All Forum Posts by: David Hodge

Just realized this was an old question.im a little late :)

When you but from a TK company you are putting a lot of trust in that company so you need to make sure they are good. Also, TK companies usually sell lower valued properties.. The lower the value, the higher your capex expense percentage should be. Taking 5% of the rent when your rent is only $800 is not going to be enough to cover all those big items. You'll probably need closer to 15 or 20% or more! I would take the cost of everything (roof, flooring, driveway, counters, etc) divide by their lives and divide by 12 to get your monthly capex. I think turnkey can be great if you have no time. My Memphis turnkey property has been great so far. But since new investors are the ones usually investing in TK, they often don't account for capex correctly. It's an important factor to get right.

First off, I'm currently reading The Book on Rental Property Investing by @Brandon Turner and it rocks!  It gives so much more practical advice than most RE books I've read so far.

Now to the question... the inspection contingency allows you to back out if something comes up in the inspection that you didn't expect, but there is ALWAYS going to be something you didn't expect.  Can I back out if I find out a door knob is lose or there is a tear in one of the window screens?  I can't imagine a buyer could back out for minor things like these.  If they could, they would always have a way out because reports are always full of minor issues, even on well maintained homes.  So where is the line? 

@Scott Trench that's not as bad as I was expecting.  Hope it goes smoothly!  Thanks for the input!

Thank you all for the responses. Just got a fan and plan to get a dehumidifier as well. Hopefully that fixes it! Scott Trench no this started about a month ago so I don't think it's due to the hail but it could be excess moisture in the ground due to our house being lower than the houses on the street over that we back up to. I think we are getting their run off. I'm just hoping it's not a foundation issue. If it's moisture coming in through a cheap window or just normal moisture from being under ground then that sounds like an easy fix. How expensive is it for you to fix the grading on yours?

Lynn M. We do not have a dehumidifier. Do you recommend that over a fan? We currently don't have either. Any recommendations on what type/brand to get? Did your basement have an air vent sucking up air? I'm hoping a fan and/or dehumidifier will fix it, but if not we might need to add a return grill to pull moist air out.

We are in Colorado (near Denver) and noticed moisture in the basement.  I was originally thinking that the moisture was coming up through the concrete, but I don't believe that is the issue for these reasons... the top of the carpet is damp but when you pull back the carpet, the padding below is dry as well as the concrete.  That leads me to believe the moisture must be coming from the air above, not the concrete below.  In addition, the moisture is evenly spread throughout the entire basement.  If it were a crack in the foundation, it would be concentrated in one spot.  When you walk into the basement you can feel a lot more humidity than above ground.

Has anyone else had this problem?  What could be causing this moisture if it isn't coming up through the ground?  Maybe it's coming in through the windows?  Are basements always more moist than above ground?  Someone recommended we get an air return grill put into the basement to suck the air out and circulate it through the house.  Apparently basements should always have this so the air doesn't sit stagnant.  Is that true?  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Steven Sager we just moved here from Orange County, CA. We bought here because of how nice and cohesive the entire community was. We also liked Parker b/c it's more on the outside of all the Denver suburbs. It's closer to so much open farmland. That might change over time. I'm learning my way around and hope to start building my buy and hold portfolio either in Parker or one of the other nearby towns. It's getting expensive so congrats on getting in so long ago!

Bill S. Thank you for the explanation. This is good to know before jumping in.

@Steven S. I just moved to Stonegate and love it.  It's a great community.  I see you live in NJ.  Did you live here in Parker in the past or did you purchase from out of state?