All Forum Posts by: Colton Cook

@Katie Neason

I agree completely. We were getting 1 turn a week from our investors, then it just stopped as of August 1st. August and September were rough for us on the construction side as well, but optimistic about the rest of the year!

@Srinivasa Murthy

Hey, i’m a local contractor in town: what I’ve noticed is most of my investor work is slowing down. Some of the major investors we work with haven’t been bringing any new work since the beginning of August. Been tough for us lately. But, that is purely anecdotal.

Still finding some decent looking deals in Houston, though!

@Qadre Lewis

If the property is going to need rehabs, I'd call a couple of contractors in town and get them to work up a scope sheet and a hard quote for you, that way you can have an even more informed buying position. Until I started running my company, I had no idea how to ball park estimates, even now, I don't give out ball parks if I can help it. I've screwed up so many ball parks in the past by not noticing tiny details. 

Hope it goes well for you! 

@Catie Lawrence Awesome! Well congrats! Can't wait to see more of y'all's work!

@Matt Lewis 

Completely agree! Definitely have to find one who can add a few unique jobs to the current job list, and understands the risk and is able to agree to a hold situation if necessary. It's definitely been a learning curve for us on our first one! 

@Catie Lawrence 

Great looking renovation! Congrats! What are some of the value items you think went a little underappreciated? 

@Paul Costick

Hey man, sorry if this is late! I really wanted speak from experience on this one. So I’m actually in the position of your possible GC. I’m currently an equity partner on a flip home. One partner purchased the home, another was brought in with equity to fund the cost of construction, and I am performing the work on the home. So far, based on my calculations, he has saved a TON of money. His main savings have been all of the unknown surprises you find as you open walls and such.

EX: massive termite damage...

Now, he was willing to give a chunk of equity so that it was interesting enough for me to work with him. We also have a fairly unique relationship prior to working in the home together. I’ll be sure to let you know how it concludes.

This was our thought process:

-investors are incentivized to cut costs to maximize profits

-contractors are typically incentivized to spend money

-This set up means, that I do not pocket a dime except from the sales proceeds of the home. This incentivizes me to flex my creative muscles to produce quality and cheap work so I can maximize my return on the labor.

I’ll probably do more of these types of deals in the future, personally. My business can’t be only this type of deal, since there is no cash flow, but having one or two going whilst we continue normal business elsewhere is actually how I plan on building my personal portfolio!

Cool seeing someone else thinking about this type of set up!

Good luck! I’d be happy to share some of the hang ups we’ve found as well as some of the other benefits we found in this working relationship if you’re interested.

@David Lee Hall, III

Sorry if this is super late. About 40% of what we do is flips/investment properties. In every home we contract in for our clients, we always suggest doing a flat white (we use promar200 extra white in flat finish) and we use the color pediment in eggshell also by Sherwin Williams in the PROMAR 200 product line.

While cutting in is a chore, for dollars spent vs value received, I believe this is a huge bang for your buck. Personally, I believe it gives the impression of taller ceilings and less ‘institutional’ feeling rooms. Especially in apartments. We chose pediment as a color, because it blends with browns well enough and also fits the neutral pallet for more modern styling as well.

Cabinet paint is a can of worms I’ve lost roughly $8,000 this year alone, but this is off topic.

This is our set up for all clients, investors or home/business owners alike:

-Ceiling is flat, extra white PROMAR 200

-Walls are eggshell, in client choice color PROMAR 200

- Trim/doors/cabinets are semi-gloss, client color choice (go to is extra white) in the Emerald product line.

(***Note: Emerald is EXTREMELY hard drying paint. Very hearty. Satin finish will leave a slight texture, no matter how good the painter. It’s really nice but it is different.)

-Bathrooms: Semi-gloss everywhere (mainly for homeowners/business owners) to help repel water in our SUPER humid climate.

Lots of great advice here! I’ve lost a tremendous amount of money on paint mishaps this year alone, so I felt like dropping my $0.02!

Alabaster is the current color of our residence right now. Very pretty and looks great against and extra white ceiling like ours.

Good luck! Such good advice in this thread.

@Dustin S.

This may be a pointless inclusion, but it may be worth checking into:

Be sure you are not adding too much square footage to your pour, in some municipalities, you will be required to install more storm water inlets. I have no idea what an average sf of concrete to storm inlet ratio is, but I know my city is fairly strict (also requires a certain sf of green space per sf of pavement).

I am a project manager for a large commercial concrete company, I would expect about $5.50/SF- $6.00/SF  (South Texas area) depending on where your apartment is. That price usually includes: formwork, rebar, fine grading (dirt needs to be provided to contractor within 1/10th of a foot of the desired elevation), pour, saw cuts, and clean-up (including concrete wash-out).

If you opt concrete, be sure your contractor is placing his redwood header properly and anticipating where the pavement is most likely to crack. Also, if you plan/are required to be ADA accessible, your slope must be under 5% and under 2% for cross slope.

Just some things to keep in mind. Sorry if this is late, or irrelevant to you.

Sorry if this is a bit late. I am a project manager for a large concrete contractor. What people generally don't get told by their contractor is that concrete will always crack, no matter what. Cracks depend on a hundred different factors such as humidity on the day of the pour, ambient temperature currently, ambient temperature on pour day, etc. 

Hairline cracks (look like spider webs) are usually nothing to worry about and should be expected. I would worry when the cracks are wide. The wider the crack, the more likely it is to be structural. 

Back when I worked for a production builder, I believe our warranty kicked in when the crack was 3/16" wide. Yours may be different.

If they are small (thin) it's purely cosmetic and is something that unfortunately comes with the territory.

Late, but I hope this helps.