All Forum Posts by: Andrew Taylor

A mold certificate is a specific, official document provided by a state-licensed contractor. Anything else is akin to a receipt signed by the sales guy at your local ServePro. To get one, you typically have a testing outfit come to the house and test for the presence of mold; when they find it, you have a licensed mold remediator come out and write a scope of work (this is an official - and expensive - document); then they come out and do the actual remediation work; then they test again and either issue the certificate or repeat the remediation process. Last one we did took several weeks and cost upwards of $40k.

You are not required to have a mold certificate, but if you're flipping a flooded house it'll probably help you come resale time. It'll give potential buyers peace of mind that the remediation was done properly.

That being said, if you're near the end of the rehab process, you're better off forgetting about it and moving on. It's an extensive, expensive process that really needs to happen before you start work, not at the end. It's hard to scrub mold off the studs if the house is finished 😎.

I’m trying to recommend a GC, but you’re not reading between the lines 😎...

20% of 100 $5,000 projects is not more than 40% of a single $1m project. You are assuming the GC is after a larger quantity of work, rather than focusing on the quality of the partnership you’re proposing.

Here are some examples to get you thinking. Suppose I agree to your 20% number. Twenty percent of what? Project costs - then what’s the incentive to keep costs down? Sales price - again, no incentive to control costs. Profits - now I have an incentive to control costs, but also to take it too far and cut corners. 

And when do I get my 20%? Up front? In draws? At sale? How am I supposed to live while we’re working on your project? Ah, that’s right - I take on ten more just like it. Now, instead of working on your project five days a week, I’m working on it one day out of every ten. What’s going to happen to costs then?

What you want is a partner that happens to be a contractor. You want his goals to align with your goals so together you can produce a quality product that makes a profit. I’ve done this before and I have a method that has worked for me, but you’re free to make whatever arrangements you feel are best for you. 

That's what I was afraid you were going to say.

Look at it from the builder's perspective: Why would I want to do MORE work for LESS money? ("Hey, if you'll do this job for less money than you normally make, I'll give you a bunch more work you can do for less money than you normally make.") That's awesome for the investor, but it kind of sucks for the builder. You need a way to frame this so it's good for both parties.

Remember: Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered.

Lots of builders are going to be looking for work, so you'll have no shortage of offers to choose from. Before you go any farther, I'd suggest you take the time to actually define "investor friendly," because that's going to be the sticking point. Your version of investor friendly and a contractor's version of investor friendly are probably going to be two different things.

Feel free to message me if you'd like to discuss your project. I'm in a unique position to help out in what's probably the most investor friendly way possible, but I'd like to hear more about your project first.

There are a couple of ways to do this. First, and easiest, is just to hire a builder. You might get a price break since there's some economy of scale in building two units at the same time in the same place.

The second way is to partner with the builder, which means giving up a piece of the profit at sale. Normally I'd suggest you be the bank, the builder runs the project, and the profit is split 50/50 at the end, but your situation is more complicated due to the second house that you're going to occupy instead of sell. You might need to adjust the split to account for that.

Most full-time builders will prefer option number one, where they get paid steadily throughout the process and then go merrily on their way at the end, leaving you to dispose of the properties as you see fit. Option two takes someone in the unique position of being able to work for months without a regular income and will be harder to find. A possible solution there is to estimate total profit, make payments throughout construction, and then settle up at closing based on actual numbers.

I'd be happy to talk more about it if you'd like. Feel free to PM me.

Those houses in Bentonville are nice, but they're going to be stupid-expensive to build. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's a huge market for $300-a-foot homes in the 1,200sf range.

There's plenty of ways to build those houses with added energy efficiency, flood-damage resistance (i.e. assemblies that dry to the exterior), and appealing styling without having to use ICF's, metal studs and SIP's.

Hey Sean, I'm in Magnolia and share the same interests. I've got the pocket neighborhoods book and study plans from Ross Chapin and have been scouting land parcels in the area. I've gotten lots of positive feedback on the idea; it seems there's a real interest in smaller, more affordable residences. I think the trick is to use architect-designed plans so the homes live larger than they are, with thoughtful details and quality construction. Otherwise, people turn up their noses at what is basically a cheap, plain, small box within arm's reach of the neighbors.

Anyhow, I'd love to connect and bounce ideas off a kindred spirit. Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

I bumped into a guy during my travels last week that owns an outdoor RV parking/storage area. He said it was one of his more profitable investments. I've been thinking about it ever since, as there's a property for sale/lease right around the corner from my home that I think would make a good location for this kind of business. It's already fenced, on a busy thoroughfare, in a rapidly growing area.

Just wondering if others have done this, and if so, what kind of things do I need to be aware of? How can I gauge the opportunity in the area? What other questions do I need to ask?

I can help you with both of those. Ping me and we can discuss.

Yep, we meet every other week (more or less) somewhere in the Tomball area. DM me your contact info and I'll add you to the group's GroupMe so you get the invites.