All Forum Posts by: Julie Grupke

To cover your bases (read: CYA), the local police are probably the best resource for your question. If the person is stalking or harrassing a tenant, the victim can ask about filing charges. Printing & dristributing flyers might be considered harrassment, slander, defamation, or illegal distribution of someone's image; also, you can't place flyers in anyone's mailbox without postage attached (federal law) & there are likely local laws in your area re: flyer distribution.

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV

Brandon - you stole my answer! LOL

Totally agree with BT's advice - figure out what you're interested/excited about doing and design a plan of action that works with your investment budget.

I get hardware from Knob Depot online (I'm not affiliated) - I can't bring myself to pay HD or Lowes prices for that kind of stuff. I think I paid $1/per for quality pulls - basic round knobs, brushed bronze with a simple design.

I know this post is old but I just signed up for AL then came to BP to search your guys' opinions on it.

Few things I noticed - the letter ratings don't tell you anything nor do the result rankings, but the comments sure do - especially when I found several raving & borderline threatening contractor responses to negative reviews!

I couldn't believe some of the things written - from "You gave me an F for not returning your phone calls??" to personally insulting the reviewers to saying reviewers were taking food off their kids' table.

AL totally dropped the ball on site moderation, something you BP moderators excel at. Makes BP more professional and useful for all - AL's lack of it did the opposite for me. I can read ranting insults on Facebook for free, if that's my mood. :) I wish Amazon had contractor reviews!

I spent HOURS and HOURS researching this very topic! Lots of true work boots have a 40-50hr break-in period and styles are specific to 1 industry or need (and I use the word STYLE loosely!), but I wanted a good all-arounder.

I settled on Keen as best for me - hiking boots or shoes. I'm good with Merrell too. Wanted something with good traction and support for standing all day, not too bulky or heavy, and no steel toe but some protective structure. Right now I have Keen Hoodoo High Lace and they are awesome! Def read reviews for any you like - diff brands & styles within brands run small/big/wide/narrow, etc etc. I like Amazon reviews the best. Good luck!

Just some regurgitation from articles I read (national in scope):

David Greenlaw of Morgan Stanley predicts a possible 20%+ increase in 2013, but that a 20% increase in housing starts would still be 65% below the 2006 pace; he's concerned with the low levels of new household formation (although common in econ downturns).

Jan Hatzius at Goldman predicts general econ growth in 2nd half of 2013 but also predicts interest rates will start rising near year end; but, also expects the Fed to adopt an "Evan's rule" policy (I had to look that one up) where adjustments would be made when unemployment or inflation hit certain levels (6.5 and 2.5, respectively); no decisions but he predicts first part of '13

Awesome, thanks you guys! I'm a major gardener so it makes me nervous to plant the poor shrubs out of season, but I know roots can be active until the soil itself stays below 40. Maybe I can stick to hardy evergreens & pad them with enough mulch to insulate the soil just a bit to help them get established. Or I like the idea of doing a few potted shrubs - could leave them for the buyer to plant in spring.

Finding the plants might be a challenge tho! I just got mulch to winterize my roses and the dudes at the Depot were like why are you buying mulch at this time of year. They do have all the edging materials available, so that's def doable.

Thanks again!

BBA in Marketing
14 years in market research & IT project manager

Own two properties - 1 primary rez and 1 SFH rental. Been a good experience so far - very nice family with 7 kids! The guy couldn't change a light switch cover though, so sometimes get panicky calls over small things. Rehabbed both of these along with my mom's house.

My primary rez was an REO that needed TONS of lipstick and mascara but luckily nothing too earthshattering (have a great inspector). My grandfather was in real estate - both flipping and land contracts - for 20-30 years, now I'm doing it full time with my retired dad as investor & handyman.

Does anyone know if you can embed a YouTube video on your business FB page?

Definitely be there as much as you can even with a GC. The great contractors I've worked with WANT to teach you about whatever they're working on (within reason - don't want to take too much of their time), and I've helped them creatively problem solve when on site. I work on other projects while I'm there, just outside or another room.

Aim for no more than 10% down and pay at milestones for a big jobs - pmt % should be proportionate to % work done. Mike Holmes says don't pay more than $2500 up front, even if that's not 10%. :) With milestone pmts, if you gotta axe a contractor there's no worries that you've paid for work they haven't done. Def take before/after/during pics too - good as proof of work for your future buyers or if you have to go to court with a contractor. Agree with everyone else to have a start & end date in the contract with pentalties AND bonuses. Also have a change order process & form - use for major changes on both sides (i.e. you want something extra or contractor says well this is gonna cost you X amt more).

Also, if the contract includes materials to be used, make sure they're actually using those materials. In MI, contractors are required to have a sales tax license if they charge markup on materials, so if that's your situation too you could ask for a copy or to at least see that license.

If anyone's doing permit work, MAKE SURE you're there when the city inspectors are there. Or if you can't make it, call the city to confirm the inspection results (or at least that it passed).