All Forum Posts by: Michael McCartney

On the website it has the event at the Omni Hotel. Can you please confirm which location is correct ? 

It's valued at $162k but he is selling it for $165k -$175k? The sister wants to sell it fast because she needs money but you're coming in with no money?

Am I understanding that correctly?

I would say go for it. I converted my garage a few months ago and am living in it while I rent out the main house. It seems like it would be easier for your aunt to manage the garage in the back than a separate rental. 

One thing to consider is converting the garage into a studio and have the tenants park in the street or in the driveway that leads to the garage. You could charge a lot more than $100 a month. 

I know my response has nothing to do with your question but just thought I would throw that out there. :)

I actually just got done replacing my line. It was about 100 ft of sewer pipe and I did a lot of the work myself. I did have a plumber come out and walk me through what I needed to do. The plumber quoted me $5k to do the entire job from the beginning.  I trenched myself and installed most of the pipes myself and the entire job cost just under $1k.

If you have the time I would hire someone at $10 an hour to trench the old sewer pipe (that will be a majority of your cost) and have the plumber come and reinstall the pipe. It will be a lot cheaper if you have everything trenched for the plumber.

Also check with the neighborhood association (if there is one). I live in a neighborhood in San Antonio where the association (not an HOA) is notorious for making a stink about things like this and they will not make it easy on you. If there is one I would suggest going to a meeting and explain what you're trying to do.

If the wood and design of your cabinets are still good I would just have someone refinish them, maybe paint them and replace the knobs. That option would be a lot cheaper and probably still look really good. 

My name is Michael and I live in San Antonio, Texas. I like to run, bike, play ultimate Frisbee and do anything outdoors. I am a credit analyst at a local bank and have been working at the bank in various positions since I was in college. I wanted to get into the rental real estate market so I bought a house a few years ago.

I am very pleased with the house I got because it functioned like a duplex when I got it. In addition to the 1st floor of the house it had a livable area on the second floor with its own full bath, kitchen and separate entrance. My plan was to move in the top and rent out the bottom to pay for my mortgage but when I found a good renter she had to have a separate place for her brother, so I agreed to rent out the entire house to them. The house also came with a detached garage that I recently finished converting into a studio apartment that I live in. In taking on that project of the conversion I have really taken a liking to the fixing-up of houses. I am saving now to purchase another property and will hopefully repeat something similar to what I did the first time. I would definitely consider myself a newbie investor but hopefully that will change down the line. http://m.imgur.com/a/ZCi8d I made a album of progress pics for the studio conversion.

Listened to a few pod casts and decided to sign up. Looking forward to learning a lot here.