All Forum Posts by: Bruce Woodruff

I doubt it. That is one of the big drawbacks of doing your own work to save money......also when writing off your projects for tax purposes. You gotta choose, you can save money by doing things yourself, or save money by getting insurance and tax benefits.....

"Quitting your job and living of REI in a few years is pretty unrealistic in 2025."

 I admire your spirit for sure! Re is always a good vehicle to make some $$ but it is never as easy as people think....ask any of us. Is there any way (in addition to RE) that you can fund your love of boats/water? Like something with sailing?

If you want to go play with sailboats you should just do that. Properties will drag you down at your age and income level. And get this formly implanted in your brain - everything in RE will cost more, take longer, provide less return, have more maintenance problems, cause more stress.....than you could ever imagine. Especially if you're going to be an OOS owner. The management/maintenance/constant tenant issues will eat up most of your profit.

As @Ken M. explained, it will take a LOT of properties to get where you want to go...unless you use his clever strategies, but those are for experienced investors to manuever IMO.

I would tile it yourself. It ain't that hard and is a far better product as far as long term durability. @SH is right, most owners do not seal their tile...but there are grouts now that do not require sealing. Use larger tiles (At least 12 x 12s) to mnimize the grout joints, it'll probably cost less than a vinyl surround and will look way better and add more value.

Just my $.02...

Wiat until rates go down later this year. Then use your VA and get a duplex or Triplex....

I would leverage it to purchase several distressed condition SF homes. Then fix-up and sell (or hold and sell later depending)

Congrats! I've done this with varying success. Be careful, just because you're a GC does not mean automatic success (ask me how I know :-)

Are you licensed? That will help....

Tile is the best product overall as far as being waterproof and durable.

LVP is not waterproof. Any spills or moisture will penetrate/wick through the seams and sit underneath the flooring...

Plus LVP looks crappy and cheap, like you'd use in an apartment. Just based on my experience and opinion....

As @Cole Bossert said, you can/should get it retroactively permitted (if you buy it). One of the main reasons is this: imagine that you rent out that 'bedroom' to someone and there is a fire. It can be proven that you knew and did nothing, right? So your insurance will politely decline to pay for any damages....and worse than that, what about the person that was injured/killed......?