All Forum Posts by: Sib Bahjat

@Edward Burns

I do agree with your point, however perception plays a huge role when it comes to a sensitive subject such as this and it could have an effect .

All the suggestions above are correct and I agree with. There is one other suggestion I can make that may or may not be the cause. You need to find out who your neighbors are. People that rent today and have kids will search the internet to make sure there are no child predators in the neighborhood. In today's world, we have access to the web, and it is very powerful. We find out a lot about our neighbors and community via the web. Hopefully you do not have any weirdo's as your neighbors, but you never know. It would be worth while for you to know anyways. I wish you all the best and good luck.

Josh, I appreciate the information. I will check it out.

I am having a new tenant moving in May 1st, (SFR). Any suggestion on which site or company to use for back ground check. I know there are a lot of sites out there. I would like to know some suggestions from the BP community. Thank you in advance!

I believe everyone made very good points. I also would like to point out one thing that is very important in what type of products to use, whether high end or low end. It all depends on what area you will rent your property. If you have a property to rent out in a lower income area, I would not put high end materials. I also agree with tiling the kitchen and bathrooms. One area I have been successful with in attracting renters/buyers is having an inviting landscaping in front of the house. If it is inviting and comforting in the front, it triggers curiosity to view inside the house and you don't have to spend a lot of money. Hope this helps and good luck.

Dave, I am in the area as well. if you want to add me as a colleague I will be glad to help you and share my contacts with you.

@mike Murray I appreciate it.
@Carl Schmitt The loan is more than 25k. The best rate I have found so far is through a credit union at 5.9% and up to 170k. I was curious to see what everyone else had out there. Thanks!

How likely is it to find a bank that would loan on a home improvement as a second lien holder and keep the interest rate under 6%. The first lien holder is another bank. This would be for a personal home not investment property. Any suggestions or recommendation is greatly appreciated.

@karen Margrave, You bring up a very good point and yes I ask all the contractors to submit a line item bid which breaksdown the labor and materials. This helps me compare the bids more inteliigently. My goal is not to nickel and dime the contractors but to provide me the information needed in making a intelligent decision. Currently the initial bid is quite a bit higher than other contractors and I am basing this from a line item perspective.

I appreciate everyone's opinion's and feedback. I will certainly keep you all posted. Thanks again!