All Forum Posts by: Mike Reynolds

Chief, why is the sky blue? 

 Thanks for offering advice and welcome to BP.  I have a friend who is an investor up that way that is cash poor and needs to invest if you have any leads. CDS=dodo birds these days. Doesnt look like they will start giving 2+% interest anytime soon either. 

Being from Texas, I never understood the basement. That being said, I just built an NCAA practice gym that was underground below the water table.  It has 2 drilled wells with 750 GPM pumps in what we call the "dungeon". They are set at different levels so if one goes out, the other kicks in. There is an alarm on both in case they go out. Then we have another pump outside that kicks in in case they both go out. Each pump was around 400k to install. That doesnt count the sewer pump we have to get waste out of the building. 

Why do we have basements again? 

 That would be a no (maybe). Unless you have a rep on site that approved it in writing with a signature. On our jobs we do that but only after prior approval by the super, PM or owner. 

If they were union, that should have reflected in the initial bid. Here is what I have seen the last 2 years since covid though:

Companies bid the work pre/post covid. 

You/bank/owner/architect take your time getting all approvals and start construction 10-18 months late. 

Contractor still wants your business and agrees to original contract (often to his detriment) 

Supply chain issues + inflation = a bad deal for sub contractor. 

Contractor has labor and supply issues due to short staff and supply chain stoppage. He has to hire out causing price fluctuations. Get different suppliers. 

Keep in mind that all of this is to keep you in good graces so they can continue to work with you in the future. Talk to them and find out what happened. You might work out something amicable. Maybe not. If they did complete the work in this era of impossible logistics, then maybe they are keepers. We have had soooo many issues like this of late. 200 million in projects this year alone and only one of the contractors did we have to "cut loose" on a permanant basis. A few are on the border line for sure but most have really stepped up to the next to impossible odds they have faced the last 2 years. 

But a contract is a contract. This is just food for thought for what you would do. 

I havent been to McAllen in 15 years. I like the area though. Do they still have that Chinese place that cooks steaks off the carcass? That was awesome watching those chefs cut the steak off the cow and cooking it right in front of your eyes. 

Just curious. How have you been doing on this project?  

Forget Bastrop MLS. Look for off market though. Bastrop is smoking hot and about 40k an acre because of Elon Musk and other tech moving east of Austin. I have been looking for land there the last few months and it is crazy.

There was a tiny home place for sale on Loopnet several months ago (maybe longer?). I think they wanted like 1.5m for a place that had maybe 8 units. I dont know if it sold since most commercial banks would want like 1/2 down on that one. They used VRBO for that one so maybe the numbers were different than I imagine. I didnt look that close. I just remember that as a builder, I can build one for 50k. 8X50k=400k. That means they wanted 1.1M for the land. I did not want to spend that much as I thought they wanted a premium on the land. 

But I have a diiferent mindset since I am a builder. Have you thought about Boca Chica Tx? I feel like that will need some upscale short term property in the near future. 

 I stressed over this myself for a while. The best thing I did was hire a lawyer to do it. It wasnt that much. 500 I think. She probably lost money on me because I kept calling later asking "What about this or that?" She is great though and pats me on the head and tells me everything will be alright. 

My point is this. Do what your good at and leave the rest to professionals. If you are good at law then by all means do that. If not, this is a no brainer. Get the lawyer. You will save so much money down the road. 

It has been a strange year. So many ups and downs. I lost some family to covid including my mother. But I am thankful she is finally back home with my father. My wife was diagnosed with cancer so we are dealing with that also. She is a fighter though and wont quit ever so I am thankful for that too. 

It hasnt been all bad though. I had many good things happen too. I got a 25% raise at my W2 starting Jan 1. The people I work for are the greatest. I am a live to work guy on my W2 and these guys are the best I have ever worked for except my father. Very thankful for this as they let me take off whenever I need for my wife's treatments. 

I doubled income in less than 12 months with a unicorn I found last fall. And that is net income.  Very thankful of this but now I have to learn to pay state income tax (your welcome Arkansas [be thankful]). 

I am very thankful for BP. I have been members of forums for nearly 2 decades. It takes great diligence to keep one moderated from trolls and I dont know how these guys do it but they do. This is a seriously professional place built by and for other professionals. I think even if I didnt get my money back from being a pro many times over I would pay just for that reason alone. I was not even close to being a professional when I got here. I asked stupid questions. I got serious answers and have never been flamed here. I am a professional now and because of BP, I am not worried about the what if's anymore. I have made so many connections here. Lasting connections. @Dave Foster (as soon as I can get that realtor off dead center you will be the first I call) @Justin Windham (the check is in the mail next month and thank you for years of awesome service and advice. Still want it for the LLC too.)

But there are so many more like Jay and so many others that have helped along the way. I only hope I can help someone else as they have helped me. 

 I also knew an agent that can guide you with STRs in the area if the other agent didn't pan out. I own property on Bolivar and have used them for every piece. 

 I do have an agent I can recommend.