All Forum Posts by: Mark H.

Heat-pump package-units, mounted on the roof? That's how we do it in my area, and they rarely disappear from the roof. You can get them with natural-gas heat.

As a side benefit, theyre easier & faster to install than a standard gas furnace in the basement.

I really think this is one for the attorneys - in my state, you can go to court to get "access", but access doesnt mean you get to build a driveway, it means you can legally *walk* across the neighbor's yard. That right wouldnt add much value to vacant land.

The ball valves at harbor freight have yellow handles - and they're about half the price of valves at the depot or lowes. Personally, i usually change all the water valves in a house when i buy it to prevent future problems, so I would rather spend a few more bucks for a better valve.

I suspect if you're having valves changed by a handyman, he might be saving a couple bucks on materials by getting valves there, rather than a supply house.

If he only has $12k to invest, he is in serious danger of getting run-over by this property - what if he gets a deadbeat tenant that requires a lawyer's help to remove? What if the sewer clogs the day after he closes and he needs $5k *today* to dig a new line?

The only valid reason to be a landlord is to make money - this deal doesn't do that. The model posted above is basically "forced savings", and it is hypothetical savings at that - if youre hiring a pm to manage the property, its quite possible for the repair & maintenance costs to get out of control. Completely, totally off-the-rails out of control. It's especially likely to happen with an inexperienced owner who doesnt know what things *should* cost.

You *need* profit to survive.

If the Portland market is priced above the point where you can make a profit, and priced high relative to wages, it's topped out - it cant appreciate in value, absent a return of liar loans or lower interest rates, or - an increase in wages..

There's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing to *not* invest in an overheated market.

If you're surrounded by a frenzied market it's easy to forget that not everyone makes money in real estate. Some people lose everything, those people are usually the people that skip the math.

You laugh, but on my primary residence, i am currently suffering from a "dong" problem. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the "ding-dong" wire is actually broken on my doorbell, and a previous owner had covered up the "dong" defect by re-routing the "ding-dong" wire to the "ding" terminal on the doorbell, thus leaving me with a "ding", but no "dong".

For over three years now, I have survived without a "dong", but this thread has brought up that inadequacy and now I feel like I must rectify the situation immediately, however I must remind myself that doorbells are not free. A recent trip to the Depot reveals that repairing my "dong" will cost $40.00, plus tax.

I feel quite foolish in retrospect, if I had only hired a home inspector, I could be enjoying my "dong" right now, instead of trying to come up with $40 to satisfy my urgent need for a "dong".

Let my story be a lesson to you all.

If it wasnt under contract, you arent interfering with anything. Its all talk until they actually write the offer.

That rehabber would be eating a lot of ramen in Phoenix..

This deal is a dog, and you havent even accounted for repairs & maintenance.
Fha is only available for owner-occupants, so you would need to back out some of the income as well..

Basically you would be at best, peeling probably $900-$1200 out of your wallet to live in the smallest unit every month, and hoping for appreciation and tax savings tobail you out in the future.

If these units are only pulling $600-$800/ mo in rent, i wouldnt count on appreciation to help you out.

Run.

If you're thinking of a monitored alarm, ADT is the high-cost provider, and the $99 systems they install aren't anything special.

There are some good forums out there that discuss the pros and cons of the various systems out there. Not sure if I'm allowed to post the link, but google "diy security forum" for some leads...

If the tenant was making $70k, theyre likely to get another job & become collectable. Id get the judgement, youll have years to collect on it.

Yeah, but your drywall guy, carpet guy, molding guy etc. arent security guards, and dont generally care if someone follows them in and looks around.. if they grumble at a potential customer to kick them out, you've lost a customer, if they let them look around, you've lost a customer.. or worse yet, you may have allowed a criminal to scope out your progress, so they know what goodies are available to steal.