All Forum Posts by: Cheryl Lane

@Chris John I'm referring back to his invoice - I left out disposal of window blinds in 1 bedroom and disposal of a ceiling fan that has already been removed by other contractor (not him). And that's it. That's exorbitant, right? I wouldn't say there was acrimony brewing. But in our conversation, he kept repeating how he has always just done things and then bill the client later - which is not acceptable to me because I had to approve the price so that I can stay in my budget. I did admit that I was wrong in not asking and assuming minor tasks are small favors because he was directed to do these by my realtor. 

I recently had a dispute with a contractor, who took some instructions from my real estate agent when we were prepping the house to be put back up on the market. I never told him to do the things he did, but my agent did - and I didn't say no. They were things that are a bit on the "perfectionist" side and I didn't think is necessary personally. My agent basically asked him to replace a few cover plates and remove a dead rat as well as a few wrapping blankets that were laying down the floor. I already paid almost 10k for his work on other projects, which I discussed prices and agreed to before. He actually came in as a connection from my agent and my agent asked him to "do me a favor". I made the mistake of not asking if he will charge for any of these minor tasks. 

He surprised me with a 500 buck bill and I was not happy about that at all. What would you have done in this situation? Was he being reasonable to do this without asking me if I'm okay with the price and then hit me with a surprise bill?

Hi,

I am in a dilemma as I got myself into a very bad deal buying a single family house. Bought it on market price (maybe even slightly overpriced) in August with a 10% bridge loan with the goal for it to be a half owner-occupied and half investment property. The plan was to refinance it into a conventional loan soon. I knew it needed quite a few fixes - most of them are gut fixes, but I was betting on its resale value in 5 years as the neighborhood is good and maybe upcoming. 

Renovation quickly went over budget and I am in a bad financial situation right now because of the expensive loan. I also quickly realized I do NOT want to live there myself as it's not the right neighborhood for me. I am now trying to sell it less than 2 months after buying it. 

There is decent amount of interest in the property as now it is in good shape but no offers yet. I cannot afford to hold it for much longer and am afraid of buyers backing out and their loans not going through. 

My options are:

1. Wait for buyers to make offers and just bite the bullet for as long as it takes to hold;

2. Rent it out to a family quickly and use the rent to cover the mortgage (no cash flow, even some minuses) and wait it out a few years to sell;

3. Sell it to an "ibuyer" (like Zillow Offers and Opendoor) for less but close quick. As a result losing 50-70k. 

Anybody has an idea if I am missing out on potential options to fix this bad situation? Many thanks!