All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

I agree with others: paint it.  I just did that in the exact same situation (one room with wood paneling), and I think it came out very nice.  That said, if it were really high end, I'd bite the bullet and rip it out, but as others said: you don't know what's underneath, so it could get expensive.

Never actually timed myself or anyone else but I have a 30 gal heater in my mountain cabin and we routinely have  2 kids (even when they were teenagers) and 2 adults take a shower in the morning, one after the other.  Never once have we run out of hot water....  

I guess, my question would be: "what are you trying to accomplish by taking this risk??"  Save a few hundred bucks or time, or something else?

While the risk may be relatively small, it doesn't seem like the reward justifies taking it.

 Yes, Jeff is indeed a member - maybe I can conjure him up.... @Jeff Brown 

Doesn't sounds like the cheapest option (do nothing) is really available here, so unless you plan on selling the property in the near future, it may well be worth the investment to put in central heat/air.  If you can get 20% higher rent, it'll take 4-5 years to fully recover the investment but other upsides might be a better tenant pool?  Also depends on what shape the rest of the property is in, of course.  

I'd do the upgrade if at all possible - I can't fathom living in Houston without central air....

 As Jeremy said, if you have a mortgage, then the bank will know this information (as to whether they'll share it via e-mail is another matter altogether - I would think NOT, but they may share it on the phone).

That's pretty pathetic customer service, I'd say.  Especially for the high-end properties you seem to be looking at.  i agree with you on all the point s you raised but I don't have any suggestions on how to solve the problem other than keep looking (and hoping that there are at least A FEW customer oriented outfits in the area).

Thanks Steven - yes, I think I'm very clear on what I need to do on my end and that's why my PM's reporting the net rents didn't make any sense to me.  I just wanted to gather some additional input before I ask him to change his ways....

PM is an LLC in this case.

 Yes, once you have owned (seasoned) it for a certain period of time (6-12 months usually), and you have built equity (as assessed by the appraisal) you can then refinance based on the new appraisal and pull out the difference in cash 

Unless you are speculating on massive appreciation potential (which may be reasonable for a red-hot Seattle market?), those numbers would not work as a buy and hold.  At least not for me - and not even close.