All Forum Posts by: Ed L.

Very limited experience with permitting..,but...

It seems the work would probably be grandfathered in due to the age of the structure and the length of time since the addition was added..

In MS code enforcement on old homes seems to be pretty lax.. Other areas may be different.

Go for it! My first was a 9 unit Commercial property I purchased to house my real estate brokerage. No regrets at all. It's allowed me to grow the brokerage with virtually no overhead and still have cash flow every month. along with tax benefits and the often overlookednequity buildup.

I will say that in my market the single family residential rentals are in much higher demand than comparably sized apartments. They also offer the ability to invest in different neighborhoods and are more likely to appreciate in value once the economy turns. And easier to liquidate on average.

Every market is different though. Sounds like you are well prepared.
Best of luck.!

It's been some blood shed by the larger investors in my market who over leveraged prior to the slow down... Wouldn't really call it a crash, but a major slowdown with DOM increasing drastically. Thus leading to carrying cost & negative equity hurting some very successful investors...

I personally was fortunate to not have anything other than a personal residence prior to 2008...

I purchased slightly below market value in 2007 and I would say I'm about even based on recent comps... Not that it matters.. A home is a alternative to renting with tax benefits... Home values don't mean anything as long as people arent having to move or they panic and sell....

The market is definitely turning in a positive direction... Nice well cared for homes are selling and the market as a whole is kinda turning into a sellers market.

I've been able to grow my net worth exponentially, but that's easy when your starting with beans....

I've tried different methods.. All have been successful to a degree..

1) Craigslist.... I've actually had pretty good results on value workers who do decent work for cheap prices.

2) Locally owned Hardware Stores.... I find the local stores know all the contractors and workers and tend to give pretty solid referrals..

3) Good workers tend to give good referrals. Good carpenters tend to know good painters, plumbers, etc... It's just part of being in the business.

It's a constant balancing act of managing reliable workers that are economical... Many will do great work starting out and eventually get sloppier and less reliable over time.

Best word of advice is don't pay anybody up front unless it's for supplies you personally pick up and pay for.

Good point about the longevity for rental property...

However this is for flips... I also tend to think that they are all made in china, with the same marginal build quality... Walmart carries Brinkman, and HD lowes carry Qwikset, schlage, etc.etc...

The finish would probably be the area of most variation..

I know the Oil Rubbed bronze finish has worn pretty poorly on my personal residence.

Great thing about walmart is if it breaks, just bring the POS back.. It's absurd the stuff they will take back without hesitation.

Another thing to add is I've found considerable savings on crown, base, doors, etc from Pro Build lumber as opposed to Lowes and HD.

I'm just curious where everyone is finding the best deals on rehab supplies??

I felt paying $57 per exterior door lockset was prett ridicolous at Lowes and Home Depot...

Just happen to be strolling through wal mart and noticed a almost identical oil rubbed bronze set cost $27.00

The oil rubbed bronze passage and privacy locks were also 40-50% cheaper...

Cabinent hardware.... Same story.. Knobs are available for 1.50 vs 2.50 at LW & HD.....

Little stuff that adds up quickly...

Just curious where everyone is shopping at both brick and mortar and online vendors..

I'd offer 120 and make sure I wasn't within spitting distance..... I lose alot of bids, but I'd rather pick up 3 good deals per year instead of 30 marginal ones...

Might as well post some more before photos

Recently purchased a 1,000 sq/ft 2br 1.5ba home. Finishing up on the interior remodel and it's looking really nice..

The exterior is all vinyl and has rock chips, and weed whacker marks all over the place.. Looks fine from afar, but up close it looks kinda rough.

I'm debating on replacing the broken pieces and priming and repainting the whole house.. The other option is to re-side the whole house....

Just looking for some opinions and price guestimates on How to figure this.

On the bright side you got some Ernest money!

I had one property fall through five stinkin times before I finally closed the deal.

My mos recent deal I had a guy back out after two days due to a dispute with the wife. Easiest grand ever. Signed a contract for 5k more the next week with a much better buyer. Sometime it just works that way.