All Forum Posts by: John Collins
John Collins has started 45 posts and replied 311 times.
Post: $26,000 Foundation Repair Quote

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Frank Z.:
I'm in the Atlanta area and I got a quote from AquaGuard today for fixing the foundation of a house I'm interested in purchasing and it came out to $26,000. House is in pretty good shape outside of the foundation issues.
The house is on a hill and the part on the lower side of the hill is sinking into the ground. So far it has sank about 2 inches at the worst corner.
AquaGuard recommended putting in about 18 piers as one side of the 3,100sqft house needs to be jacked up. Is this price reasonable?
Just not enough information. No pictures. It's really a crapshoot asking with less information.
What I would do, get 3 quotes from foundation specialists and write down every detail of what they would do.
Get 2 quotes from other companies or licensed entities that do foundation, but don't specialize in them, and write down every detail of what they would do.
Is this only a sinking problem, or a situation where there is serious structural issues - cracks, broken ceiling, basement,etc? If it's only a sinking problem, you could just work on drainage. Put up gutters, grade the land with a cat 5 to slope down at sharper angles from the house, and put in some of the 80lb home depot concrete bags (the super strong stuff) in any problem areas. That will do a real good job if it's 2" now, you can measure again every 6 months and see how it progresses.
From what you've described in post 1, there is no need to jump into a $26k foundation repair, and I am someone who is very picky about structural issues and will always get them done IF NEED BE.
Post: Hard Money Limits @ $100,000 due to Covid-19

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Valentine Antony:
Yes! After about 3 months turn around, rented and refi to conventional.
Can you explain the exact process and % terms on your HM loan, then what you get on the conventional loan?
Yes, anytime markets become less liquid and are faced with uncertainty banks are going to tighten up. Right now we're dealing with virus uncertainty, but in the next 3-6 months we are dealing with economic unemployment and quite a few businesses won't make it out to the other end so keep looking at new, creative methods of financing. Banks are told to be skeptical and the transition from refinancing to conventional may be on worse terms (for the borrower) than before.
Post: Why Do You Invest in Texas? Specifically in McAllen or Houston?

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Luis Chug:
Great post! New investor here. For the Houston guys, how do you guys see the market going now with the trend of less jobs in oil and gas?. I am looking to get my first rental property on the next few months as soon as I find a good cash on cash property.
It will be fine, there's a big financial, medical, business and manufacturing sector that operates outside of O&G.
Post: Why Do You Invest in Texas? Specifically in McAllen or Houston?

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
When it comes to Houston ...
There's an infinite amount of skilled labor as far as building homes or doing renovations and a lot of well.. sensible, smart people you can do business with. Moreso than any other place in the South. You can cash flow on pricier properties and there's a lot of international clients, corporate or otherwise, who make good tenants. Houston might be an ugly, traffic congested city without an exciting past so it won't get a lot of hype, but it is the most diverse city , easy to work with regulations and is not going to stop growing in any direction. It's just very easy all around.
Post: Houses listed as owned by "Current Owner"

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Wayne Brooks:
@John Collins Here, that usually indicates it’s owned by a police officer, judge, politician, etc. who have the right to not have their address/ownership listed in the public records for personal protection reason
No doubt, or sometimes... just a rich dude.
Post: Anyone else forced to DIY during quarantine? Share your pics!

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
Originally posted by @John Collins:
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
Sorry to Debbie Downer you but Hmmm... no torpedo sand above the compacted gravel? Were the border stones laid down in mortar/cement? Can't see the set up holding ...
Well 4 inches of Cr 6 and 1 inch of stone dust instead of sand gives a much firmer base . And the border stones were locked in with stone dust and cement 3 to 1 mix dry packed and rolled with a vibratory drum roller . ( packs better than a little plate tamper) Cracks filled with a 2 to 1 mic of wash sand and hydraulic cement dry packed . The patio will out last me . Not my first rodeo
=] Just had to ask
Post: Brand new Houston duplexes

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Ryan Johnson:
Sunnyside can still be a little rough but the area has actually appreciated very well in the last few years. There are no less than 50 new builds going up in that neighborhood right now. I’ve done a flip and spec new build in the sunnyside neighborhood recently.
Do you plan on house hacking this duplex or renting it out?
I'm finding a lot of these newer developments are flatlining and not really appreciating in rouger areas - there's too much competition and overdevelopment. Houston has a rental vacancy well above national avg. There's so much land and expansion into the suburbs from all directions. Take East Downtown for example, appreciated for a while, had the advatnage of the bbva stadium and a cultural vibe and a supposedly young millenial crowd, but prices have stagnated and there's a lot of vacancy there now.
I would buy if it's cash flowing and working with your budget , but don't count on a big appreciation bump.
Post: Anyone else forced to DIY during quarantine? Share your pics!

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Brian Ellis:
Beautiful windows, do you have pics of what they were like before? I have enough propertie swhere I would like to go from single pane to double and make them a little larger but could only justify upgrading if I do install myself (with helper).
Post: Anyone else forced to DIY during quarantine? Share your pics!

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:
Sorry to Debbie Downer you but Hmmm... no torpedo sand above the compacted gravel? Were the border stones laid down in mortar/cement? Can't see the set up holding ...
Post: Houses listed as owned by "Current Owner"

- Investor
- Tx, Ga
- Posts 313
- Votes 337
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
Originally posted by @John Collins:
Originally posted by @Account Closed:
If you're trying to find out who owns a property, try the tax assessor website. Sometimes, if you click around, you can find where it says "pay your bill" and you put in the address and it shows you their bill, which will include the mailing address and name of who pays the tax bill. Sometimes it will be someone's lawyer's office, or the name of their trust or LLC, etc., but you can often get lucky this way.
This is the county tax assessor website, will normally always have a name or LLC it was bought under.
Try Googling both the address of the property, and the address or LLC on the tax bill. You can also try searching the fictitious name data base or business listings, and you may find out the names behind the LLC or trust. You can also search the county clerk's office for the property for any deeds filed and if it's under a living trust, a copy of the trust will have to be on file with the deed, even if the deed is in the name of the trust.
Never say die.
Looks like I'll be paying a visit to the county clerk's office, because the online world has turned up nothing.