All Forum Posts by: Tyler Todhunter

Welcome!  I invest in Aberdeen and it is a great rental market.  As for your question about getting a loan before leaving your job- you might want to investigate if that would be considered mortgage fraud.  I'm 10+ years out of the mortgage business, but they underwrite to your ability to repay the loan- and if you're qualifying with a job you intend to quit... One way to find out is to bring it up with your loan officer.  If you're hesitant to do that, it may be an indication that it's a bad idea. 

Not a flipper, but I do some buy and hold.  

Thanks, everyone, for the input.  I had a property inspector go out over the weekend an he believes that the problem lies in ventilation, stating that the attic is poorly ventilated.  He also mentioned that he could see where the insulation was blown in, but that it didn't get to the lower third of the wall.  I did some research over the weekend and stumbled across HRV Air Exchangers.  I have contacted an HVAC company for consultation, and I will be calling the insulation company to address the lower portions of the walls. 

He also mentioned that there is insufficient insulation in the crawl space.  I'll have to do some work on that as well.  

Nicky, I'm with ya on the mystery of it all.  There weren't signs of a moisture problem when I bought the house, and these are the first tenants, so I can't rule out that it's something they are causing.  

I'll update as I attempt solutions.  Thanks again.

Thank you for your reply!  The foundation is concrete ribbon with wood construction for the house.  There is a crawl space, which I checked and is dry and has plastic over the dirt.  There is a question as to the level of insulation under the rooms, and if there is a vapor barrier.  

The house has baseboard heat, but they are also running space heaters.  I believe it was around 70* in the house when I was there, but the humidity made it feel much warmer.  I brought an infrared thermometer and the walls were reading around 64-68*.  

If this were a problem with vapor barriers on the under side of the floor, could there possibly be enough moisture coming from the seemingly dry crawl space to create extreme humidity inside the house?  Thanks again!

Thanks for the input regarding the vapor barriers, that is definitely something to think about.  In your experience, would this condensation on the walls lead to the overall level of humidity inside of the home?  It seems like if the moisture is condensing on the walls, it would not be vaporizing into the air inside the home?

I read briefly about "rising damp" yesterday, but couldn't determine if this was a phenomenon that only applied to masonry.  

Thanks again.

Hi everyone, 

I have a problem and I'm hoping someone can help me identify a solution.  I have a single family rental home and the renters have been complaining about the walls being wet and causing a mildew/mold problem.  I had a handyman check the property and he said that the water wasn't coming from the roof, but that there was some preventative work that could be done.  He also said the exterior walls had no insulation.  I paid to have the roof fixed up, additional insulation put in the attic, and insulation blown in the exterior walls.  

Two weeks later, I get notification that the problem persists, so I went to investigate myself.  The walls in the bedrooms were definitely wet, and showed signs of mildew.  The concentration of the moisture was low- much less towards ceiling and wetter towards the floor.  The floor, in some places, was actually wet.  The house was extremely humid (and about 70 degrees), like running the dryer with the exhaust venting inside.  I checked the dryer vent, and it was blowing outside- and the walls near the dryer were much dryer than elsewhere.  I looked in the crawlspace under the house, and there was no standing water.  The exhaust fan in the bathroom was functioning.  

The level of humidity in the house was very abnormal, but I can't seem to find any reason why.  Does anyone have any ideas where this moisture may be coming from, or ideas of what else I can look into?  I'm really stumped and any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi there!  Aberdeen, from my experience, has a very stable rental market.  My property management company told me recently that they have over 400 units under management and 3 vacancies.  I have not had any late or missed payments (knock on wood).  If you are new to (considering investing in) Aberdeen, start watching listings on a daily basis.  Get a feel for what inventory is available and what condition properties are selling for what price.  Let me know if you have any more specific questions, glad to help!

Welcome!  Grays Harbor does offer a lot of opportunity, but does have quite a few things to watch out for.  As David mentioned, you will want to be aware of flood zones, as this will have an impact on resale value and will affect rental calculations as well.  You can use this site to look at the area as a whole, or to pinpoint particular houses.  Other things to watch out for:
1) Drug activity.  There are pockets of high drug activity/housing.  There are often "problem houses" in nicer neighborhoods, or there are neighborhoods where this is the norm.  Go stand on the street in front of anything you are looking at for a half hour and observe.  
2) Age of houses.  You will come across Knob and Tube wiring, lead based paint and asbestos.  Be prepared to include these in your calculations.  
3) Majority of houses are post and pier foundation.  Always get under there and inspect.  

If you are not a seasoned pro, I would recommend to always get an inspection.  Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want my thoughts on any particular property.  

Welcome!

Hello fellow GHC investor!  I'll be closing on my second GH rental in a couple of weeks.  Are you 'buy and hold'?