All Forum Posts by: Mike Baker

@Angel Rosado We will have to get permits and what not with the town we live in, and then it will have to be reassessed for tax reasons when the studio is done. We will see at that point what the city/county wants to call it.

Yes, we did have a renter in place for the other side of the duplex as well.

Once again, thanks for the encouragement.

Makes us chomp at the bit for the next deal.

Thanks for the words of encouragement. My wife and I greatly appreciate them.

@Bryan C. We bought about 4 blocks from where we used to live.

@Mark Elliott I'm sure, like anywhere, there are great inspectors. The ones in my area have somewhat of  a reputation otherwise. I just haven't met that great one yet. No offense intended. 

I'm sure you have met a plumber or two, who just make you shake your head.

@Joel Somerset I have thought about getting my license, but I think not.

So here I sit in the Duplex my wife and finally closed on. What a ride this was.

So about 3 months ago we put our house on the market, here in Montana, with the intention of buying a multifamily of some kind to start our investing career.

Within about 2 weeks we had our house under contract, and began that process. So we knew we needed to step up our search. Property in our area is very expensive so we weren't just going to jump on anything, but we did feel the pressure of living in our motorhome if we didn't get serious. So our realtor (whom I was very impressed with) found a few places for us to look at. So began the offer process. I think we had 6-8 offers going at one time. my wife and I saw numbers in our sleep at that point.

One of those offers was this duplex. we originally offered $65000 less then asking, but sent comps along with the offer to justify the  price. The counteroffer came back at $5000 less then asking so we just ignored it and moved on to the next property.

About 2 weeks later we still did not have a place under contract to move to, and the closing on our house was coming fast, when the realtor from the duplex called our realtor and asked if we were still looking for a place. Which, of course we were.

I should mention the selling Realtor is young and brand new. Our realtor is very seasoned and confident. Just keep that in mind.

So he asks if we would like to offer again, and he tells our realtor that the owners will take $45000 under asking. So I ran the numbers and the deal was still doable, at those numbers. So wrote the offer and sent it over.
The selling Realtor informed us that he had an open house to do that weekend on the duplex and that if he didn't get  higher offer he would present it.

I called bullcrap at that time. he had never mentioned the open house before that point and I had my realtor inform him that the offer was good for 24 hours, and that I didn't appreciate being played. He scrambled to try to justify his actions, but 24 hours later the deal was dead.

One week later, he came crawling back to ask us to offer again. He had set the price on the house and was hoping a cash buyer would just come in and pick it up for his asking.

He was an idiot.

We did offer and did get it form $45000 less then asking. 

We did end up living in our motorhome for about 2 weeks since our closing got pushed back 4 times and we had to close on our house in that timeframe. 3 of those times were due to stupidity from the selling Realtor. The sellers owed money at closing that he didn't tell them about, in the end, because he was scared to say anything.

He was so bad, that it almost inspired me to become a realtor myself.

This of course does not account for the $3000 in work I ended up doing on  our old house, that wasn't planned or the fact that I had to endure 2  different Home inspections ( both were completely different lists, and only 2 weeks apart) and get the runaround from a Radon guy on the old house either. And People wonder why I don't like home inspectors.

But the point is, we have a duplex with a renter in place, and a large storage area that we are going to convert into a studio apartment.

What do you call a duplex with a studio? I wouldn't think it was a true triplex.

My wife and I owe a huge thank you to the Biggerpockets community. It was the info here that kept us moving forward. Thanks!

As a Service Plumber I do a lot of these inspections yearly for landlords, on the plumbing side of course.

Just a quick note on plumbing.

If you are going to take the time to go through the house, take the time to tighten the stops.

For those who don't know what a stop is. They are the off/on valve under the sink or behind the toilet for the water supply. Right behind the handle is what's called the "packing nut". It comes loose over time, and can leak. Usually slow, but it will pick up over time.

Two small wrenches and a minute or two is all it takes.

You will be surprised just how loose they are when you start tightening these, but it can save a lot of headache down the road. 

It is code to test PVC lines. You can test with water, air, or in some cases the peppermint test, looking for potential leaks in the system. If you "blow up" the PVC line during a test, then your doing it wrong. Don't try it on your own unless you know what your doing or you have a buddy that's a plumber to help you.

As far as cameras go, getting a plumber with his own camera is the better way to go. It means he cares about his business if he was willing to drop the money on such an expensive piece of equipment, and he will do a better job.

You can ask for a copy of the filming, as every camera I have seen or used, records. They also have the ability to work with a locator, in a lot of cases, and you can locate the head outside of the house to "map" the direction of you sewer line, if you like.

The newer cameras have HD, and you can locate damage to the pipe and clogs, and lost drain snake heads, from time to time. Sewer lines are a whole other world.

Montana has a number of vacation rentals and vacation rental opportunities, but our prices are pretty high.

There are those diamonds in the rough if you are willing to dig deep enough.

I am a Service Plumber by trade, and I work on high end homes. This means I am by myself a lot. I too listen to podcasts constantly, and new info I can cram in my noggin goes there. Excitement is great.

I would suggest you read "The 10X Rule" by Grant Cardone.

he really shows how to use that excitement to your benefit.

Keep moving forward

All great suggestions in the above posts.

I would add that you counter with "work will be done in a professional manner and inspected by a licensed professional"

I don't think it would break the bank to pay a plumber for 1-1.5 hours just to come check the work and give you a quick report that its all good.

@Peter Sanchez is on the right track.

Water Softener companies do not have to be licensed plumbers, and because they are filling a niche they can charge a higher premium.

Im not saying they don't do good work, ( I have come in behind quite a few of them) but amazingly enough, you could very well get a better rate from a local plumber. The bonus side is you will need the plumber more in the long run anyway.  

If you can DIY, then water softeners are not to terrible to put in, but remember you get what you pay for. Home Depots stuff is lesser quality then your plumbing shop will stock.

@Jay Hinrichs is absolutely right.

I am a newbie and a lowly service plumber, but once upon a time I worked in sales, and I would have to say that my sales training has definitely helped when dealing with owners.

Also I would have to say the owner seems on guard. I would agree she's probably been hounded, or had a bad experience.

Just ask her straight up (respectfully, of course) what the issue is, and then ask how you can help. She thinks your there to put the screws to her. Sell her on the fact that your not.

I do continue to read sales books to this day. It is a perishable skill