All Forum Posts by: Sean Ridlon

 Awesome! Thanks, I like it.

I lived out in Wasilla for 14 years. Evictions are supposed to be no picnic in AK. 

I never thought of that. Would you be willing to say how a deal like that might be structured?

Howdy guys and gals, I'm down here in the Gainesville and Ocala areas. Anyone down here feel like filling me in on trailers as investment properties (rentals)? Not looking to buy an entire trailer park. Just curious is it even worth the money to pick up seemingly affordable trailers on 1/4 acres or to fix up for rental properties.

Seems like the most common type of blue collar housing here.

I know a little already regarding metal roofing, newer being easier to finance, etc.

Does anyone else buy these?

Howdy guys and gals, I'm down here in the Gainesville and Ocala areas. Anyone down here feel like filling me in on trailers as investment properties (rentals)? Not looking to buy an entire trailer park. Just curious is it even worth the money to pick up seemingly affordable trailers on 1/4 acres or to fix up for rental properties.

Seems like the most common type of blue collar housing here.

I know a little already regarding metal roofing, newer being easier to finance, etc.

Does anyone else buy these?

Great questions. What I think should be in your tool bag for inspections for those problems is a non-penetrating moisture meter. Assuming the plumbing is fully charged, and the home has been inhabited recently, you can use the moisture meter to probe around areas that are common to damage: plumbing walls, cabinet toe kicks and bases, kitchen and bathroom floors, shower or tub surrounds, below the washer drain box, etc. The meter will detect the presence of moisture.

Always get a dry reading first from the same material in an area you know has no water damage first. For instance, if I want to get a reading of sheet rock I suspect, first I'd get a sheet rock reading high off the floor and far from the area I suspect. This is my "dry standard" reading. Next, I compare the suspect area's reading to the first reading. I expect the sheet rock in a home to all have the same moisture content, and if I found a significant variation, that might be cause for some exploratory demolition. Same would apply to flooring: if I found that the flooring beside a commode had a higher moisture content compared to the same flooring at the doorway, that might cause me to conclude a wax ring has failed or a supply line has failed behind a commode.

For mold to be present, we first need cellulose (wood, MDF, paper, etc). Next we need mold spores (no problem, those are everywhere in the normal environment), and finally we need sufficient moisture. So since homes are made of cellulose and mold spores are ubiquitous in the normal outdoor environment, we need to determine somehow what has been wet.

Preforming visual inspections for mold is also possible in attics, crawlspaces, beneath cabinets, etc. Also red flags might include a "sagging" appearance to paint, yellow stains on ceilings, peeling paint on window sills, etc.

There's all kinds of ways to "get started" in real estate and some of them don't even require you to be the buyer. You could wholesale by building a list of cash buyers then bringing deals you've got under contract to them. You could bird dog deals for other buyers. Just a couple of ideas! Tell you what: you take down two contracts on a wholesale deal and you'll have that 6k paid off. Take down 4 and I'll bet you could have 20k in your bank account.

Those are actionable steps, but maybe you'll use the time to brush up on real estate, becoming an expert in one aspect or another, totally up to you!

Point is: you HAVE started just by being here, now find some way to get the ball rolling. Good luck!

I don't know... if the affordability of rent can be calculated at 1/3 of monthly income, showing yourself as a person capable of saving a month's wages might be considered as good as a high credit score. But today we look more at what a person can borrow than what they can save.

"The thing that usually makes a project hard is the customer."

Every contractor knows this is the gospel truth. I've wanted to say, "I can do anything.... if you get out of the way."

It's  been a year since the last post on this topic so here goes....

Anyone want to share Memphis-area general contractor information here?

My partner and I are looking for handymen-level all the way up to full-rehab capable contractors to take on projects for us in Memphis. 

The only criteria I ask is that you yourself have used the contractor you recommend here. If you yourself are a contractor, that's great.