All Forum Posts by: Bryan Devitt
Bryan Devitt has started 4 posts and replied 789 times.
Post: Tenant claiming "domestic abuse" to break out of 1 year lease -NC

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
If it is bad enough that she fears for her safety then she should have filed a police report. If it isn't serious enough to get government involved then it isn't serious enough to break a legal contract
Post: Tenant personal property damaged thru landlord negligence

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Sorry but there is no magic answer. You cannot just decide to not pay your rent because you need to replace items. That is what was done, the rent wasn't paid so they're told either pay or leave. Without an agreement you can't just not pay rent. The other option is to stay there and take the landlord to small claims court for the balance. Chances are the landlord is probably charging well under market rent though and depending on where this is, they migth be able to kick the old person out in 30 days, clean the place up and double what they're charging. The tenants age or how long they've lived there means zero, the only things that matter are the actions that lead to the eviction notice
Post: Contractors - What Are Your Top Pain Points?

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Originally posted by @Eli Sorey:
Very interesting. Even in the tech world, resumes and educational background are a very poor measurement of ability to perform on the job. But that's about all you have to go on. I can see how it would be much, much worse in the trades. What sort of performance metrics do you look at during the probationary period? Is it based on feel, how much they get done, etc., or is there a specific checklist you're looking for?
Do they show up at all
Are they on time
Do they take 19 smoke breaks a day
Are they always on their phone
Do they ask questions and want to learn
Almost everything else can be taught. If they're professional subs, I will even teach them how to do their job the best I know how as long as I am only teaching it once or twice
Post: Contractors - What Are Your Top Pain Points?

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Originally posted by @Allan Smith:
Originally posted by @Bryan Devitt:
Babysitting subs, mainly just chasing them down and trying to get them to communicate. Even when it is as easy as possible (return a text) it isn't done.
Answering stupid questions from owners i.e. "will you be insulating this section?" as they point to the one wall that wasn't insulated by the time the crew left at 7pm and are due to arrive back to finish any minute at 7am
Did I mention the part about subs not communicating? If you ask for top 10 things, communication would be 9 of them
So the pain point for contractors is the same as the pain point for investors working with their contractors. Got it.
I had one sub that had to deal with family issues back in mexico and went ice cold for 6 weeks. Sure no problem. Take your time.
Yes! A lot of the time when a GC is behind and doesn't have good answers, it is because the subs are dinking them around too. It really is almost impossible to get an entire team of subs that are perfect all around unless there is an unlimited budget
Post: Tenant smoking weed but can't prove it

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Can you smell it when you're in their apt? If you can't smell it outside, you can start to smell it in the hallway and you can really smell it inside the apt, that is proof enough.
Post: Adding bedrooms and bathroom in the basement

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
$60k on average if there aren't any major issues
Post: Contractors - What Are Your Top Pain Points?

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Babysitting subs, mainly just chasing them down and trying to get them to communicate. Even when it is as easy as possible (return a text) it isn't done.
Answering stupid questions from owners i.e. "will you be insulating this section?" as they point to the one wall that wasn't insulated by the time the crew left at 7pm and are due to arrive back to finish any minute at 7am
Did I mention the part about subs not communicating? If you ask for top 10 things, communication would be 9 of them
Post: 1099 Contractors refuse to provide SSN,TIN. Should i send anyway?

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
In the future, don't pay anyone without a W9 and insurance certificates. You're going to want to talk to a good tax person that does this for a living to get the right answer, otherwise you're trusting anyone who will answer you, like me, and I sure as poop am not qualified to answer this but others with the same knowledge might think they are
Post: Is radiator or oil tank heating a hurdle in selling home?

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
It has nothing to do with your oil tank or radiators, they are very common and sell daily. There is a 99% chance it is because you are priced too high. Did you pick the realtor who told you he could get you the highest price or did you pick the one that was good at their job and had a track record of selling properties quickly with happy clients? What has the realtor told you the reason it isn't selling is?
Post: Current Hard Money Lending Rates? (Jan 2020)

- Contractor
- Oxford, MA
- Posts 806
- Votes 744
Originally posted by @Nigel Prentice:
@Bryan Devitt Now that's interesting. A $200 fee for every draw check. That feels like the lender is sneaking in a little extra revenue when the client needs their services the most. I guess the justification is that there is some administrative work (review permits, inspect the site, rerun credit) that the company must do and therefore they should be compensated for that fee. Do you have any details about that aspect of the fee structure for your friend?
There is definitely some costs on their part for admin and a site inspection, but I think this is more of a way to control the GC. The draws are tied to mile stones, so they don't want to cut a check every time you complete something worth a couple grand and would rather cut a check for five figures at a time. It definitely works because the GC is drawing himself down to nothing before he requests an inspection to keep the amount of draws to a minimum.