All Forum Posts by: Sylvia Schumacher

Hi biggerpockets forum!

I got a hardwood refinishing job for a SFH. My contractor sent me the picture attached below today (1st layer of stain).

All floors are sanded already, only this one room is stained with the first coat. Can anyone share advice on what has gone wrong with these floors? Is it possible to tell from the pictures if it's related to how the stain was applied or whether it's related to a bad sanding job?

What are my best options? For that room below, would a second coat of stain be helpful to even things out a bit? Could I just apply sealer in the other rooms to avoid that the unevenness is coming to the surface?

Thanks!

PS: Not looking for a GC or PM to reach out to me letting me know I can't do it and that I need their help for everything. I understand that I am learning and I may make (expensive) mistakes but I also consider that as part of the learning journey :)

Hi!

I got help refinishing hardwood floors but after sanding, there are quite large areas with (pet?) stain left. The professional recommends to replace the blanks and quotes me 350$ for it. I was planning to bleach it and put darker stain on it but wondering whether it's still worth it. It's a SFH in a C-grade neighborhood in Cleveland.

Would appreciate any recommendations on what to do here. Is the price reasonable?

Thanks,

Sylvia

Hi BP,

I purchased a SFH property in need of some lighter rehabbing and am planning to keep it as a long-term rental. I was initially planning to hire some contractors to get the work done, then find a property management company to find and manage tenants.

It would be helpful for me to understand the following:

(1) I don't want to be classified as an active real estate investor in front of the IRS. I have a full time W2-job. By hiring contractors myself for the rehab, would I run at risk of that already? Would my situation change if I hired a PM and let the PM be in charge of the rehab and hire contractors?

(2) If I am classified as a passive RE investor, do I need to 1099 contractors? 

(3) In case the answer to (2) is no and I don't need to 1099 contractors: Can contractor costs still be added to my cost basis to increase depreciation accordingly? How would this be done during tax seasons - which forms/schedules? Do I need anything beyond invoices to do so?

I would highly appreciate any advice / pointers!

Thank you!

Great thanks for your advice @Bob Stevens! I don't have a PM company yet but planning to hire one once the renovation is ready.

Maybe smaller follow-up here: You also would leave the porch as is or would you stain it/ do anything else?

Hello!

My first RE investment property is a 3-1 SF in a B- to C-grade Cleveland area. I am trying to rehab the house and then planning to rent it out.

I would be grateful for any advice with respect to yard work! Asked the BP community for advise on the bathroom before and it was super helpful, so hoping I could get some good input for the garden as well!

Sharing images (extracted from my RE's video tour) of the yard, garden and porch attached. As a newbie, it's very tough for me to get a feeling for what amount of work I should invest in for the yard and where to draw the line. Also, would you recommend to hire this work out to professionals or to a handyman? We are talking about a ~100k property that I am hoping to rent out for ~1200$. 

I appreciate any thoughts and advise! Thank you BP community!

Thanks everyone for the input so far, it's very valuable and interesting to hear the different perspectives! 

Hello!

I am closing on my first RE property in a week and it's a 3-1 SF in a B- to C-grade Cleveland area. Trying to rehab the house and then planning to rent it out.

I was hoping to get some inspiration from the BP community on how to remodel the bathroom in an inexpensive (but yet effective) way! It currently lacks a shower head in the wall. Is there an option to keep the tile as is and add more tile just above that (I assume this isn't recommended but figured it was worth to ask). My preference was a durable initially but my understanding is that's not reasonable given that there is a window right behind?

I am grateful for any advice. On the side, I am also grateful if anyone knows a good contractor for this type of work and is willing to refer them. Sharing photos extracted from my only video. Apologies for the quality but don't have photos of the bathroom yet!

Thanks a lot!

Hi all!

I am (was) in the process of buying a duplex out-of-state. A few weeks back, my agent reached out to me with a listing, I put in an offer and was taken up on it.

The listing wasn't too detailed and didn't have any pictures from inside of the building but I got MLS images from 2019. The listing agent told my agent that the upper kitchen has been renovated since the 2019 offer.

Scheduled an inspection and my agent went there with the inspector. Turns out the building has very obvious structural issues with a curved wall. This wasn't mentioned in the listing. The selling agent didn't say anything either. On top, the upper kitchen hasn't been renovated but is still in its old state.

My assumption is, that this ultimately is my bad, I have to pay for the inspection (>500$), pull out from the offer (inspection contingency) and just live with it. Would appreciate any confirmation of that though as I am new to out-of-state investing and want to make sure I am doing the right thing. I haven't paid the inspector yet but have deposited earnest money.

Going a level beyond, do you have recommendations how to avoid that situation? Do your agents take a look at the property before you schedule the inspection? In my particular case, there are two tenants in the building and showings weren't allowed prior to the offer but wondering, if my job was to organize a showing after I have put in the offer.

Thanks a lot for any thoughts, recommendations, best practices, etc. I greatly appreciate it!

Thanks Theresa! The issue is, that it's a shortsale and I am afraid that it might take months (until the end of winter) to become the owner if it goes through... That's why I am wondering about the risks leaving the roof as is and having a Cleveland winter come and go.

Hi!

I am looking into a short sale in the Cleveland area. Unfortunately, the roof looks pretty scary and as it's a short sale, I don't expect to be able to repair the roof myself before winter arises. 

Would anybody know about the risks this kind of roof brings? Do you think it's a red flag and I shouldn't even put in an offer in the first place?

I'd appreciate any thoughts!

Thanks!