All Forum Posts by: Ryan Bono

Two years ago, my wife and I decided to convert a three story house in Wilmington NC into what we call an "ADU-plex". Basically, we created a duplex out of a single family home. There were too many challenges to list here on this post but the best thing is that we don't regret it at all, all the long nights and hard work has paid off and we had a great time doing it. We were able to complete the renovation in 16 months and we rented the first level apartment immediately after finishing it and have been living in the upstairs unit ever since. We have recently made the decision to move out to complete our “business plan” of making this a two-unit long term rental. On to the next project! Oh and by the way I made a checklist from start to finish about permitting and all the details, DM me and I can send that to you if it is any help, especially if you are looking to do that here in Wilmington NC. 

Seismic retrofitting does not and will not fix those issues. That doesn't even make any sense ( retrofitting is small brackets that hold the wood to the concrete which will do no good if the concrete and wood are damaged ), your agent should not talk about/guide you on repairs that they are unfamiliar with. Please call in a real/licensed foundation contractor, you need real help! Foundational repairs are expensive. 

Hello!

I want to write a forum post helping new investors. I feel the BP lacks the education on the home inspection process and as a home inspector, I want to help. I put in offers and got home inspections prior to being a home inspector and I felt so lost and overwhelmed as probably a lot of you did/still do. As a result, I quit my 9 to 5 in construction project management and became a full time Home Inspector and it has changed my life in so many positive ways. Please help me help the community:

The two effective ways I feel I can help are to educate/guide people on the following:

(1) Walk through a home and give investors simple things to understand/differentiate when a home in disrepair (or not) needs a basic renovations versus a full scale gut renovation with structural work/full re-pipe/re-wire etc. I have a lot of good ideas on this one but I would entertain your thoughts/comments. 

(2) The second one I am struggling with...How can a new investor can read a home inspection report and know when a comment/issue is a big deal, requiring serious skills/capital to fix versus just a DIY and a few hundred dollars to correct.

Any experienced investors have any tips when they felt overwhelmed reading a home inspection report as a newbie? Any newbies have current/past reports that they are still trying to wrap their heads around, what is tripping you up? 

Thank You!

-Ryan Bono