jenny. 

I'm a home inspector and an investor. I can tell you that PB can actually be a nightmare and has been for many people in the past, which is why builders don't use it any longer. I can also tell you that many home inspectors make things way worse than what they are, because of the liability or the fact that they don't actually do their homework. Home inspections are meant to inform the buyer, not scare them. The inspection should give them leverage to re-negotiate and get a better deal if need be, or simply walk away if it's too much for that client.  Home inspections came about as a consumer protection method, and we are supposed to be objective and informative. PB was used for decades because of the cost, and like with many things, you pay for what you get. PB has been found to have its structural integrity reduced compared to other materials because of the way many chemicals in public water supplies react to it, breaking it down and causing small cracks over a long period of time. This means that at any given time, pipes can fail and sometimes several can all at the same time which is where this inspector was probably getting at. It's pretty tough to tell exactly when a failing pipe will happen with PB. If it were me, I would just budget to replace them eventually with PEX. Try to get yourself a better deal because of it though. 

Just my two cents...