All Forum Posts by: James De Stefano

I've visited East TN, and  Wester North Car.  twice in recent years.  So nice by the Smokey Mtns.  Obviously smaller towns there, and I like to take a look at Zillow to get a gauge on the market for a future home. 

A few years ago I read the Smokey Mtns. National Park is the most visited park in all of the US. likely due to the large east coast population, but there's some knock-out views  for 500k  and a decent  2bed 2bath.  

Anyone live in that general area to comment on smaller town vs. the larger 250k population cities? 

Some of the more seasoned vets here know all about foundation repair, but for thought this could be helpful for anyone starting out.  

60 seconds background:

Houston is essentially built up on a swamp, couple that with back 2 back brutal summers with little rain, and nearly everyone I've talked with recently has some sort of foundation issues creeping up.  Our personal  house had previous work done but the piers were poorly done, and we noticed dry wall cracks and tile floor "separation"  about 2 years back.   As with many big problems, it's easy to keep kicking the can down the road, but we needed to get this done. Here's the highlights

1. If you are certain you need foundation work, get minimum of 3-4 quotes. Try one of the big names, but HIGHLY recommend you ask everyone in the R.E. world if they have a referral, or call some of the smaller LLC companies in the area.

2. The quote we got varied WILDLY.  Of the 4 quotes we got,   2 were more than $50,000 !  This was for 14 interior piers, and roughly 38 exterior piers.    

3.  Be sure to educate yourself on what the fine print says. Some companies give a "Full Transferable Warranty" but then hammer your with fees on labor or some other way to get more $

4. pic below is of the severe fdn. settling in the kitchen.   

5.  The mess is always significant.  This was our personal home, doing a rehab or for a rental that's vacant would be much easier as far as moving furnitture, boxes, etc.   Be sure to talk with your guys the expectations for "clean up" as ours was still caked in layers of dirt, but the guys swept up the broken floor and pieces.  This was not what we expected. 

6.  Before the work, our house elevation was +0.5  readings the highest,  - 2.5  in several other low spots.  It was in rough shape.  

7. 2 days of work with a crew of 12-13 guys, and the job was finished.  They didn't go as deep as some other companies go ( that's what she said...), but I've been happy with the referrals and professionalism from this crew.   Life time warranty.   Local guy who some other investors use. 

8.  Nursery room post- piers being filled and after scrubbing floors, before replacing with LVP Pro tip.... do foundation BEFORE you have a 1 year old in the house. 

9.   Finished install of  large  SPC  ( LVP w/ stone ) from Lions FLoors.  $2.99 / sq feet.   total of 1900 sq. feet in the house.  Cost for the flooring job was $4,100 start to finish.  We floated the most affected areas, probaly should have spent the extra $1000 to float the entire house.  But we're  95% satisfied. 

10.  Other small items:    Our drywall was already cracking in 15 + places, but we thought we could get it done a week or so after the foundation lift.   NOPE, recommendation is to wait 3 - 6 months  afterwards to let it completely settle.  To avoid more hairline cracks.  

11.   Almost no body told us about Root barrier, which are simple digging  about 2-3 into the ground, near your foundation to cut invasive  tree roots.  our 3 big oak trees slowly and surely did damage over time, so that's being done soon for about $3000. 

All in.....

$13000 for Foundation repair 2  days

$600  Misc.   door frame adjustments and other issues

$7800  for flooring 1,900 sq feet 

$4100 for  install

$1,000- 2000 for dry wall  based on quotes

Total -  Approx $27,000

Considering a quote from Olshan  for a "full -tilt"  repair was   $93,000    ( LOL ), we're happy with the work done.  

Hope this is helpful for newbies or anyone who lives in Texas.   Water that foundation and keep those big tree roots away from your house!!!

Happy to elaborate if anyone has questions

All good info. 

To come at it from another angle, I've just got 2 properties.   Property management, like everything, has a learning curve, but after 1 year and a few mistakes , I've learned to stream line just about everything.   Giving 80% of work and turnover to repair companies and handymen I trust, with the other minor maintenance ( sprinkle system condition, air filter checks, exterior inspection for wear ) done my self.   Nobody will really take care of your asset like you do in the end, AS LONG as  you don't try to become an HVAC and roofing expert in Texas during 99 degrees summer.  That's idiotic.  Pay the freaking money.

But if scaling to 5, 10 + properties, I 100% get the Prop. Manager route. 

 California Coast,  Destin in Florida,  ski towns in Colorado, etc.   

They are stunning places, and with so much money around ( especially from Other countries w/ how popular CA is )  I guess there's enough ppl willing to pay outrageous prices to deal with insane policies and other madness,  for the incredible weather/ views.

 Well said information, and from my experiences in Texas, there is an understanding that Tenants absolutely have rights, but it's the OWNER'S property first and foremost.  The majority of contracts are written up that way to be owner friendly, as long as both parties do what's agreed upon. 

It's frustrating to think what's allowed in many urban areas/ states that give just a slap on the wrist to violators of other ppl's assets.  The hand holding and coddling isn't benefiting anyone long term. 

Let's see how bad things get with Blue states in the future if people who actually own businesses, work for a living, etc.  can handle propping up the growing "leeches" in many of these areas.  There will be a breaking point...
 

 THIS,  Simple but mostly true,   Off market deals can still happen but you have to put in the hours and hours, and frankly get lucky.

I'm finding "possible' opportunities on the MLS and they are still disappearing quickly, so the deals are out there but you have to hunt carefully or look outside the box.

 Agree with the 1st paragraph... but Month 2 month from day 1???  Hmmmm how can you make a profit if people are in and out every 3 or 6 months if it doesn't work out? 

Cleaning cost, relisting if you use MLS and agent fees. I do 2 year minimum to keep those nasty costs down

OP, you are asking a great question.  I  have a 5 mo. old kid, and in year 2040, I almost throw up thinking how expensive it will be. 

2 pros and cons:

1. going to college was an incredible time being around like minded people who have fun, but are serious about a future career.

2. those relationsihps with about 10 close friends have turned into networking, long lasting friendships, etc. 

cons: 

1. looking back I do feel like it delayed time from entering the "real world"  and some of the money spent could have gone to investments, which 20+ years of seasoning...oiiii that's a lot of opportunity cost. 

2. if you just aimlessly take classes or have no focus for a job, in this day in age....seems like a waste.

 LOL

I feel like Real Estate and arguing with family is a requirement.   Renting, buying, selling, there's ALWAYS something fun to disagree with. 

I personally know just 1 person who has multiple STR, but whew he makes an absolute killing.

SOunds like the top 3 toughest things are 

1. Having to do almost whatever it takes to keep a 4 or 5 Star rating, including dealing with terrible clients who can give low stars because of some nonsense.  Businesses have been dealing w/ this for 20+ yrs i'm sure.

2. constant maintenance from beat up property, and you have to keep it looking good or you cant charge the high $$ you want

3.  small stuff - ie.  being by the beach  and salt water damage to pain, or upset neighbors because of one incident, etc. 

Does this seems mostly accurate, or am I missing even bigger issues? 

 I've always thought there's got to be a better version of this phrase.    "There's more than 1 way to shave a donkey!"   Maybe that'll catch on in 2023. Be the new hot phrase on the streets. 

I'll give a +1 to  people trying to build slow, steady wealth...get into the  B+  properties.   I'm only 4 years into the game, but it's been pretty consistent, seeing the difference in they way tenants treat your properties.  

I've avoided any "heavy" damage, but a friend told me about a long term tenant who moved out, and some how managed $15k damage.   He admitted he didn't keep an eye on the property after a while and it was a wreck. 

It's all a calculated risk.