All Forum Posts by: Matt Zale

Thank you, @Cody Lewis You're probably right, I may need a CRM (I've occasionally shopped for them in past). I'll check your suggestions out, especially if I hire help and build a team, but it's just me for now. Seems that Google holds back on their gmail features (even county recorder sites give me options to customize line items into a CSV file which goes right into Goog sheets). I even looked into their mail upgrades like GSuite or Workspace, but the open source Mozilla Thunderbird seems to be better. I was able to mess with it today and got my info onto a spreadsheet through a 'brute force' method. LOL. By all means, if people can still add their email optimization advice (CRM included), please do. Such as, clever things that you've learned to save time, extract lead nuggets out of half a million old emails, best mail merge techniques (which Thunderbird might do, we'll see) etc. I'll check other threads or start a new one if necessary. Thanks in advance.

I imagine everybody has an email inbox full of leads or other good info to be organized. Generally, how does the BP community make the most out of their email inboxes? Any helpful extensions or software? I use Mac with Gmail & Google Drive mostly.

Background on my specific task -- need to organize email content from various Google or Yahoo investor groups (Yahoo forwards to Gmail). Over the years they've compiled to appx 50,000 emails and I'd like to convert this to a Google Sheet with a few columns (title of message, body of message, email address of poster, date posted, and if possible files & photo attachments). Mostly want to reach out to private lenders, cash buyers, rehabbers and other deal facilitators. 

I've tried 'Google Takeout' which resulted in a .mbox file that I can't open. Not even sure what it'll look like if I do open it. Then I downloaded Mozilla Thunderbird but with a 'server not found' error. Seems like a great program but a bit much for my needs.

Just need a bunch of Gmails to move to Google sheets. Any thoughts, suggestions, solutions?

When doing comps to determine ARV for my leads, I occasionally run across furnished properties.

How do you handle those..

Simply toss them out of your comps?

Some kind of regression analysis?

This question could be for anyone.. realtors, appraisers or investors.

It seems like it’d be a more difficult and subjective adjustment than let’s say.. a pool, because of the variability in quality of furniture, etc.

New furniture is ideal, but I’ve seen properties with USED furniture also selling for more than their unfurnished comps.

I’m in the Clark County NV (Las Vegas/Henderson) market if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance!

The http://www.lonestarlandlaw.com/Lease-Options.html link on TX lease options was very informative. 

I do have a question for the forum before I consult a TX attorney. Let's say I move forward with it's advice and I draft a contract with several 'stacked' 179 day option terms, essentially letting the option expire and renewing it several times, when necessary. Let's say the tenant/buyer is aware of this and is ok with it, and the attorney drafts and approves the whole contract and I'm aware that the tenant/buyer could totally change their mind and challenge with a lawsuit. 

But assuming they DO NOT challenge..

My question is - could the State of TX or other jurisdiction act independently of this harmonious arrangement and file their own lawsuit against me (the investor/seller), if they found something deficient in the contract?

Or is this even possible? I'm not sure if this contract would need to be recorded publicly. If it's private, then I guess it goes back to that one sole foreseeable problem (i.e. tenant/buyer changes mind and files lawsuit)? Please advise.

Just trying to be super conservative. Thanks!

Here's the specs on the LVP I installed. I'm not affiliated with the product.. just happy with it (for now). I'm open to other products depending on the deal. Might even do laminate next time, but was sold on the waterproof feature of LVP. 

Apparently it has a 12 mil layer. From what I remember 5 mil is about the lowest people accept and 20 mil is the most I've seen offered. I'm pretty happy with the product, especially after shopping at Lumber Liquidators and other spots and seeing that they don't offer similar quality at that price range. 

As for the potential scratches/scuffs, it could be because I'm installing it myself that I notice every little detail. In fact, I asked a few friends "can you see that?" while pointing straight at it and they still didn't notice. But no doubt I'll anticipate some wear/tear, especially if I rent it out. Can anyone recommend a good scratch/scuff concealer repair kit? 

Might be too much info, but I have to forewarn that a tile cutter is almost mandatory to make the many chops during install (unless someone has Popeye forearms). I bought the Norge for appx $180 and it cuts beautifully.. BUT it only does straight cuts. For those angled, rounded or polygon cuts, it's difficult. Anyone know of a good snips that make these while not damaging rest of plank? Otherwise I'm scoring it and slowly bending with pliers to break.

