All Forum Posts by: Joshua Rogers

Bank REO without an asking price, ARV of 155k with less than 15k rehab needed. I offered 40k, ended up purchasing for 57k. I played up the bank's liability from the decaying pool fence and slight brick cracking due to settling about an inch over a 30 year period. I put 5k in the house and 10k in the pool. Rents for $1,400 without issue.

Welcome!  I'm just outside of St. Louis in Collinsville, IL, let me know if you want to bounce some ideas after you've explored more of the site.  

Duplex in B neighborhood, $600 rent per side, tenants pay all their own utilities, built in mid 1970's on slab.  Taxes run $200 month, insurance around $100, maybe less.  Asking price is 92k.  I want it for 80k.  What do you think of these numbers?  Leaves me around $300 before expenses per month without much of a down payment.  It's essentially move in ready, long term tenants (5+ years each).  Only expense I see is replacing carpet in the future if someone moves out.  Otherwise she's good to go.  I usually invest in single family homes, so I'm not sure what type of cash flow I should be aiming for on a duplex.  I know appraisal will come in near 100k, unless I get him to accept closer to 80, in which case I expect the appraisal to miraculously decrease to 85ish.  Throw me some validation or criticism.  

On a side note, I am usually disappointed by water-based Kilz products.  Oil-based works well (fumes are another story), but I have yet to find a stain that the water-based/latex Kilz actually covers/hides.

I have not heard of insurance covering tree removal.  They cover damage from a tree fall, but not removal prior to a fall.  The insurance company can deny a claim if they can prove you were aware of an unsafe tree on your property, so removal is important and comes at your expense.  Perhaps there are exceptions I'm not aware of, hopefully other people chime in on the issue.

This is a topic that interests me greatly, simply because I am a real estate investor and also believe in the philosophy behind the tiny house movement.  There are a lot of legal obstacles as mentioned, but I think it will come to pass when there are more and more tiny house communities.  I believe there is one in Portland, which functions as a "hotel", with 3 or 4 tiny houses on a commercial lot.  They go for $140 a night and are in high demand.  Talk about cash flow, assuming the lot didn't require massive expense.  Also, the town of Spu, TX and possibly a few other towns now straight up allow tiny houses in their town.  

Just the name makes me want to try the "Anit Icky Poo".  I've found the majority of cat piss is usually around the edges of a room..i.e. baseboard, door trim, tack strip.  I've painted plywood with Kilz oil-based and had great results.  I've also seen garage floor latex paint used in cat urine soaked basements and it worked very well.  

When they ask, I tell them "no" and move on.  Early in my career (I suppose it is still "early" in my career by some standards, but I digress), I wanted my houses to have every amenity possible.  My attitude and posture have evolved.  I rent exceptional houses in good neighborhoods at market rents or slightly higher.  Closet doors won't make or break the deal (in my current market anyways).  I do leave the bifolds on hallway closets or washer/dryer closets, but I have an addendum in my lease that lists those items I won't repair, and bifold doors are such an item.  If I have a great renter with a good track record at my property, I will happily fix such an item at my discretion, but I want my lease to show that once it breaks, it's broke until the renter hires a handyman (which I have to approve).

This was probably mentioned, but Home Depot gives you 5% off with the Home Depot credit card.  Strangely, you have to ask for this discount nearly every single time you check out.  It's some type of store policy.  Whereas the Lowes Credit Card AUTOMATICALLY gives you 5% off without asking the cashier.  

SCRATCH THAT, listen to the reply above mine!

No doors is far and away the best bet.  I have never had a student even mention the lack of closet doors.  I remove them immediately whether or not they are defective, and often leave the track to avoid drywall patching and painting.  If they're not defective, and then they break, the renter will feel he/she deserves a new one (you can't take it away once they've had it, without some level of drama...it's become a proverb in my rental business).  If it's a closet with a normal single door on hinges, I leave that in place like any other swing door.  Bifolds and sliders are a headache and don't add to rent amount.