All Forum Posts by: Craig Tripp

Is demo an option?  Seems easier and more efficient to remove the planters if you don’t plan on having any plantings in them

@Jim Cummings I just signed a document Monday from Cully that allowed for foundation repairs to be conducted by buyer on sellers vacant house with payment held in escrow till closing.  In signing and opening of escrow I waived ability to file mechanics lien.

Are you looking for something like that?

@Marcus Auerbach I like the aggressive approach and recommendation to get something done in a tough market.  You’re 100% right, it’ll prove invaluable on the deals after that.

Chart a course, put the blinders on if necessary, and don’t let outside talk sway or influence if the numbers make sense. 

@RJ Haugen I think it’s foolish, unfortunately all to common in today’s society, to be ok with $100k in loans to get a degree.  

Unless you have a net worth that supports such a sunk cost, you will spend the next 10-15 years at a minimum trying to dig out of that hole.  The lost opportunity costs and payback of those loans make it immeasurablely more difficult to achieve financial independence.

You can delay being a grownup for 4-6 more years and go to a college for twice as much as another.   Or, you can recognize that the rest of your life starts with this decision and make a mature and sound decision that will set you far ahead of your peers regardless of how it turns out.

A college does not make the experience.  What you make of the opportunities, friendships, and studies will make the experience that you want.  

*prememptive note: RJ is not foolish, just the notion that $100k in the hole before earning an income is.

@Mike Dymski says it well.  We can’t control it, so why bother?

The importance has always been in making sound deliberate decisions each investor can tolerate based on their needs/tolerance for fluctuations.

Perhaps much of the lingering fear is due to a recency bias that places more emphasis on the last recession and how it was associated with real estate?

It depends on location and length of the belly.  If it's under the center of the slab and runs the length of near the entire length of the main line then it can be costly to tunnel and provide access and then of course make the proper repairs.  Sometimes...depending on your layout and city sewer, you can reroute around the home if you have enough fall.

There are primarily two important concerns you do the work:

- make sure plumbers use clevis hangars attached to bottom of the slab to prevent a new belly from developing in time.

- put the dirt back properly and mud pump the voids to prevent additional settlement or erosion from occurring.  Flowable fill does not equal mud pumping under pressure.

Are the existing drain lines cast iron or PVC?  Branch lines may not need to be replaced if the belly is only in the main trunk line.

The decision to replace or not lies with your comfort level, but experience (or Murphy's law) tells me that the issue will typically show at the worst possible times (i.e Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, or a big party). You don't have much history in the home, so you have time to figure this out, but I'd be saving for some big expenses if I was you.

To many things to potentially repair (or not be concerned with) on a P&B.  I don’t expect a perfectly level P&B, and sometime they can’t even be restored close to level due to age, as built, additions, enclosure, remodels...

My goal for a pier and beam is to make it sturdy and functional.  In other words, I don’t want the floors to bounce when you walk through and rattle all the furniture and knick-knacks around.  When I know I can get the floors sturdy, then I shift focus to these priorities in this order:

- Functionality of exterior doors (doors MUST lock and latch for security)

- Functionality of interior doors (fit in their pocket latch properly with good reveal on top)

- Levelness of trim (counters, windowsills, door frames, chair moulding and any other trim as level as we can)

- Levelness of floors (I we fix the first three...the floors will be whatever they must be)

What drives the cost to a P&B:

- Elevation off the ground / access to interior (sometimes the only opening is on a remote closet inside)

- Amount of termite/wood rot damage

Don’t be scared by a P&B, they can be great homes, just may require a little more TLC or periodic maintenance in the form of reshimming and adjusting.  The good news though is once its done right, you can easily keep an eye on that and stay ahead of and out of the overhaul process.  I haven’t seen one fall over yet that wasn’t related to a big storm, so you’ve got time to figure it out.

Fly safe and NSDQ

Must read books:

“Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz

He actually has several books that I would recommend for any contractor / small business owner.

“Markup & Profit” by Michael Stone. 

Geared toward the contractor / remodeler and is a fantastic read

As a contractor I assume every homeowner I talk to is getting several bids.  I want them to know the various techniques for fixing a foundation and to feel comfortable they’re going with the best company and the best systems around. 

I’ve found that some owners like to share that information (maybe hoping to get me to compete on or lower our price, or so they can let me know they’re still in control).  Other owners never mention it, probably for the same reasons you have mentioned.  I never feel bad or take it personally.  There are 1000s of foundations in the area, I can’t fix them all.

I’m not in the market for Ag Shacks or Stealth Dorms, but there are some in my neighborhood and many of the neighborhoods I get calls from for my foundation repair company.

They must bring a good return as they keep getting built. But, they also keep building apartments that are under utilized. I have also noticed many more SFR "FOR RENT" signs staying in front yards a little longer/later into the semester.

Despite those observations, Aggies need places to live and the school(s) in the BCS area continue to expand.