All Forum Posts by: Michael Herr

Get better fans. 
I get Hunter fans on sale sub $100.
One has never broken on me. 
I do agree, to be installed correctly, the box needs braced. Typically isn't done, typically not a problem. I always fix that if changing out the fan. 

When a tenant contacts me and owns a Pit Bull, I first say that I like Pit Bulls and think they can be great, it's owners that are the problems. 
This generates a laugh and keeps them from telling me a story about how thier dog is behaved. 
Frankly I don't care. It's about insurance. 
I've searched high and low for a landlord's policy that will cover me if a tenant has a dog on the "dangerous breed"  list. 

Closest thing I've found is an insurance company that will write me a policy but exclude the dog. (most will drop coverage if they find out) 
State Farm will do a renter's policy that will cover any breed and name me additional insured. 

So I simply tell tenant. 
"I like dogs, my insurance guy doesn't, if you can get a renter's insurance policy covering your dog and naming me as additional insured I will allow it."

I thought this was an impossible task, until one tenant did it (State Farm).
I even called the agent and said "you know American Staffordshire Terrier is fancy talk for Pit-Bull, right?"   

Just finishing a 6month placement with ALE. 
They paid like clockwork and were easy to deal with. Mostly email correspondence. 

Most areas grey water in not code approved. 
Also,  in an existing building seperating grey and blackwater would be prohibitively costly at best. 
The beat bang for your conversion buck in grey water is seperating the was shing machine(s), but unless renting in a hipster area where this would be a feature, do you really expect a tenant to watch what type of soap they use, or flip the three way valve to divert to the sewer when using bleach on thier whites?

Plant some rocks and native species and call it good. 

 I do not, but the pics probably wouldn't help anyway. It looks like a dark wood floor in a pic. Need to see it in person to tell it's paint. 

Favorite flooring:
Unfinished/semi-finished basements: painted concrete. 

Kitchens/bath: Tile, vinyl plank if tile floor prep is cost prohibitive. Glue-down Sheet vinyl on class C kitchens. 

Hallways/living area: existing hardwood. Paint extremely bad condition hardwood a woodtone brown in class B-/C (looks better than in sounds) 

I'm ok with carpet for bedrooms. 

First thing I check is for hardwood under carpet. I've had great luck with sandless refinishing, and painting hardwood if it's the cheap thin kind in rough shape. 

Never use glueless sheet vinyl flooring: it will only last one tenant move-out. 

Make sure it's hobby use rather than home based business. 
Run it by your insurance agent. 
Pick the electrician. Tenant pays. 
Keep tenants happy and they will keep you happy. 

If you guys are worried about the miniscule chance the place burns down, you are in the wrong business. 

Talk to a commercial banker at a local bank. 
It's super easy to get a line of credit secured by paid off real estate. 

It would be "deducted" in that your income will go down relative to what it would be had you not offered half off. 

There's a search function for the forums. Use that. This question has been beaten to death. 

Short answer with commercial financing,  banks have more flexibility, and yes it can be done, but many wouldn't want to. 
On the residential side (long term fixed rate loans sold to fannie, freddie), there is a 6-12 month period in which they can only loan on the lesser of the purchase price or the current appraisal value.