All Forum Posts by: Ashley Vellon

Has anyone had luck using a local bank or credit union in Tucson, AZ to refinance a complicated loan, rather than going through Freddie or Fannie?  

Thanks!

Ashley

Good idea, Dave! Another thing we've seen in Tucson is that one of the largest rental competitors (they have over 100 rentals in the area) slashed their per room price from $595 to $495.

At the link below, there is a survey from University Presidents. An excerpt from the link is below regarding the content from the survey.  Seems like helpful information when analyzing current/future rentals in college towns.

https://www.acenet.edu/Researc...

"​​​​​​As colleges and universities move past their initial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including transitions to remote instruction and operations, higher education leaders are working diligently to plan for the future. In early May, ACE launched its second of 12 monthly Pulse Point surveys of college and university presidents on COVID-19. Three hundred ten presidents* responded on topics such as their current plans for the fall, including actions they may require to consider reopening campus, the impact of the pandemic on future revenue, and the projected impact on fall enrollment numbers. It is important to note that circumstances surrounding the pandemic are constantly evolving, and responses to this survey represent presidents’ thinking at one moment in time."

In my opinion, I think it's better to cash out refi now so that you are prepared with the money when you need it.  We are in the middle of a cash out refi and have encountered many bumps along the way that have severely delayed the process.  After the initial delays, Covid hit and it's delayed it even more.  We've learned a lot along the way, but this is why I recommend doing it now rather than later. 

Hi Derek,

We pay our handyman $35/hour.  He's good and trustworthy, so it's worth it to us, but on the expensive side.  I think ideally, we'd pay $25/hour.  Also, we are generally able to get in the same price ranges that J Scott has on Estimating Rehab Costs from 2011 when working with other contractors in the area.

We have an awesome painter in case you are interested.  He's a perfectionist and very reasonable price-wise.  

Good luck!

Ashley

Hi there!

How much do you pay for sod to be delivered and not installed? Any recommendations for reasonable places to buy sod from?

Thanks,

Ashley

@Gordon D.

Thank you for your thoughts and feedback.  

We did toy with the idea that we paid too much for the property.  Another aspect is that we initially budgeted closer to $50,000 to fix the place up and went over budget because of poor planning prior to starting the project.  For example, after the drywall was hung, we decided to put in a tankless water heater.  If we planned that initially, it would have reduced our GC and Electrician costs.  We did the same thing with the security system.  We installed it once the drywall was hung, even though it would have been so easy to do prior. These are just two examples of poor planning.

Everything worked out in the end, but we are hoping to learn for our next project.

So far we learned to:

• Plan prior to construction
• Demo before bringing in contractors and subcontractors
• Budget some additional things that weren't budgeted prior (the miscellaneous categories)

Thank you again!

Ashley

Hi @Steven Lowe,

Would love to chat.  I will send you a message soon to set it up!

@Steven Oneill, yes please!  

Thank you, @Pamela Sandberg!

@Solomon Bona, nothing to know. Moved closer to family👍👍