All Forum Posts by: Cynthia Hartley

Hi and welcome to BP. One thing that you could start doing is looking at the MLS to see what houses are selling for. If you know you want a 3 br/2 ba with a basement, look at those and see what the market is commanding. That way when you come across a good deal, you will know it. That allows you to move toward investing and still learn.

Thanks everyone for your input. I did end up getting two more quotes. One was from a GC who said the roof was in good shape, except the flashing in the front of the house, where one major leak was evident, and except for the vent pipe in the bathroom where the other leak was evident. He said he would repair the leak and apply aluminum asphalt coating for a price of $3400.

The last quote was from another roofer who said he would take off the old modified bitumen rubber roof and install a new one, including new flashing, for $10,000 with a 10 year warrantee

The prices are really all over the place.

A colleague said he had Home Depot replace his roof with a 30 year warrantee for $9,000 and it was a sloped, shingled roof. I may check HD and Lowes to see if they replace roofs and what their costs are as a benchmark. Never been a fan of those stores, but it is what it is. Definitely a learning lesson.

As I continue to look for roofers, I will also start looking for basement excavators. I suspect that will be harder than finding a reputable roofer.

Thanks again guys for your input and listening to me rant about roofers.

Thanks @Sam Valme,

The property is in DC. The Deanwood area in SE DC to be precise. If you have any recommendations on roofers, I welcome them. Please PM me. 

Eventually, I will be writing a blog on my experience. Hope it will be informative and educational.

Thanks!

Cynthia

Hi @Russell Brazil,

I would be interested in a DC based Meetup. We could always meet at a library. DC public library meeting rooms are available in different sizes and are free. 

Hi @Kris Mcfarlane and @Tony Fendi. Thank you both for your responses. I agree with both of your assessments. I met with the contractor this morning. He showed up with working crew in tow and said that my 900 sq ft flat modified bitumen rubber roof would cost $9,000 to apply a new roof on top of the old one and to cover the rusted flashing. However, since I was an Angie's List member he would give me a 10% discount for which he calculated a total price of $7,250, which is a 20% discount. (An indication to me that he was jacking up the price.) He said that his crew was here and he could finish the job today. I immediately felt pressured and said I needed to think about it and see how that fit in with my budget, plus I was traveling the following week and would not be able to make a decision until after I returned. He said I could pay $4,200 now and the rest when I return. I wasn't comfortable with that either.

I am going to take your advice Kris and find several roofing contractors from which to obtain estimates.

BTW, I drove to the house in my new Prius. Next time I will be there in my 2000 Civic with a mismatched hood and dents/scratches all over the car!

Much appreciated guys!!

Hi @Account Closed

I would recommend that you search the BP website for a RE agent that has experience working with investors. You should not sign a contract of exclusivity with an agent. As a buyer you should feel free to with one or more agents if you wish to do so. That said, I found one agent that I liked, he worked hard for me and I am sticking with him. My sister did the same.

Don't feel badly if they show you 20 - 30 houses. It is their job. I not only looked on the MLS to let my agent know what properties I was interested in seeing, but he also sent me listings that he thought I might be interested in seeing. It was teamwork.

Know your market. Know what properties are going for for the type of house you are interested in. That way, when you see a good deal you will recognize it and jump on it right away. 

If you are a BP Pro member, use the calculators that are available under Tools. If you are not a BP Pro member, become one and start practicing with the calculators. Analyze a property with the calculator before you "jump on it". It takes less than 3 minutes.

People have found properties buy and hold properties on the MLS. I did. However, many investors smarter than I look for properties before they even hit the market. That is my next step. There are numerous BP podcasts where successful investors discuss exactly how they do that.

Good luck,

Cynthia

Welcome, from Washington, DC. I have learned so much from BP. Do listen to the podcasts. I started with podcast one when I knew little to nothing, and when I caught up to the most recent episode I started over from podcast one to reinforce what I learned and pick up new bits of information along the way. Good luck!

Cynthia

Hi @Jeff Ausdemore. I can't answer all of your questions, and I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, but I can tell what advice I've heard from the BP podcasts. 

1)A series LLC could be set up in which you put the separate partnerships into its own LLC. For example, if you have 2 SFHs that you purchased on your own, those should go into its own LLC within the series. If you have 3 properties that you purchased with your brother those should go in their own LLC within the series. If you have 1 property with your wife that is not your primary residence, that should go in its own LLC with the series.

2)If you want to be 100% that you've covered your bases, get a real estate attorney to set up your series LLC. LegalZoom, like TurboTax, does not mean you are 100% covered that you've done things the right way.

3)That said, I do my own taxes on TurboTax. I did use a CPA once and I was not 100% confident that he knew what he was doing. My tax refund using his service was the lowest I've received with the exception of the first time I used a CPA when I had a part time job in high school and I "OWED" money. How the heck is that possible.

Bill Gates once said in an interview many years ago (and I paraphrase) that the most important thing to know is the tax code. Although I don't want to be a CPA, I do want to know how to maximize my deductions and depreciations. I purchased the book "Tax Free Wealth: How to build massive wealth by permanently lowering your taxes"; part of the Rich Dad Poor Dad series. There is also a new BP book published in the spring on RE taxes. 

I am sure there are others who will disagree vehemently with my position. Everyone should do what they feel comfortable doing. 

4) Sorry I can't help with this one.

Good luck!

Hi everyone,

I purchased a new house as a primary home, although I currently have a primary home that I plan to rent once the new house has been renovated. I called a roofer to give me an estimate to replace the roof of the new house, and he asked twice if it I was going to be living in it. Why would a contractor want to know if I am going to live in the house or not? 

@Darrin Carey. Thank you for your response. You have answered my question fully.