All Forum Posts by: Kevin Priester

Like she said there are companies out there that provide POFs..the unfortunate part is that most of them charge a fee.

We as unlicensed investors(wholesalers) walk and operate in the gray area everyday. From Bandit signs to wholesaling contracts...is all bending the law..and could be interpreted as illegal.

If we want to use a property that we don't own, or don't have under contract. It will save us all a lot of hassle from upset realtors and property owners if you just ask permission to market the property before you just go and start marketing...

I too would be upset if Joe just was marketing my property without my permission....These are tactics that give the business a black eye. (IMO)

Phillip,

You definately what to speak with an agreesive mortgage broker...one that has lenders with less than perfect credit...There are still a few out there...and more and more pop up each month.

But to in addition, I would speak with a personal finance expert. Age is certainly a factor and things do happen in real estate....You dont have a lot of time to make up should your entire retirement nest be at risk...

Aaron,

That is the catch....It will cost a little more to use insured contractors...I am one of them...but it seems like you are saving money by using unlicensed, uninsured handyman until something happens that puts your entire business in jeopordy.

As investors we have to find a happy medium between covering our butts and finding a realiable contractor at a reasonable cost.

Rusty is right again...once the county steps in, they are going to make you bring everything up to code..Which is why if you are not changing the the structure, or adding square footage, you might want to try and get it done internally. From the photos you posted its all cosmetic damage..some drywall paint cabinets....back to new....Good Luck

We all seem to make sure that a contractor has General Liability when doing a rehab. But some thing that we most of the time overlook is Workers compensation and commercial Auto.

If one of a contractor's employees falls off the roof on your property and a W/C policy is not in place. That employee can go after you for damages. You must find out if your contractor has Workers comp. If not you need to have an Insurance Waiver form that indemnifies you from any accidents or injuries.

And What happens if your contractor is leaving your job with his company signs all over his vehicle and has an deadly accident at the next corner. He does not have commercial auto insurance, but tells the officer he was working at your house.

Did I get your attention yet? In today's litigation happy society...we have to protect ourselves....Insurance policies are a must

Settle down boys....you are all right!! and the bottom line is that there is no wrong way to deal with a contractor. We as investors have to find what works for us.... But my opinion for Sharad is if you have a contractor that is meeting all of your requirements then its probably going to be better for you to stick with him.

If you feel that he quote on the next project is too high then negotiate with him until you get to a number that works for you. Finding a good contractor that does good work and fits your budget is not the easiest task in the world. Once you find one it maybe time to stop shopping. This will also free up your time to find more properties because your not interviewing other contractors.

This route will also allow you to groom your contractor on how you expect your projects to run....You will feel better about giving that contractor an initial draw. But never ever go above 25%...

That's my two cents

I would think that when you pull a permit on a commercial dwelling you will have to hire a general contractor. That general contractor will be responsible for pulling the permits. With that being said the contractor should be aware of the requirements necessary to satisfy the construction codes for for the municipality that the property is in and the burden of obtaining the report should be included in his bid to complete the work.

Bryan

Rusty is right the load bearing joist don't seemed to be burned, but when you go to pull your permits(assuming you will)that local government is more than likely going to make sure that they cover their butts and ask you to get an engineers report. Its 50/50...
If it were me...I would get it repaired without the permits.

Hey Travis....Welcome to BP....Ditto on What Brian said...its a great place to be.