All Forum Posts by: Waverly Rennie

Dunedin is kinda out of control- I had them come up one of my rental's driveway (which they cited me for since part of it was crumbling) and went up and looked into the fenced-in patios and cited me for not having a permit for my paver patios-  which the previous owner had installed. So I have to get a permit retroactively by getting a contractor to go through the process of applying for a permit for patios that were probably installed 10 years ago. Go figure. good luck- 

I've paid, in Clearwater area, $3 a sq ft to install floor tile (I paid for the tile, thin set and grout separately.) Good luck!

Hi @Marie C. SaintVil- someone I know bought a couple of very small cottages and one of them had soft and uneven floors. There had been termite damage and rot and they ended up having to rip out the floor and subflooring and replace a number of floor joists and actually used a car jack to jack them up and put in new supports underneath. But it wasn't that big a deal- it was all done by a handyman and didn't cost that much, don't know the exact amount. One lesson learned was that with a floor like that, even after trying to even it all out, it wasn't perfectly smooth and level, so the decision to use soft and floppy vinyl planking was a mistake. They said they should have used the more rigid luxury vinyl planks that have a rigid backing on them, or laminate flooring (which isn't as good unless it's waterproof) since this more rigid flooring wouldn't show any little dips in the sub-floor. Ask for a cost reduction that will cover some of the work, maybe $1k? just guessing. Good luck- the way I have learned everything is by just going for it and learning from my and others' mistakes along the way!

For demos, I've used Howard Jimmies and Cross Construction. Both have been good, but as @Dave Foster says, things are busy down here. Good luck!

I agree on the "oops" paint approach that several people mentioned, and also get the leftover off whites from large jobs and re-tint. 

I do think pale grays are more elegant than beige, and look more up to date.

Now, for my vacation rentals here in Florida, I'm using a lot of (re-tints to look like) Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt and Benjamin Moore Beach Glass, both blue-green-grays, along with SW Zircon- a pale gray, all with bright white trim. SW Watery is a great accent wall in a white room. I aim to have people walk in and go "ahhhh"- these colors make your heart sing!

Good luck and have fun.

Hi @Carlene Rumph and welcome back to Pinellas. I have gone to the Larry's Monday night one in Pinellas Park, and Barbie's Wednesday lunchtime one on Gulf to Bay just across from Lowes/Costco, which both should be listed on the sites  @Phil Weiler mentioned. There is also a useful facebook group called Tampa Bay REIA Krewe which has lots of people posting deals and looking for recommendations. It's good if you can't make it to the meetups.

Cheers

@Ruei-Jiun H. I just put in tile in a couple of units- you have to look at the condition of the subfloor, but if it's in acceptable shape, then I might pay $5-8 a square foot installed if I get a good deal on tile and labor. If the subfloor is in bad shape you have to put some special kind of Hardie backer or something down first. Of course, tiling means ripping out the baseboards and either re-installing or putting in new, so that's another cost. But if you get reasonable quality porcelain tile, it should last a long long time. I am also learning about repairing dings in tile- people drop stuff on the kitchen floor (or maybe they are hammering on it?) and in one unit it looks awful. I didn't put in the tile so I don't know what kind they used.

I also have put in Costco laminate, the kind they put on sale occasionally for $1.1 a square foot then I paid $2 a square foot for the install. You have to put down a thin plastic underlayment which adds a bit more to the per square foot cost. However, I have seen it scratches relatively easily although still looks fine after two years, and if it gets wet it can bubble at the seam. 

I am now trying out the "luxury vinyl planks" - Consumer Reports recommended the Lowes' brand  Shaw, for which I paid $2 a square foot plus you have to put in relatively thick underlayment and then ~$1.70- $2 a square foot install. The advantage of the vinyl is that it is waterproof and hides dirt. You have to have a really smooth subfloor to put it in, though.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts on flooring for rentals. Sorry you had crappy tenants and had to pay a lot- it's hard to manage a PM at a distance. Good luck

I invest in Dunedin, a small old timey town full of old people like me, just north of Clearwater, but down in St. Petersburg might be an interesting place to look at- there are tons of local REI that are investing there, high rental demand, lots of interesting nightlife and cultural stuff, and I think more of a young scene. Still lots of fixer uppers to be had although prices are coming up as they have done up in my area. St. Pete Beach is supposed to be gorgeous, as is Clearwater Beach, Madeira Beach, Indian Rocks, etc. Good luck!

Hi there- I used Couch Pest Control on a recently purchased 800 sqft 1920s cottage in Dunedin plus a 120 sq foot laundry building and I paid $1200, which includes retreating within the first 12 months. I have warranties on other properties but am starting to think it might make sense to just pay to tent when needed, rather than paying several hundred dollars a year for the warranty, as my parents did. It's true that after paying their warranty for a number of years, when they did see evidence of big-time termites, Couch came and tented their 2200 sqft two story 1920s house for free.

Good luck- Waverly

@Krystina L. the challenge with Dunedin is that it is SO popular that it is hard to find deals. Occasionally they come up but you gotta be ready. Good luck!