All Forum Posts by: JD Martin

Quote from @Zach Adams:

Today my tenants asked me if I was okay having “Madigascar Hissing Cockroaches” as a pet. From my  research it sounds like they can only survive in certain conditions, but they can also reproduce. Does anyone have experience with allowing something like this? I am concerned they could reproduce and infest the place and I would be held liable? Any thought are appreciated. Thanks 

Hell no. I require all pets to be fixed, and I assume there's no way of fixing a cockroach so that should cover it. 

Don't over improve. Know your market and what you will and won't get paid for. This is really tough for a lot of people starting off, who tend to overspend on things you can see and underspend on things you can't - and that should usually be reversed given the choice. Remember that the quality of your finishes will always depend on the quality of the substrate. 

Quote from @Annie Abenth:

Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with installing artificial turf in a rental property? It’s about 600 sq ft of area that needs to be updated somehow and I’m having a hard time justifying 10k-15k of rehab in the yard for a rental that cash flows 200-400 a month. Any ideas or recommendations would be much appreciated! 

 If you allow pets just be aware that it can really stink if they do their business there. Why not just seed and straw the area for 50 bucks? Is there a reason it needs to be artificial turf?

Good advice already. Questions:

1. Are they a close friend or an acquaintance?

2. Does buying $107k "share" buy you 50% of the property or just some portion of it?

3. How much money do you have to invest now to sell it in 4 years and get 50% of the proceeds? 

4. How much does the friend get paid for managing the unit? What experience do they have managing rental properties?

5. Who pays for maintenance, capital expenses, insurance and other costs?

The whole thing honestly sounds like a friend trying to milk some cash out of you. Don't do anything without running it past your own attorney, and get an independent appraisal of the fair market value if you decide to go forward.

Without going too far into the weeds, I would not ever carpet a rental that I was changing the flooring on. Ever. Especially not in a multi unit. In the US hard floors - LVP, hardwood flooring, tile - is essentially seen as desirable everywhere. The exception to this rule is that I always put a runner on stairs, as they can be slippery otherwise. 

Quote from @Evan Polaski:

@Becca F., while I don't use ChatGPT on these forums, I will use it to optimize LinkedIn posts.  But like you, I type out my thoughts, then simply use ChatGPT to help condense them into something less stream of conscious and (hopefully) easier to read.

But hey, what use is BiggerPockets anymore if not to shout into the void about how "you" hold the only reasonable answer to anyone looking to invest in real estate.

I prefer stream of conscious than refinement. Requiring humans to do a little mental exercising to comprehend your thoughts is good for our brains! Beyond that, even typed words convey conversational style if they're not needlessly edited and make it easier to imagine I'm talking to Evan than Evan's robot doppelganger! I don't mean purposely leaving a mess of unintelligible garbage on the screen, but I don't see any value in creating posts that read like textbook prose. 

Quote from @Robert Johnson:

Hey BP community,

I'm in the middle of a live-in BRRRR and wanted to share some progress, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way from folks who've been down this road.

I just bought the property and have been focusing on adding value right out of the gate. So far, I’ve:

• Added a full HVAC system

• Got a brand-new sewer line (paid for by the seller, huge win!)

• Installed a backyard fence for privacy

• Built a fire pit seating area that turned out really cool

• Cut in a kitchen passthrough/breakfast bar for an open feel

• Refinished the bathtub and vanity

• Installed a new toilet (full bathroom renovation planned for later)

• Built new cabinet doors from scratch to save money; couldn’t refinish the old ones and buying new was too pricey

Now I’m tackling scraping and skim coating all the popcorn ceilings before painting.

This place is already looking and feeling so much different, and I’m excited to see how the numbers turn out once I get to the refi stage.

For those of you who have done a live-in BRRRR:

• Any tips on staying sane while living in the middle of renovations?

• Anything you wish you had done earlier in the process?

I appreciate the wisdom from this group!

Kudos to you as this is often a huge win especially if you are capital challenged at the beginning. Best tip I can offer is make sure you maintain some space/spaces that are not a renovation zone. It gets super tiring to have to rearrange crap every time you want to heat up leftovers or wash your hands. When you are remodeling the kitchen set up a makeshift kitchen somewhere else rather than trying to use your tore up kitchen at the same time. If you only have one bathroom plan out the remodel for a long vacation weekend or similar and just kill it so the toilet, tub and sink are back usable in a couple of days. Other than that, live in flips or future rentals can make a lot of sense. 

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Becca F.:

Quote from @Evan Polaski:

Totally get where you’re coming from. AI posts can feel generic for a few reasons:

1. They often lack firsthand experience or market nuance,

2. They overuse polished phrasing that doesn’t match how real investors talk, and

3. They tend to recycle common talking points without adding new perspective.

Threads like this are way more valuable when people share real-world insights—what’s actually worked (or not) for them on the ground. Thanks for calling it out...

Oh wait, I used ChatGPT to write that response.  But there is a woman from one of the more commonly referenced turnkey groups on these forums that is seemingly just copying a post into ChatGPT and posting the response.  Formatting is one of the bigger giveaways to me.

 I noticed that one. I thought she was following me around every time I commented on a new California investor post with the same comments...LOL 

My comments are all typed from my thoughts with typos - some of its repetitive because it's similar advice to CA investors. I've never even used ChatGPT in any professional capacity or in my personal life.  

I've stopped commenting on new investor posts as of a few days ago. I've been on BP for almost 3 years now and I feel like I'm at a repetitive sales convention and not worth my time or energy now to respond back to ChatGPT comments. 

 I agree when I see someone with no posts and they write a five paragraph short story with a conclusion at the end, its like "great I could have done that too in chatgpt". 

 At this point I look at the poster's name first before I even bother responding. I know Chris is Chris, Evan is Evan etc but if I don't recognize the person or I cruise his/her posts and they all look like that I just move on. I'm not sure what the human vs robot test will look like but it would be a good thing to have before we end up with nothing but forums of robots, not just here but everywhere. I guess wherever there's a possibility of profit we are going to be fighting this out.

95% or more of arbitrage makes no sense for the property owner. From that point of view I am baffled that anyone would allow it (I certainly would not). In a few select cases a very experienced operator willing to put their own cash into an effort could make it really work well for both the owner and user. The reality is that it's just pitched as a way for people with no assets and no experience to become "investors" and it's mostly BS. It's a guru sales point to people with big beach dreams and empty wallets who aren't willing to accumulate capital through hard work.

The biggest issue is that the Elm is severely threatened from Dutch Elm disease; in fact like the chestnut tree there are efforts to create a hybrid that's resistant to the disease before they are all wiped out. Not surprised one of them was already in bad shape. But yes, lesson here is definitely know the laws in your locale. Tree canopy loss is taken pretty seriously in a lot of cities and other places these days. At my Florida house you have to have a permit to remove any tree beyond a few inches in diameter anywhere in the county, and you have to replace it with something from the native shade tree list so yes palm trees don't count.