All Forum Posts by: John Ma

Hey BP community.   I am wrapping up renovation on a rental (running out of capital fast!) currently.  I had an existing plan but I wanted to run it by the community and hopfully you guys who've done these in the past can point out any blind spots for me.

I'm currently using a combination of my own capital and 0% credit card to fund my renovation on this house.  I went that path because I planned for a much shorter and less expensive scope of work at the time.  

I plan to cash out refinance the existing FHA loan at a higher price to pull some money out to recoperate from the capital i spent for the renovation.

To put some numbers out there:  I owe $98k at 4.7% with 27 years left. City tax assessment is $140k and I know it should appraise for around that or more.

I'm hoping to cash out as much as possible but I know there may be some limitations on it since it is a rental.

One thing that crossed my mind is- Since my existing mortgage is an FHA, does this affect anything now that it is a rental, or is there anything special because it is an FHA?

Can anyone recommend a good lender that are friendly to investors and have a higher LTV?

hey guys, I am currently finishing up repairing a few things on a project that will soon be a rental.

There is a blank window that is currently boarded up and I am trying to figure out what to do with it.   The inside is already a closet so it is not visible.   The exterior however is less than attractive and I need a good solution that will not cause any water related damages.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8cd8JbR5t64VUZJT...

Hopfully you guys can see this once you sign into google.

As you can see, the current siding around the old window is olive-ish aluminum siding.

 I am thinking about having my guy install some siding (most likely wont be a perfect match) where the board is and make sure it is weather sealed with caulking.

Or

Remove the window frame and install siding with caulking, sealing it in.

Does anyone have any inexpensive ideas?

@John Weidner Thats the last time I want to work with him.  He knows what he did wrong, i didn't even begin to describe the other issues we've had.

For one, hes not even a real roofer. I discovered this half way through the project. Most of his jobs are cutting grass.  For home renov work, he gathers up latino workers to do jobs for him.  His first group of guys decided to leave on the day of the job complaining about the pitch of my roof (its roughly 45 degrees).  

He borrowed my guys for a couple days because he was short on labor. 

Several items were not finished including a missing gutter, unfinished trim, and completely covered a bathroom vent (the duct now vents into my attic).

quite a few columns of nails completely miss the joist (I was able to see this after opening up the interior)

I ate the cost of two additional dumpsters because he didn't know what size he needed.

I'm not going to eat any additional cost due to his shoddy business operation. My discount that i negotiated is fair.

This has certainly been a valuable learning experience for me.

I know I still got decades ahead of me to shine, so this is little bump isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I did exercise my negotiation skills and we agreed on a 25% discounted price.

interesting.

they were hired to to replace the roof and boards, but were to notify me if any joists were damaged.

they told me joists were all fine, however I was notified by someone on the downlow that wasn't the case as one of the joists was broken and they decided to just cover it up.  I'm not talking about the joist sagging slightly or not parallel with the other joists. I'm talking about obviously damaged.

 I had some drywall removed from the interior to confirm, and it was indeed damaged and had it repaired after.

I'm in VA and permits are required. Is the Contractor not doing his due diligence by not doing this, and what type of risks are they accruing by not doing this?

Hey guys, I hope someone who may have been around the block may be able to steer me in the right direction.  This is my first time working with a sub-par contractor.

I had a roof replaced recently (shingles and boards). I am not completely satisfied with the outcome, however it is acceptable for its roofing functions.  To have it done to what I want, it would basically need a re-do down to the joists.  During the work, i was lied to about what the joists looked like, which I later found out and had repaired afterwards from the inside.

With that said, I have not paid the bill in full yet and want to re-negotiate the contract based on the outcome.

To have some leverage on negotiation, I want to know whether it is a Licensed Contractor's civil duty to point out things that not to code and not continuing with the work until that is fixed.  I assume this is something that would jeopardize his or her license?  

What is a contractor putting at stake when he/she does not get permits prior to performing work?   I suspect this was done also.

Thanks for sharing.

Even from the exterior, one can tell the roof bows in slightly.   It is structurally sound as the joists were looked at by my roofing guys but I'm sure concerned that they may not like how it has warped over the past several decades.

hey guys, I wanted to see if someone who has been around the block  can offer some insight.

I have been house hacking my rental for the past 4 years but have recently moved out and am legitimizing it working with a prop manager and such.

one thing that has crossed my mind is when I switch my house insurance from owner occupied to rental, they will be performing an inspection and im a little bit anxious of my roof.

My shingles and ply boards were changed not too long ago however the joists are warped due to the house being a 1920s. Would this be an issue for any inspector?

I had my roofer inspect the joists to make sure it was solid when the roof was changed, infact it was them whom suggested I use the existing framing to save some bucks.

I'm going through two renovation projects to get my rentals set up, however I am flirting with the idea of signing up for his program to really get the ball rolling.  I do know local mentors but they are just connects.  I can not pound them all day long with little questions here and there, they'll hate me lol.. which is why I am looking into Freedom Mentor.  They are there to answer those questions.

The only thing I am concerned about is what local markets they've worked in.  I recently moved into a metropolitan where the avg home value is around 400k.  I can easily tell the market needs to be worked much differently from where I used to live.

I dont have a license, but I know people that do.

I know someone who sold 113 houses last year. And that was his first year as an agent. We live in an area where the avg home prices are $500k, so you can do the math.

The ones who are barely scraping by, just simply aren't putting in the right work such as marketing.