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All Forum Posts by: Warren West

Warren West has started 9 posts and replied 17 times.

Post: Negotiating Electric Work

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

@Anthony Wick I wouldn't say undercut him as to me that makes it sound like I'm trying to gouge him which isn't the case.  I just want to see if there's a way to save a little more money that I can then put towards other things.  I do understand completely what you're saying but he's only $2k cheaper than the other two quotes so not a huge amount and all the electricians I've contacted have come from trusted referrals from people I'm personally close with who also own properties so I can trust the work.

Post: Negotiating Electric Work

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0
I'm getting my house rewired from knob and tube to romex.  I have gotten 3 quotes so far.  Two that came in at $14k.  The third did a walk through and gave me a verbal estimate of $9k, but then the written quote bumped up to $14k along with the others after he found a code issue that would make the job harder than anticipated.  I did some digging and found out the code issue wasn't actually real for residential and only applied to commercial which was the past job he had based that on.  He then dropped the quote by $2k considering he can now run romex above a drop ceiling.  That brings the quote to $9k.

Is it worth seeing if I can negotiate this quote at all?  He is still $2k under the other quotes, but $3k over his initial estimate.  His quote states that they expect 3 techs to spend 5-6 days on the job.  I don't want to turn him off to the job by sounding cheap or like I don't see his value.

Could I save some money buying materials on my own and providing them?  I have a connection with one of the largest construction companies in the area who already offered to get me materials at whatever their cost is.  Should I bother bringing this up with the electrician?  I don't know if his materials discount for his company would be comparable to what the big company gets.

Post: Security Permits in Cranston RI

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

@Anthony Thompson thanks for your fast and very thorough response!

I was actually just reading up about everything going on in Providence with their false alarms. SimpliSafe's letter was definitely just a standard template but also worth being sure about. I have a few contacts on the Cranston police department so I'll be sure to get in touch with one and find out if they're following suit with Providence.

Post: Security Permits in Cranston RI

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

I bought a SimpliSafe system and the email they sent me said that you may need to register a security system with the town/city you live in.  I googled and found that Providence is now requiring this with a $10 a year fee attached to it.  Does anyone know if Cranston also requires this?  What about being in Providence County?

On a side note has anyone seen good sized discounts on home insurance due to a security system?  I'll be doing a house hack on a duplex and until I fill it monitoring the entire house.  Once filled, I will probably keep the system on my unit alone.  Curious if the monthly cost of the system can be subsidized with a discount on insurance.

Would like some insight into the lock setup for my first duplex.  It has one common door in the back and each unit has its' own entry door in the front (so 5 total doors needing locks).  The common door in back is closer to the driveway than the front doors and offers relatively easy access, although it would mean walking through the patio.

I have a few things I've been considering (and likely overthinking):
-If I were to install keypad locks on the back common door and each entry door in the back is it unreasonable to not provide keys to tenants and have them only use the back door as the primary entry.  I don't want to have the expense of keypad locks for all 5 doors but if I could just install them on 3 doors and have the front two be deadbolted I think there are some pros to this.
-If I do choose keypad locks I've been looking at either the Schlage Be365 or Kwikset 913 UL, not sure which I'd want to go with.  I'd also prefer to use this option to keep things keyless and not have to give tenants any keys at all.
-Currently I am prepared to swap all locks to the Kwikset SmartKey setup.  I did see that they are only grade 3 and although it seems like a good neighborhood I don't want to take unnecessary risks.  I also figure with this I'll need to give every tenant 2 keys; one to the common door and one that controls their own doors.
-Also, read some advice about only using deadbolts and then closet knobs.  Is this secure and advisable?

Overall my goals are to have the most efficient system I can that minimizes how many keys I need to have and give to any tenants.

Post: Insurance Costs Coming in Very High at Close

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

I'm in closing with a duplex that will be owner occupied.  Was expecting the insurance premium to be much lower (mortgage broker was estimating $1.2k in paperwork).  Just received some quotes and the yearly premium is just over $3k.  Clearly this is higher than I expected and would really cut into my profits on renting this property.  Is there anything I should consider that could make this lower?

A few details:

  • In RI
  • 2- 2 bedroom units
  • Purchase price is $260k
  • Built in 1920

Post: When is it too late to further negotiate?

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

@Ronald Starusnak I did have a guy I know who owns a boiler company check it out and while he said it is 25 years old he also said that with proper servicing it could potentially last a few more decades.  As far as the termites, I got a treatment quote of $700 and during inspection he only found one small spot with evidence of termites.  The sewer pipe that needs replacing is just the large one in the basement, was told by multiple sources it is a PVC replacement and should run me about $300-400.  The roof is newer and the attic was converted into a master bedroom for one of the units.

The inspection period has ended already so I'm not sure of my options from this point with any further negotiations.  The biggest curve ball to me was realizing that repairs after the knob and tube swap out are not part of the bid for replacing it.  Also, finding that many people see knob and tube as a pain and don't want to take on the job.

Post: When is it too late to further negotiate?

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

I recently won a bid on a duplex I plan to do owner occupied in.  Following the inspection we found a number of small to medium items that will need to be addressed (older boiler, sewer pipe needs replacing, chimney needs some work, termites, etc) and a larger item that has brought me the most concern.  This larger item is the existence of knob and tube wiring.  I brought in an electrician who gave me a base bid of $8.9k to deal with everything in the inspection and replace knob and tube in the basement, with an ad alt bid of $14k to do everything and rewire the entire house (also just realized today that this bid did not include any repair from damage to floors or walls that will be done).

With that info we went and asked for $16k off the price to cover most of the repairs.  The original bid was $275k.  They ended up saying they  had a cash offer at $260k so they would let me match this.  I took that offer and now have the house at $260k but I need to get all repairs done.  The inspection period is officially over.  I've been thinking and I've now realized I think I should have held out for more.  When I ran the numbers I was confident in going up to $280 and still have a solid deal.  So now I am becoming unsure about if $20k will be enough to rewire, deal with termites, fix any plumbing that needs fixing, and get the boilers serviced.  There are several other little things I can do myself but it'll add up as I do things like buy new fixtures, bathroom fans, cabinet handles, etc.  Plus it sounds like I may be unable to rent it out for a month or two while all this gets scheduled and dealt with meaning I'm losing out on potential thousands in rent while I'm paying the full mortgage (not a problem but I'd obviously prefer not to).

Now that inspection period is over and I did have a counter offer accepted would it be stupid to go back and ask for more money off?  Or to have them cover my closing costs?  Is it too late to even do so?  I just don't want to end up getting a bad deal here due to this electric issue.  If it wasn't for the knob and tube I wouldn't even hesitate on this at all.

Post: So what's holding you back?

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0
Originally posted by @Frank Patalano:

Is it hard to buy off of MLS? Yes but not impossible. Especially since I have plenty of friends who do it often. I prefer off market.

Where do you go to find off market deals? Is it purely networking or do you know of any specific places I could go and see non-MLS deals? In the inspection period on my first property that I'll be househacking and already making sure to keep my eyes peeled for number 2.

Post: Renting to college kids

Warren WestPosted
  • Coventry, RI
  • Posts 17
  • Votes 0

@Anthony Thompson Thanks for your insight and sharing that previous thread.  Have just started looking through it but it seems to have some great info.  I would likely steer clear of being an AirBnB since that will then require me to furnish it as well which would add many other costs on top of the usual, though it is a great thought if executed well.