@Chalie Krautkramer, thanks for the advice! The waterproof feature was a big factor in acquiring LVP. As for it's scratch resistancy, I have a low 'mil' layer depth so it's susceptible (however I can't beat my $1.55/sf price). Tip - when sliding the heavy LVP boxes across existing floor to use as weights as you tap plank rows together, make sure to brush away any inevitable concrete crumbs.. those will cause scuffs/scratches. And be careful dropping tools as you work.. best to put thick construction bags down in work area. 

I like the light gray paint for the majority and white subway tiles and white cabinets approach.. looking at a designer's photo now that integrates both (with stainless steel appliances though.. my existing apps are black). If I can get away with just doing a backsplash for the tiles in kitchen and bath, I'm sold. Perhaps that's what you had in mind. Also, thanks for delineating the rent vs. sell strategy and the mention about going with carpet when selling.

And you're right, well-placed lighting could help a lot. Has anybody budgeted for an LED retrofit? I may try it myself, but just in case I need help. There are currently zero holes in the living room ceiling, but if I go with recessed, how many are typical or cost-effective? I've seen some nice track or even hanging tubes, but they all are integrated with a modern motif.. I still have 1992 popcorn ceilings.

I'm doing a condo renovation with my own labor and I have the option to either flip-sell it or rent it out. It was a remote purchase where I didn't get to physically inspect and I'm just now visiting/renovating it. The flooring is going well. I acquired some luxury vinyl planks (LVP) and installed it already on everything except the two bedrooms. The LVP is a pretty dark 'Timberland Oak'. After the first few days of installing I noticed the unit doesn't get as much sunlight as I expected and I'm concerned the unit will just be too dark. Even the existing white wall paint doesn't seem to light it up. So I'm now trying to decide whether I should break up the dark color with some light berber carpet (maybe an off-white salt and pepper) vs. just continuing on with the dark LVP. I've read all the debate on carpet vs non-carpet flooring and most of you all side with non-carpet for durability and maintenance. 

However, in this scenario would you start to consider the light carpet option? Any experience to share with property that has lack of sunlight?

I received the CC&R for a particular Vegas condo from a local title company. But out of the 4 I contacted only 1 responded, so it's a hit or miss strategy. I too would like a more efficient way to receive these CC&Rs to make more informed investment decisions. 

By the way, has anyone noticed restrictions in condo CC&Rs for leases under 6 months? Is it common for condos not to have month-to-month tenants? I'm still getting familiar with Vegas.

@Bill B. It's pretty much city-specific, from what I gather here in TX. Austin, for example has a similar ordinance to Las Vegas and their code enforcement is strong. I have a friend who Airbnb's his house (1 mile from downtown) full time and is crushing it.. but he applied for the license before new rules came in, which essentially grandfathered him in. Like Vegas, new licenses are hard to receive or maintain. But I think my friend is an anomaly.. he's super into it and is willing to sleep in the garage/man-cave while he travels for work rest of time. His location gets him a higher rate from hipsters and corporate types and he's always booked. He showed me his monthly revenue on the Airbnb website and I was impressed.. Actually, I'm gonna ask him to show me again just in case he's messing with me.. Lol.   

In my case, I intentionally did Airbnb just outside the Austin city limits 2015-2017 so that I wouldn't have to deal with regulation. It was a tiny house community, so also kind of an anomaly. I think STR's work well for 'destination points' or theme-based venues. So that's what I would do in your South Dakota MN lake cabins. Sell the experience, become a superhost, hire a friend or someone willing to live there and do laundry, tend to guests. It'll start to become more passive after awhile as the routine gets familiar. Get enough reviews to become a 'super host' and get more bookings.

If STR is not a landlord's thing, then they can go back to long term rentals. I like both options. With STR, I like how it reduces deferred maintenance costs since every guest is likely to either complain or praise any bad/good property issues (perceived or real), which helps keep property in tip top shape.

I'll try it out in Vegas too since I'm getting property there. We'll see how the legal climate goes. Maybe the city wants a hostel or tiny house community with full time residents managing the 'hotel' section. But that's a different thread.

@Bill B. I agree. It's hard to beat a $30/night hotel.. even if semi-seedy. I would need at least $80/night with Airbnb to compete and the few NLV houses that are doing it under the radar don't seem to come close to the rate or frequency needed to compete. I see some hoping for the off chance they'll get a quick $1,000 by renting their entire NLV house for the weekend. They have zero reviews too. Ok then, I'm putting NLV on the shelf for now.. unless a great business idea comes along.