All Forum Posts by: Johann Jells

 Being a GC doesn't mean you have any idea how well your work actually holds up. Most never return to their jobsite again. I've been a landlord for 19 years, and have to deal with the long term outcomes. How can you tell anything from a lack of my picture other than I'm not here to shill or network my business, just to give and get advice. As for my vehicle, or my business model, let me tell you I've known many people who have ended up broke because they were unable to determine when and where to save or spend their money. My business is not based on my appearance or my truck's, but that of my property. 

PS: making personal attacks because someone disagrees with your unqualified statement is not a way to make friends here or anywhere.

 Is this based on personal experience? You do know there's great variation of quality and thickness in these products? In fact, the finish on Engineered Flooring is not any different from Laminate, it's the same high silica wear surface, just on a plywood veneer instead of a harder, more durable high pressure laminate layer on fiberboard.  

What do you mean by "soon"? The first unit I did in laminate from Costco was in 2001, and it still looks great. I did my son's room the next year, when he was 3. Boys are hard on flooring, there's a few scars from pointy objects like darts and such, but nothing dramatic. And that was over a pretty uneven floor.

Originally posted by @Nancy Larcom:

Yup, nail down IS way harder! And you really should put it under the baseboards rather than just under the toe moldings if you expect to refinish it. Floating floors have another advantage. I'm putting it over a 100+ year old 10" x 5/4 pine subfloor that a homeowner might put in the resources to repair and finish out as is popular these days. I'm  not gonna do it for a rental, but with a floating install, it'll still be there untouched if I ever want to sell the place as condos.

 Sorry, but that begs the installed price point question. I'll freely admit that I prefer hardwood to laminate too, but I'd also prefer a new Honda Odyssey to my 14 year old Caravan.  I can DIY laminate I buy for under $1.5/ft with far less effort than all the cutting of moldings and doors it would take to lay oak, plus the sanding and finishing. And while you can't sand laminate, you can disassemble it and replace a damaged plank.

I'm working on a place where 4 years ago I reluctantly laid laminate in the kitchen during a tenancy, and it looks damn good. Actually looks a bit better than the 5mm click vinyl I laid upstairs from it the next year.

Thanks all, seems mostly to go the way of "don't worry bout it", though my usual philosophy is that of @Jeff McCaskey and do it the way I'd like it if I lived there. And it's not like there's no lights at all, 2 of the rooms have wall sconces next to the door, and the 3rd has a 5' wide archway to the kitchen. If only the exposed vent and drain pipes in the bath could be so easily resolved, they're actually solid brass, maybe I should polish them out!

I'm starting reno on a 5 room unit that was once gaslight. 3 of the smallest rooms, the larger two being 70 sq ft, have no overhead lights. 2 have a wall sconce with a built in switch. My impulse was to wire in ceiling lights and wall switches, but then I remembered that I haven't been in a hotel room with a main overhead light in a long time.  They're all accent & table lamps. So ceiling light is apparently not considered an absolute requirement. Should I let this one go?

I installed a Kwikset keypad deadbolt on my own apartment door and everyone hated how loud the damn thing was. It was replacing (and replaced by) a Codelock pushbutton latch. I was looking for the greater security of the deadbolt because my family wants to never have to lock the door themselves.

For the rentals I've taken the smartlock cool-aid. So easy to re-key. I can key it for realtors and tradespeople, then key it again when a tenant moves in. I can have as much or as little keyed alike as I want.  They have their security flaws, but what affordable lock doesn't?

True that. I was struggling with some 2'x1' last week, especially as I have a torn bicep.  I got some talc powder and used it to lubricate the joints. Worked like a charm. But it's definitely tricky stuff, more flexible and a weaker lock than the 8mm Costco I normally use.  I got some 7mm once and did not like it, it seemed way more flimsy than 8mm.

Here's the story, we do buy and hold, but I've got more fixer-uppers than I can handle right now, so I don't want another.  But rates won't stay this low. One of my properties is paid off and has appreciated ridiculously, so I'm sitting on a ton of equity. It seems like a smart idea to borrow that out and do something with it. The usual way would be to borrow the downpayment and buy a property with neutral or better cashflow. But like I said, I'm over my head in maintenance as it is. 

So how can I put this equity to work? A moron might borrow and invest in stocks.  One possibility  is to buy one of the high value condos around here. Same price as our multis, but new instead of a century old and a fraction the sinks, toilets, heating systems etc.  I'm just not sure they wouldn't be negative.  A foreclosure and gut rehab would require that kind of financial muscle, but I don't want to get into that, good contractors are impossible to find. Arbitraging the difference between our rate and hard money rates seems a bad plan. Any great ideas out there?

 Good point! My model uses the power of borrowing leverage to have the tenants buy the property for me, not from me.

 Sorry, but so what? The thread is about how we harden our rentals. It's a big country with many different markets, and many different business models.  It sounds like you don't expect your property to appreciate or your rents to rise, while I do. But I probably paid 4x what you did per unit. Like I said, different models.