All Forum Posts by: Ryan Detig

@Trevor Schmidt  Did you guys sign a lease?  All of the things the you are talking about should be in a lease (for this exact reason).  Look what your lease says about these items.  I am not familiar with Oregon Landlord laws but from what it sounds like you are getting taken advantage of.  I would reach out on bigger pockets for a local Real Estate Lawyer, spend the money for an hour of his time and explain your situation.  If the landlord is really bothering all you guys you could even split the cost three ways and all three go meet with the lawyer.  I would figure out what your end goal will be as a group before you meet with the lawyer.  If all three of you want to leave then steer the conversation with the lawyer that direction and ask him what documentation is needed so that you can safely break your lease without worrying about being evicted.  You have to think of this as a game.  Don't take it personally and don't get upset.  Documentation is your friend.  take photos of all of the landlords stuff and start communicating with him/her in email.  If you never signed a lease or have any type of written agreement then go find another place to live.  You might even see if the lawyer is willing to write a strongly worded letter to the landlord on your behalf.    Remember, NOT PERSONAL and DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. 

@Phillip Le On your first flip assuming you are going to do most of the work I would be happy making $22/ hr of the time spent working. Contracting everything out, I would be happy to just not loose money. Currently I try to budget for 25K-30k profit. That is buying around the 50k mark, put in 30-50k and selling for 120-160k. Obviously if I were to buy at 200k and put 100k in and sell for profit I would want a much larger profit. Usually a good rule of thumb is your purchase price should be (ARV * 70%) - (repair, holding, closing costs).

@Phillip Le If you have some experience doing the work yourself can be a good way to make extra on a flip.  I would just make sure your look at your hourly rate.  If you are currently between jobs then you are making 0 per hour so doing the work yourself.  If you have a great job making $50/ hour i would say that hiring someone who works for $20-35 per hours is better because it is less than your $50 per hour job.  I currently have 2 flips going on right now.  One is 100% done and under contract and the other will be done in 2 weeks. 

@Phillip Le  Knowing what I know now, I would have made sure to have a home inspector come out and do a pre listing inspection 1-2 weeks before putting it on the market.  That would have given me time to fix any issues so that the buyers inspection would not be an issue.  It also shows potential buyers that you are not trying to sandbag or hid anything.  Also make sure you visit the property often during construction to keep your GC honest.  Good luck and I hope it goes great for you. 

@Peter Tverdov My situation is much less formal than you are talking. It is more of the situation where I make a phone call and say "Hey family member, I have a great deal and need $XXXXX" and they say "cool I can loan than much" and they put a check in the mail. I have not used the traditional HML, they have loaned the full amount. To be honest I think it would be very very difficult to find a stranger to loan with a lien. I currently have 30 years worth of relationship with the people I am borrowing money from which is why it is as easy as it is.

@Peter Tverdov Mostly family. I had my dad set up a HELOC on his house and have borrowed from that as well. They make it really easy. Me and my dad have a joint bank account. When I need money I send him a promissory note and he deposits money into our joint account (we live 1000 miles apart). With other lenders I just make a phone call and they put a check in the mail. Usually I borrow at 6%-10% interest with no points. If I have a situation where I only need money for a month or 2 then I will just do a fixed $ amount instead of a fixed % amount so that it is worth their time and effort.

@Bryan Tasumi  My recommendation is that you reach out to local realtors and see who they recommend.  If you don't know any local realtors call multiple ones and see who they recommend as a good local inspector.  

@Dick Rosen  I personally used RTACabinetstore.com.  They shipped within 10 days.  I used their online design tool and designed it myself.  It was very easy.  Your contractor or yourself will have to put them together but they are really good quality with solid wood construction.  I put in uppers and lowers in my L shaped kitchen (18-20 Linear ft total) and the cabinets cost me just under 2K.  Contractor charged another 300 to put them together.  I don't have a price for the install because it was a lump sum bid with other scope.  A safe bet would be 2 guys 3 days for install.  I cannot imagine it would take longer than that.   Click here for before and after photos of the flip using these cabinets.  

If I were you I would go talking to the leasing manager and see if you can get released from your lease. Bring facts. Not "i think" or "she's so annoying" but actual facts (photos etc). I would also start documenting everything in writing via email to the leasing manager. Squeaky wheel gets the grease and if you are emailing them daily with facts and evidence that your roommate is breaking the lease the. They should take action. This seems like a game you are going to only win by staying cool and documenting everything so you can "trap" her into either getting into trouble with the cops (drugs), or the apartment complex. I would not stoop to her level and try to be more annoying than her as previously recommended.

@Adam Widdicombe I do still have a W-2 job yes.  I do some work during my lunch and when stuff is slow.  I would have a much harder time doing this if I was super busy all 10 hours at work that is for sure.  I recommend setting up systems and using them.  For example I have a google drive and have a folder for each property with the same subfolders under each folder.  I do the same thing with each property so I don't get confused were I put documents and photos.  I know that no mater what property it is, the deed is in a certain folder within the property folder and the survey and closing docs are in another.  This makes it easy to find stuff and stay organized.  I also organize my email and have a folder for each property for the same reason.  I suggest using an online system (I use tenantcloud) and do your best to get all your tenants paying online.  It will cost you $9 per month but to me it is totally worth it to not have to go to the PO box and pick up checks/money orders.  

Your wife getting her RE license might help but I think getting her on board with helping you create the systems and being on the same page with each of them will be more helpful.  Then she can help out with the day to day if she needs to when you are at work.