All Forum Posts by: Wesley C.

OK, while I don't have a degree in computer science, I'm pretty decent with computers but I'm clearly missing something. Home Depot sends me these e receipts which is nice, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to save the things to my computer. I can print them and scan them which kind of defeats the purpose. I can copy and paste them as text to a word document but they don't really resemble a receipt anymore and the home depot logo disappears. I suppose a screen capture might work, but then there is a bunch of superfluous junk. The receipt is not sent as an attachment, but is just within the body of the email and I don't have the option to just save it. Is there anyone who has done this who might give me a quick tutorial? I really appreciate it.

I just now realized those are the same house. Great work!

Those homes are beautiful by the way.

As I put myself in an investors shoes I say this sounds reasonable, but I'd need a little something more as I'm putting my faith in your numbers and your estimates. Frankly that scares me because we've never worked together before. As a pretend investor, here is what I propose to you in return. I'll split 50-50 with you if the returns prove to be in the ballpark of what you say they are. However if they end up being less due to you underestimating renovation costs or over estimating sales price, your take home is less and mine is more. For example, if you present to me that we can make $65-80K on the deal, then we split 50-50. But if we actually make $40-65K, then the split is 60-40 in my favor because you oversold me. And if we actually make $25-40K, then the split goes to 70-25. You get the picture. This gives me incentive to trust your numbers and take a chance on you while it forces you to do your homework and not sell me false estimates. As we work together on more projects we can arrange things differently, but I need to see the proof that you are a good investment. I'm sure you can pick apart my scenario, but I think the idea is still valid that you have to give an investor incentive to trust your numbers if he is going to be trusting you with that much money.

A third option would be what home depot calls "luxury vinyl tiles". The brand is trafficmaster ceramica. They are peel and stick but they can be grouted as they are thick and have a beveled edge. Looks just like tile but is a much easier install. No hardy backer, thinset, or saws needed. Just a utility knife and grout. I've never actually used them but I've seen them in a rental and they look fantastic. They review really well as people say buyers and inspectors often mistake them for ceramic tile. I'm actually going to give them a try here in a few weeks. They are even cheaper than the vinyl planks.

You can buy lowes 10% coupons on ebay that home depot will also honor (most of them anyway). However, I've discovered that if I call home depot to order items rather than go to the store and tell them I have a lowe's coupon, they will just honor it without even seeing it. Has worked every time. I still keep these coupons on hand for store use. Just last week I ordered some vinyl flooring in bulk that wasn't carried in the store and they knocked 10% off and they will be shipped right to my door.

For blinds, JCPenney (seems hard to believe) has proven to be the cheapest for decent quality, just make sure you have their current coupon code.

Ebay and Amazon have cheap cabinet knobs and pulls. Both of these places let you buy them in bulk. Just bought 25 pulls for $29.75 on Amazon. Knobs are even cheaper.

One site I frequent is dealnews.com. Occasionally something that I know I'm going to need or a sale will be highlighted on there. They also have a search line, so if there is something you are searching for they just might have referenced it recently and it will show up on the search. I'll warn you though, this site is addictive and dangerous.

Guess you'll think twice before going to that next Tea Party rally:)

Seems to me you have 3 legitimate options:

1. Pay the water

2. Charge them a low flat monthly fee for water that is a good deal for them but helps you recoup the cost of both units. Something like $20.

3. Pay the expense to have both units metered and consider it an investment for the future. You must consider that you won't always live there and then this becomes even more of a problem when there are two tenants. Now would be the time to do this if you ever are going to.

Thanks guys for all the input on this one. Here in TN we are accustomed to a little mold. If you have a neighborhood with 10 houses on crawl spaces, 8 of them will have a little of the black stuff on the beams. I know in my primary residence I installed a couple of vent fans that kick on in higher humidity and I've not had any issues thus far. As for the property in question, it is all neglect issues that have led to a few isolated areas. It was a widow's home whose crawlspace dryer vent was loose, the moisture barrier was only partial coverage, the deck wasn't flashed, and the downspouts were neglected. I'm certain there isn't a moisture problem outside of those issues. So fixing the underlying problem is easy, but the nature of my question was just to that I cleaned up what was already there in an appropriate way. You have given me great suggestions and thoughts and I really appreciate it.