All Forum Posts by: Tara G.

We spread compost once in a while on the entire lawn, pretty messy work though:-) It isnt enough though, have to supplement it with store bought fertilizers, but probably not as much as our neighbors.. I also spend many a morning/ evening pulling weeds.. Nothing is as relaxing:-) has worked on the zoysia lawn in he backyard, the fescue in the front is still weedy. we will plug with zoysia next summer, I am tired of the water and maintenance fescue needs.. zone 7B.

postlets.com will syndicate your post to a number of sites- Trulia, zillow etc. It is free and you can use their templates to make a nice presentation of your property. They even give you html code to cut and paste into craigslist:-) Pretty slick looking posts, too:-)

We have suntouch under our kitchen (part) and master bath tiles, it has been about 7 years and they are still doing great.. But, why would you want to put them in a rental, unless it is high end and this can be a selling point? (would be great at resale, admittedly) Just one more thing to keep up with on a rental.

Regarding operating costs, we keep out home at 68 degrees in winter and go barefoot or wear socks, so the added heat at the feet is a comfort. Havent noticed a big change in the electricity bill. The heated part of our kitchen is also our favorite hang out spot for the family in winter- would definitely recommend for a personal home.

Looks great! Another potential liability issue and likely code violation: The pickets on the deck are spaced too far apart. with 4 steps, you need handrails. A 4" ball should not be able to pass through any space in the handrails (pickets, bottom rail clearance etc). Maybe just add one in the middle everywhere?

We had rented to one of those before, not Aurhomes, but someone similar (Oakwood INternational). It was a 3 month lease with Oakwood, with the incoming employee family as residents listed. Got to charge them a hefty premium for the short term lease too:-) It worked out very well, home was professionally cleaned at move out. Just make sure you research AurHomes thoroughly.

Tatyana:

You sound like you are scared to make a move. I have been there, and I know (had trouble firing a maintenance crew- what if I cant find anyone else?). The situation you are in now, you need to act fast. Take a day off from work, find an attorney who will talk to you today. You let this drag any more and you will have tenants well settled into your home that no amount of cash-for-keys will get out. Do not agonize about antagonizing any one. The credit report does not sound good. Concentrate on getting these tenants out. Don't dawdle any more. Talk to an attorney, we dont have the full picture to tell you what will work (who is the landlord on the lease and so on). Get a referral to an attorney who will see you today. There are many technicalities of the law involved that you will not be aware of. A good attorney is so worth their fees. Good Luck!

We love to work rehabs in the dead of winter and get them ready for spring! We don't have harsh winters though. Agree with J. Scott, this summer investors have been swarming out of the woodwork!

Ours range from 8K when we first started 5 years ago to about 30K for recent flips.Averages about 18K-20K. This is net, after all selling costs.

Another idea is to take the doors off their hinges for pictures, that way they don't block the view to whats behind them and make the space appear larger..

I think you need professional pictures.. Yours are grainy and all the wonderful details are overshadowed by that. I have no clue what it is they do, but professional photographers shoot the best angle, they have the lenses to shoot in a small space so that all of it shows up, their resolution is great AND they fix the light (mine made our darker rehab appear like it was flooded with light). Pictures sell the property, make yours pop out..

I beg to differ on pricing with the others: we have been the highest priced in the neighborhood on a few occasions and have sold within a week. In fact, we passed on a deal because we thought we wont be able to get a good enough price and someone else bought it and fixed it up to get 20K more than what we thought it would fetch. I am a real estate agent, so I have access to MLS data and run comps all the time. On the other hand, I have seen a rehabbed property in a great neighborhood, the best (literally, in the county) schools not sell even though it was 30K lower than the comps because of the quality of the rehab. People can see through a bad quality, cut-corners-type rehab. They will be willing to pay for a good quality rehab, with a reasonable sale price after factoring in the upgrades.

Of course, after a certain price point, people are unable to pay for all your great upgrades, given the neighborhood and comps, even if they would like to. You cant price a home 30-40K higher than the comps in the 100K price range..

Good luck, make sure you are marketing the property as best as you can.. Trulia and Zillow have worked for us in the past. Not craigslist for selling homes. Keep us posted..