All Forum Posts by: Amanda M Laird

Hello fellow BPers :-)

So Im in a dilemma (or at least I think I am).  I have used the same contractor for two of my renovations so far.   I pay him $50/hr.  I play the role of the general contractor in terms of I usually get the materials and have the sub contractors lined up ready to go when they are needed (tile, electrician, etc).  My contractor does pretty good work, but he's an older gentleman and I noticed he can move pretty slowly.  Lets just say he's not breaking a sweat by any means for $50/hr where I know some other guys bust their butt for $20 an hr who are working under a general contractor.  

He doesn't give me quotes.  Its just a time and material situation....so I never know how much things are gonna cost me.  But he does get things done maybe just not as fast as Id like and I think thats a mixture of how he tends to be on the slower side of things mixed with me having unrealistic expectation of how long a project should take.  

So heres the new scenario.  I just inherited a house in Astoria Oregon and its a dump.  I was left with a little bit of money to fix it up.  I really want to stick as close to that amount as possible therefor am needing some quotes.  Should I stick with him because I know and trust him or should I try and find a new contractor who will give me a quote and hope that they do decent work and are decent people and easy to work with?

Its leaving the familiar for the unfamiliar, and not sure if I should go with somebody new or sit down and have a talk with my contractor and see if he can give me quotes or not.  Anybody ever been in this situation and have suggestions? 

@Tom Ott, @James Wise, @Darren Finney  Thanks for the welcome!

@John Thedford  Thats awesome!  keep up the great work!  Florida would be a great place to invest in and I  hope to get into that market someday! Hope this year continues to go well for you!

@Joe Sanada I get what you mean.  I know there are a million different opinions to an unseeingly ending amount of questions one has in the beginning.  I know I need to sit down and figure out an exact strategy and then go look for it.....its just hard getting the proverbial ball rolling at the beginning...knowing what direction to head in a sea of options.  If I find the magic market ill be sure to let you know ;-)

@Robert Ellis  I haven't looked yet but Id like to start looking and Ohio might be one of the states I'm interested in!  Once I get to that stage of diving more into a market Ill be sure to reach out and let you know!  Thanks again for your help.

@Curtis Rouse Jr  That sounds like a great start, Ill definitely be messaging you and picking your brain some more if you don't mind :-)  @Ali Boone you too!

Thank you to everyone.  I'm so excited to utilize BP and network.  Everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful, so thanks for taking the time to comment on my post!

@grayson graham I’d love to be added to the list if possible if you guys decide to meet up again!

@Ali Boone. Thanks for your thoughts and advice! Will definitely read the article, and nothing is too generic right now. It’s all new to me and I’m just trying to soak up as much info as possible right now. It all helps me as I try to figure out exactly what it is I’m wanting to invest in and what “niche” I wanna dive into!

@Joe Sanada  Good point...true true.  And ill be sure to keep you posted when I do ;-)  

@Erik Perks Thanks! Do you have SFH in Indianapolis or multi family?

@Jerryll Noorden I literally go back and forth every other day on my vacation rental and whether I should keep it or sell it.  Its tough, its a gorgeous house 3 houses off the beach, and the rental income is good for it only being up for a couple of months.  

I know that if I do decide to go bigger and do an apartment building Id have it as protected as possible through a series of LLCs and whatnot (get a real estate lawyer).  I just am hoping to have higher cashflow with multifamily vs my single vacation rental.

Do you focus on SFH? Vacation rent any of them?

Matt Motil thanks :-). It was a super slow start since I’ve been renovating these two houses FOREVER but once they are sold I’m sure it’ll make it worth it

Jay Helms thank you :-). I’m not sure. But I need to start researching to narrow it down. From what I keep hearing everybody is investing in Texas and Florida so I’m probably a little late to that party. I keep hearing how the Midwest and south are the best places right now with still some good cap rates. Mississippi? Ohio? Kentucky? I’m not sure. I thought I heard on a podcast the other day there is a website that you can go to that has information on different cap rates throughout the country. Might need to go back and find out what that is. Just not sure how to start narrowing it down. I’d love to invest closer to home if possible but Oregon is pretty hot right now along with Washington. But I might start there and if I’m not liking what I’m seeing I might expand to the other places mentioned above? Any suggestions?

Id be interested in finding out more info as well once it becomes available!