All Forum Posts by: Randy F.

If investors here are jumping to condemn the investor in the story, then the general public will certainly buy the story hook, line, an sinker. I didnt reach the same conclusion. Here's the comment I left on the site after reading link:

"This story as written, makes no sense. It states that the home went into foreclosure and goes on to say that the deed was signed over for $5000. If the home had been foreclosed on, Mabel didnt own it any longer. If it went up for auction, the bank had already taken posession, so why would an investor pay Mabel for a house that wasnt hers. Without a timeline, and all the facts, it is irresponsible for this story to have been written and published and the author should not have made the judgements that were made. "

The additional link given above doesnt clear it up. One of the questions I have is... Where was the family when this allegedly went down with the investor? Where were they when it went into foreclosure? If Mabel was paid $5000 and she no longer has any bank accounts, where did that money go? Hate to say it but I wouldnt just take the daughters word for any of this.

Thanks alot, John! I checked out your Salon link and ended up reading several articles. After reading thru comments(on my Iphone), I ended up testing the strength of my Otterbox by hurling my phone against the livingroom wall!

Ok, I didnt really do that. I guess Im one of those "lying", "old white rich conservatives", liberals love to hate. Hey! Wait a minute! I'm not rich! So I must be "stupid" as well, since I believe in personal responsibilty and that EVERYONE who works hard should be able to keep their money. Even the "evil" rich ones!

Yup... Real estate Investors are just another easy target for the Left's class warfare attack.

HAM SAMICH!!

DD is the best show on TV, Jack!

I bought a house with a lot that had a shop on it. Shop was full if mostly junk, but back under a pile was a wooden crate with an camo painted outboard motor in it. I pulled the cowling and it looked brand new inside. Turned out to a near new Johnson 6 hp motor. Called the guy I bought it from and told him of find. He said his son had owned the property and drowned when his commercial fishing boat sank. He asked if I hunted ducks... I said yes... He said to keep the motor.

The coolest thing I found was a box of old newspapers enclosed under a set of stairs, and the paper face up on top was from May 13, 1960... The day I was born.

I recommend checking on top of kitchen cabinets in every home you buy and after every tenant vacates a property. TWICE, I have found a bag of pot and Ive found pot pipes and pornographic videos and magazines there. Seems its a favorite hiding spot for peoples "little treasures".

You might consider purchasing a mold test kit. They are ten to fifteen bucks and readily available. They clue you to the presence of mold and if positive you can send it to a lab for about $50 to learn if its a toxic mold or not.

Dont be too alarmed if a test does show mold, as mold spores are everywhere and the majority of tests will grow mold. Being that you are showing some symptoms, it may be worthwhile to send to lab to see if its toxic.

I just Googled "mold test kit" and theres bunches of them. Walmart, Home depot, etc. You might do some research as it looks like lab fees and turn around times vary. Maybe your landlord will pay for it, at least if it comes back positve for toxic mold.

Thanks to all for sharing your beefs. I had hoped to gear this thread toward those with little knowledge, so explanations of te correct way to do some of these things would be appreciated, especially the biggies!

One thats worth highlighting is wires terminated or pigtailed inside walls or attics. This is a code violation and unsafe! All line voltage wiring must terminate in a box and be accessible. If a box with a blank cover is not desired then new wires must be pulled. No exceptions.

Much of what we've listed may seem obvious to us, but we see these things all the time. Obviously, the obvious isnt so obvious!

I looked at a property the other day that was in overall decent shape. One of the first things I noticed walking thru was the ridiculous amount of putty knife sized, heavy, chattered, painted over patches on the orange peel textured walls. They stuck out like a sore thumb. Funny thing is, with many of them the mud or spackle had shrunk in the screw sized hole and was still visable. I see this all the time.

Nail holes should be filled using the finger and put the filler just where you want it. So easy to make them go away and take no more time to do than making a mess with a putty knife.

I had a heating business in the eighties and went on a service call for an oil fired water heater that had quit running. I refused to work on it because it had single wall vent going outside thru a wall and the pipe was an inch away from a rough cut stud. There was an elbow outside and then single wall running up thru the eave with only two inches of clearance to combustibles. I told them they needed to rework the vent with metal bestos and they balked, saying it had been that way for fifteen years. I explained that as the wood dries out it has an increasingly lower flash point and eventually it will ignite. They didnt want to spend the money and said they would find someone else to fix it. I called later that week and they hadnt changed their mind.
Several weeks later my wife and I were driving by the place and I pointed it out saying, "that place is gonna burn down". A couple months later it did. I felt terrible, but I did all I could do.

Moral of the story... Be careful not to hold on too tightly to your money. I'd rather spend it wisely than have it ripped from my stingy little fingers.

How about laminate flooring in baths and kitchens? I say dont do it... Ever!
Especially baths with showers where humidity levels are high, and wet feet alone can swell joints and ruin it in a quick hurry. And a floating floor that expands & contracts is near impossible to keep sealed at tubs and showers. Mounting a toilet on a floating floor is asking for problems as well.

In a kitchen, all it takes is a leaky bag-o-garbage left sitting on laminate overnight, and the edges if the laminate will soak it up and joints will swell. A leak from a dishwasher can ruin the entire floor. Wet mopping will ruin laminate too.

Im not a fan of the look or feel of Allure, but Im sure glad its use is promoted on BP over laminate.