All Forum Posts by: William Carroll

If there's a decent pad under the carpet, there's probably not going to be enough water from the steam cleaner reaching the wood to enough damage to it to prevent a decent refinish later. Keep in mind that this is a generalization, not a guarantee. 

My personal opinion tho, just bite the bullet now and get rid of the carpet. People generally prefer wood (or wood-like flooring products - lam, LVP, etc) these days, and in a decent neighborhood, the increase in rent you get from having the wood will probably drive your rent up enough to cover the cost over the course of a few years. YMMV.

I am blown away by the amount of brand new housing coming online in Columbus. I think it should be concerning for large multi unit owners. All types of unit owners around campus area should be concerned, given that Ohio State is now forcing 2nd year students into OSU dorms....  

However, the single/double/townhome housing market should still be ok in the right areas. I assume (with no actual data to back this up) that there will still be plenty of people that don't want to live in these massive, communist block style with granite-and-tile lipstick housing complexes. 

Why would Ohio be any better than Texas in this regard? 

If you can address the sagging from beneath, you will have the option to redo the floors, which is most certainly your cheapest option. But sometimes sagging is best handled by ripping up the floors and sistering the underlying joists, which would require floor replacement.  

If you have the option to redo the floors, then most flooring contractors can do a good job of it, and even match existing flooring in adjacent areas, if needed. But if the flooring itself is in disrepair (bad planks, wide gaps between planks, deep water or pet urine stains, holes, etc), usually it's best to just start with fresh flooring.  

500sft isn't a huge area to replace. Since this is a rental, you may want to look at luxury vinyl plank or better yet Floor and Decor has a product called Nucore, which is at ~$2.75/sqft. is about the same cost as good LVP, looks great, and is nearly indestructible... that would actually be my first choice.

https://www.flooranddecor.com/nucore-flooring 

Peter Lohman, R&L Property Management

Yes, my point exactly!!!

As I stated "Ballpark generalizations here, YMMV...".  If were to I proposition 1000 supermodels, eventually I would get 1 to date me. 

I think you'd find my characterization to apply to the median of homes sold here. That doesn't mean that individual use cases won't break that mold. Also, I'm talking ARV, move-in-ready here. A $70k property an a C area that requires $70k of work is no better than paying retail for something already up to comparable neighborhood property standards.

 Ballpark generalizations here, YMMV... $125-$200 gets you in C.  $175-$250 gets you into B. 

I just got an email from CORE:

As you may have read in this morning's Columbus Dispatch, central Ohio home sales and prices set a record in May 2016.

May 2016 Market Notes

• Lack of Inventory Persists (1/3 as many homes on the market now than same time in 2011)
• 2.1 months of inventory is far below 4-6 months for a balanced market between buyers and sellers (sellers enjoying market leverage)
• First-time buyers represented 30% of purchasers (40% is historic average)
• Homes selling for 98.4% of list price (I've received +102% with my seller clients)
• Homes on market 44 days until sold (45-60 days normal for deal when buyer(s) receiving mortgage)

Takeaways

• If a home shows well and is competitively priced, it shouldn't sit in this market
• In order to compete, as soon as a home hits the market, buyers must be ready to make an offer that includes a mortgage pre-approval letter from a reputable lender, or proof of funds (if cash purchase)
• Sellers looking to trade-up or downsize will likely enjoy the equity that's accumulated in recent years

People hear "Columbus" and think they are walking into a nice cheap midwest market. Not really true anymore, (unless you are comparing to SF, DC, LA, NY, etc.). 

$50k-$100k purchases are class D areas here.  

R&L Property Management - Peter Lohmann.