All Forum Posts by: George W.

Couple of opinions,

Why not just try to start with the duplex instead of both the single family and the duplex. That way you don't get over extended.

You can certainly try and ask for owner finance. Personally I don't know if I'd ask them to lower the price if you are gonna try owner finance they may get offended by an offer like that and a few thousand dollars might sound like a lot now but it shouldn't make or break a flip. Owner financing is a hard sell if they aren't offering it. Maybe ask for owner financing at their asking price with a decent interest rate so it's enticing for them. 

Lastly if you're in a area that has a lot of distressed properties, maybe you should consider learning about repairing and rehabing/construction. If you're young and ambitious there must be contractors looking for good workers in your area where you could spend a year or two working learn alot and save the money to buy a 20k property in your area and flat out own it. 

Define the "real" costs? You mean material? Material depends on brand, seer (efficancy) location of unit. is there already a air conditioner? Is you're electric sized properly? if there wasn't a air conditioner before there's probably no 220v outside for it. Also another poster said to diy, your supposed to have a epa certification to work with refrigeratant and air conditioning installation equipment is expensive to.

As to why a HVAC contractor is expensive is because they have a business to run, employees, workers compensation insurance, general liability insurance, shop expenses, trucks etc. To just expect a ac install to be material cost would be kinda ignorant. If a ac install makes or breaks a deal it isnt a good deal. 

Enough to make people consider investing in other states haha. To build a new building depends on if you can even get a building lot. You may be pressed to find a lot without a building on it already in Elizabeth. So you might have to look for a tear down. 

Did you take the head off the shower arm and look into it where the washer is? I see alot of people who install their shower heads are sloppy with the Teflon and end up getting it inside the flow restrictor/washer screen

Sounds like it may be worth looking into as long as your municipality zoning will allow you to do it. 

I would shop around on the brands and compare each unit. Alot of the "cheapest units" use the cheapest parts. Example sometimes cheaper unit will use a cheap contactor on the compressor. Some cheap budget brands don't use txv valves at 13 seer and are using orffices and alomost no cheap unit has a low pressure cut out switch on the suction side which could save you long term. Cheap units don't have ecm blower motors and two stage gas gas valves. most of the big names also own other cheaper brands that are similar but with less bells and whistles. 

The early bit gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheeese. 

 It's not a bubble in the sense of housing. in the sense that thirty years ago it was unheard of for someone just starting their life to have 30-50k in debt. And the fact the college expenses have risen faster than inflation and there is no physical assests, some body somewhere will lose lots of money when a bunch of students defualt on on loans. You'd have to be crazy to think that 1.5 trillion and growing couldn't hurt the economy in other senses even if it's not dischargable. Those graduate students need somewhere to live and if they can't afford it because of bankruptcy then that would hurt the economy.

Second I never really said that it was gonna cause a housing crash. Im a firm believer that the health care industry which is over 18% of our gdp is gonna cause the next stock and housing crash with all the crazy mergers on insurance companies and hospitals. You don't think theres companies over leveraged in health care? That's 3 trillion a year and encompasses many different industries that employ a very large perecent of Americans. 

 Agreed it's definitely a bubble. It's not good when there's 1.5 trillion total debt and pretty much nothing to show for it. 

Older properties could have lots of hidden surprises. Underground oil tanks , cesspools, foundation problems, old plumbing and electric, poor if any insulation just to name a few. The older the building you're definitely going to spend more on repairs long-term. 

What you should look for is a really good home inspector, contractor and good deals on older buildings.