All Forum Posts by: Ryan Thacker

'Contractor's pricing guide: Residential Repair & Remodeling Cost with RSMeans data' Great book for those wondering if you getting a fair price from a contractor/sub contractor. It has a price adjustment table in the back of the book to adjust for your area because New York would be different than Detroit for example.

Electrical system that isn't grounded is first that comes to my mind. If you take the cover off an outlet, connected to an outlet will be a pair of black wires, white wires and bare copper wires (this is the ground wire your looking for). Some old homes only have black and white which is definitely not to code and the house should be wired. You can check this with the power off (and you should). Keep in mind that those shows also need to have drama to keep the viewer interested so don't be too scared get a couple quotes first and use that to your advantage when negotiating...missing gutters...easy fix.

sharp box cutter blade should do the trick. adding heat from a heat gun or hair dryer will help. Here's a video that will help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8E-BQxW14

Once your done with that this video will help complete the job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsNTqR6xWoY

Good Luck!

Depends if your trying to save 100-150 dollars in material. Make it easier on the installer so he doesn't have to make any unnecessary cuts which will save time and possible error. This is coming from a DIY guy.

Knowing your customer is my input on this post. Section 8 government housing is how I'd try to make money in the city of Detroit. I've considered it but just to new to attempt. Invest where demand is going not Detroit's historical past. Its like someone farted in the heart of the city, Detroiters are moving to the neighboring cities and the people from neighboring cities are moving to their neighboring cities. Until Detroit gets good leadership, has money to hire 4x the police force and crime decrease for about 5-8 consecutive years, its a speculative investment. The herd is moving to South Lyon that's where id put my money. For all the locals, drive west on 10 mile and you'll see what I mean. Also, everyone knows that Michigan and Detroit are to different things, right?

First timer trying to get my numbers right.. I intend to flip a house. Will be a cash purchase. For city taxes do I pay full annual taxes if I only hold it for say 2-3 months? Also when I sell what percent do I factor for IRS? Thanks BP.

Hey BP,

Hoping to get some advice/input on my situation. I'm getting my financing for my first flip through a home equity loan. I've turned in all papers, and received my Good Faith Estimate. So I went into the bank to lock in my rate because the GFE says estimate is good for X date. I was told that I didn't have to because it was an equity loan, he asked when and I'm available to settle I said whenever, and he responded with the next day or two I'd hear from him. I let three business days go by and sent an email and got a response of he's waiting for the underwriter and to be patient. Its been a total of one week now and I'm wondering is this normal for it to take this long after already receiving a GFE? Am I being too pushy? Should I try to close at a different branch? Since my GFE expired and there is nothing in writing that I'm in agreement with terms/rate did I just get screwed over?

Thanks for any and all responses!

Great responses so far! The science of water is simple. It will go wherever it can. If this was my problem, as a DIY guy, I would put in an exterior French drain system. If you decide to go this route and hire someone read the link I posted and make sure that this is the way its done and that they put in a clean-out incase it gets clogged ever you can call a plumber instead of digging everything up again. Again I'm no professional just a DIY-er but an exterior French drain system sounds like your best and cheapest option.

Here's the link on the right installation:

http://www.easydigging.com/Drainage/installation_french_drain.html

Here's on why it works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgFSMCRhwco

Hope this helps.

Hey BP new guy from MI...trying to navigate the site here. Can anyone lead me to where I can estimate closing costs? Those fees and commissions and who's responsible for what as a cash buyer is something I'd like to get straight with your help please. I want to properly evaluate a property that I want to buy very soon and don't want to leave anything out. Thanks.