All Forum Posts by: Joe Cummings

My grandmother owned a lot of real estate and held the morgages on a lot of stuff she sold. She never even had a driver's license. She could have because we were "Black Bumper" Pa Dutch. She always got rides from family or friends. So it can be done.

That being said, there are ways around the DMV thing. Maine used to send you a registration to your house (In any state) with nothing more than a bill of sale (No title up there for anything older than 10 years) They required insurance but didn't ask for proof, although I think they ask for insurance now. Of course, if you drove it into Maine, you'd have to get it inspected.

West Virginia is kind of easy to deal with too. A couple years ago I bought a $50,000 Landoll Trailer down there and registered it to my home address in Pa with a permanent tag, and they never even looked asked for my drivers license.

Read up on some of the southern states DMV sites. Keep in mind you can only get a ticket for No/expired inspection when you are in the state that your vehicle is registered in. It's kind of a legal loophole for people that travel for long periods of time. 

These resi guys are a trip. Now and again I get stuck working with one on a municipal or industrial job. Simple things like changing a transformer connection, repairing a magnetic motor starter, or changing the voltage on a motor, baffle them for the most part. You tell them to do something but then you got to lead them by the hand. Sometimes I play stupid and ask them about something like power factor or I2R losses. My God does the ******** ever start then.

20 G sounds high, unless it's something in Manhattan.

Get it cheap, go over there with your backhoe (everybody has a backhoe right?) and get careless working around the laterals for the utilities. Apologize a lot and tell them you'll fix it all back up as soon as you can scrape some money up. Go get some bottled water and one of those 88 dollar generators that are going on sale at Harbor Freight next week and drop it off to them (Just to be nice).

Do your homework well, here just the hookup fee for the sewer (Not the permit mind you, the permits are additional) is almost $5,000

That is before you can even get a permit, or take one bucket full of dirt with the backhoe

“How to make a million dollars: First, get a million dollars.” 

-- Steve Martin

Damn you did almost twice as good as Steve :)

It's hard to beat price with the big box stores. Especially when you are a new rehabber/investor and buying in small quanities. 

That being said, smaller local suppliers can beat them on service if they are good. As you get to know your area and the suppliers you build relationships. Nothing like calling a "friend" when you are in a jam and need something that's oddball or some other problem you need to solve. You don't get help like that from the staff at HD who might have been selling shoes at Walmart 6 months ago.

Not that Detroit is in my comfort level (Too far away). I don't know anything about Shea, but I enjoy his videos. Seems like a real world view of investing in cheap houses and the problems with tenants, copper thieves, and other bull crap involved.

Has this always been a problem with this boiler installation, or is this a problem that developed over time?

Do you live close enough to close the feed-water valve and monitor the system to see if it holds pressure?

Is there an unusual amount of condensation on the house windows? I had a boiler leaking between sections one time and it drove me nuts finding the leak. Turns out the water that was leaking was all turning to vapor. Only after I removed the cover from the boiler did I find the leak. It had been leaking so long one of the tie bolts that hold the boiler sections together was rusted through. Damn thing never spilled a drop on the floor.

I had to replace the boiler on that one, but in a way I was relieved. I thought the piping in the slab was leaking. (Levittown house)

Is it a ceiling mounted tank like this?

Or one of these?

Make sure the expansion tank is hooked up correctly. There should be a specific port on the boiler for it.