All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Smith

If your not going to conduct home inspections for a side business or business I think that it would not benefit you to get a license. I would suggest trying to speak with the realtors to find out what company does the most inspections in your area and reach out to them. Try to see if you can shadow them along their inspections and you can learn a lot depending on how many times you go along. Maybe say that you will get and set up the ladders during the inspections, offer some form of labor for them teaching their trade. This will work if your not going to work in the industry and compete against them with home inspections. Usually 4 or fewer inspectors hold the market in any area which realtors will be able to tell you.

Stuart, I would put a majority in different mutual funds and bonds that get a return better than 4% which would give you 100k a year. Put some money in real estate for the diversification and your fun money to mess around with and grow your portfolio. Would go with the more conservative approach with that kind of money because you could live off your investments without really doing anything by making conservative financial decisions.

I like the website link. Going back to the pricing I would think painting would be  100 a room material with 125 to 200 labor. 225 to 300 a room. 50 to 75 a closet. Trim painting is extra and install caulking at the top of the trim board and wall, it makes look better and it is cheap to do. Flooring seems reasonable. Countertops seem okay.  Cabinets would be 1500 to 2000 all in depends on quality. Overall the pricing seems in the ballpark and I think labor costs are lower in Texas. Post a picture once you are completed would be interesting to see the final product. The main thing is make sure the reputation of the companies and get references to reach out to if you have a bad feeling . A good company will not mind showing previously job photos or giving references.  

Maintenance does seem low considering the outside would need to be maintained along with anything that happens inside the units. Is there anyway to get the tenants to pay for the water, add meters etc.

What does it mean when a Mortgage and Finance company is the Owner of a property on the county website?

I would agree with Jeremy about leaving your job. Why don't you ask if the meet up can start 30 mins later or tell your employer that you will come in 30 mins earlier to keep the same amount of hours if that is possible.

Joseph, when you meet with contractors overtime you will be able to know right off the bat if they are a quality contractor. One thing that I notice is when I meet with contractors the guy who shows up and keeps telling you stories of other projects and how great they are isn't the one you want to go with. Handymen in my experience price per their schedule load so it depends on how busy they are but pay attention to the quality with handymen and understand what they are capable of doing because some will price cheap work without the experience and you will end up paying someone else to fix it.

Mark, the prices seem low but decent not sure if you want to find someone lower than what you have. Looks like your using contractors that are just making a profit so make sure you check references , the quality and be onsite when they start their work if you haven't worked with them before. Cabinets should go for 75-150 per piece to install depending on quality of cabinets.

Molly, if the only vents are the gable vents you would need to add more vents. Increase the ventilation and check for moisture thru bath fans which need to vent to the exterior or close to an opening etc. Once that is taken care of you can seal as Michael mentioned previously. I was taught from an inspector that the black on the underside of the roof is a stain from previous mold and if the right condition arise again, the mold would come back if not treated. If you paint everything and planning on selling the house an inspector will point out the paint in the attic to the potential buyer and they would want to know the history on this.

Ashley,

From the pictures, an engineer needs to provide direction to the problem for this house. I would think they will want new piers/foundations along with a new beam due to the shifting and rot at the end of the beam. Let us know the outcome and good luck.