All Forum Posts by: Bruce Woodruff
Bruce Woodruff has started 107 posts and replied 12026 times.
Post: Renting an unpermitted apartment????
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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Quote from @David Krulac:
@Bruce Woodruff he was the head code inspector. He told me that he spent 50% of every day cruising the neighborhoods looking for sheds, additions that have not been permitted. At another property that we had, we were having the furnace replaced going from oil to gas. Nobody was home except for the HVAC company working in the basement. This same inspector entered the front door, uninvited, went into the basement and asked the HVAC company where there permits were. They said that they did not have any permits and were only replacing an existing furnace. The inspector said they still needed a permit. The HVAC employee said we have replaced 200 furnaces in this town and never got a permit. To which the inspector said, "You were wrong 200 times!"
Some ( a lot) of the Building Inspectors are just Aholes. A lot of the ones I had to work with were wanna be GCs who couldn't make it running their own business and ended up working for the Govt. They resented real contractors and made it hard for them whenever possible. A lot of 'small'-man' complex going on. The good ones were really good though...
Post: Is AI + Housing Unaffordability Leading Us Toward a Tent-Camp Future?
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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The OP makes the same mistake as many when 'affordable housing' is mentioned. People will always have the choice to vote with their feet and MOVE.
Let's say you become unemployed because of AI (which I largely doubt anyway) and you have two choices - live in a tent, or move somewhere that has either 1) available housing or 2) a new job. Guess what 99% of people will do? Yep they will move on down the road.....
Like @Greg Scott said, every advancement creates new opportunities. And I personally doubt that AI has a huge impact anyway.
Post: How to finance a fixer upper
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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Depends just how much of a 'fixer-upper' it is. As a GC, I always made good $$ on the fixers, usually bought with cash, but you can get a loan on some of them. I would get a house that needs serious repairs, but nothing like roof or foundation that scares the lenders. You can find plenty that have been very mistreated, smell like dog pee, need everything inside replaced, etc....
Post: Stuck on DTI: How to Keep Investing Without Displacing Family?
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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My first thought is a big NO !! You can't charge below market and es[ect to get anywhere....well except I guess you get a nice warm, fuzzy feeling once in a while?
I would sit down and decide if you want to run a business or a charity, you generally cannot do both.
Post: Renting an unpermitted apartment????
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
- Posts 12,211
- Votes 14,419
Quote from @David Krulac:
In a neighborhood of single family house, that I owned a property, a contractor build a second separate house in his back yard to rent out. He did this without any permits. when he went ahead with his rental plans on the newly completed home, the city inspector came calling. They told him that he could not ever rent the house because it was unpermitted. He tried for 20 years to rent unsuccessfully. He even offer to rent the property to the city rent free as a polling place twice a year, and the city turned him down. A safety inspection would not make up for a building permit. Some aspects of the building are hidden by finished features of the building. On one of our major addition projects, done with all the building permits, the insulation had to be inspected by the city before drywall could start. Surprisingly the "by the book" city inspector shut down our work project and sent all the workers home. Our code violation... we had a staple for the insulation every 6 inches. The Code requires a staple every 12 inches, so we had to remove 50% of the staples to be code compliant, and get the "Stop Work Order" removed.
I thought I had heard it all, but that is one of the most idiotic things I have heard re Building Inspectors. They usually don't penalize extras, only omissions. I might have gone over his head that time, if that is possible...
Post: Scope of work
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
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Quote from @Scott E.:
The home inspection is going to focus more on the "functional" parts of the house and less on cosmetic.
You'll need to combine notes from the inspector with your own list of cosmetic items. Here's a list of possible things that need done (written roughly in the order of operation):
-Demo
-Framing
-Roof
-HVAC
-Rough Plumbing & Electrical
-Insluation
-Drywall
-Flooring
-Wall Tile (backsplashes, showers)
-Interior Trim & Interior Doors
-Cabinets
-Countertops
-Paint
-Trim Plumbing & Electrical
-Trim HVAC
-Final Trim Out (Mirrors, TP Holders, Towel Racks, Mailbox, House #s)
General Conditions - includes permit acquisition, site prep like fencing and porta-potty
Demo
Grading
-Framing
Concrete
-Roof
-HVAC
-Rough Plumbing & Electrical
-Insluation
-Drywall
-Flooring
-Wall Tile (backsplashes, showers)
-Interior Trim & Interior Doors
-Cabinets
-Countertops
-Paint
-Trim Plumbing & Electrical
-Trim HVAC
Stairs and railings
-Final Trim Out (Mirrors, TP Holders, Towel Racks, Mailbox, House #s)
Glass. mirrorsExterior incl landscaping, pool
Post: First post here: Hi everyone I’m looking to get started in my real estate investing.
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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What they said ^^^^
But since you're choosing to invest in the most non-friendly, to Landlords, state....Just make sure you know the laws that favor tenants and are willing to take that chance.
And have a plan when the SHTF, and a reserve to deal with the bad months.
Post: Tenant left early on last month of contract
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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Check your local laws, but usually you can charge her for the remainder of her term, up until you find a new tenant.
Post: Does Bigger Pockets facilitate a Culture of Trash Individuals???
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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Quote from @Matthew Paul:
Quote from @Jason C.:
I will never forget a post I saw one time here that said, what is wrong with these contractors? Don’t they realize if they would lower their prices I could give them so much more business?
Ridiculous entitlement.
I am a contractor , and I would get inexperienced "investors" ask what type of discount they get since they are "investors" ?
Thats simple None
"I am a contractor , and I would get inexperienced "investors" ask what type of discount they get since they are "investors" ?
Thats simple None"
No kidding. Not only that they get a surcharge as @James Wise said. They are always the biggest PITAs and expect a deal on everything. On the first project at that...
Post: Second kitchen or fifth bedroom?
#1 Contractors ContributorPosted - Contractor/Investor/Consultant
- West Valley Phoenix
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Is the second kitchen a legally permitted kitchen?