All Forum Posts by: Randy F.

Not sure what you mean by plywood "finish".

Assuming it is plywood installed over concrete, carpet and pad would trap no more moisture than what would be found between plywood and concrete.
The question is... Is there really a moisture problem in the slab?

An effective way to check for moisture in the slab is to tape down a 2' square piece of plastic on the slab and leave it for a day or so. If there is moisture in the concrete condensation will show on the underside of plastic. I guess you could try the same atop the plywood, but Id go 4' square and you may have to leave it there for several days.

Hopefully, you dont have a moisture problem as that is a much bigger issue than a cold slab. If not, carpet and pad will make a huge difference. The pad moreso than the carpet. I recommend going to carpet dealers to check on the best pad not only for insulating value but for the carpet you want to install. Certain pads are not recommended for a particular carpet type. Lowes and HD typically only carry rebond and that may not be best option for say a berber.

Yup... I get it. We all gotta go with our gut and do what we gotta do!

"calculated risk" is where its at. Thats what is great about this site and everyones willingness to share their experience.

When there is something lacking in our lives, it almost always has something to do with balance. My relationship suffers when I work too hard, and my bank account suffers when I play too hard. And more often than not, when I attempt to rectify the problem I over-compensate.

Same can be true in landlording. The landlord who comes off sounding as though his tenants are just a necessary evil, may be coming from a place where he attempted to be accomodating or even befriend his tenants, but rather than being appreciated as a good landlord, was taken advantage of.

There are some LLs who simply draw a hard line between business and their personal lives. Yes, tenants are their customers, but they are providing clean, safe housing in return for rent. Its that simple an they dont have time to be a friend or babysitter for their tenants. They likely learned early on that if hard lines arent drawn in the LL/tenant relationship, tenants will want and expect more and more, eating up time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

You make some good points for sure. The bottom line is that it would do us all good to continually work to find balance in ALL areas of our lives. And, we should be slow to judge others, as their perspective may not be wrong... Just different than our own.

Steven, You made a decision that you felt was in your best interest and it worked out well for you. Thats awesome! It showed some creative thinking on your part.

Please keep in mind that BP members giving of their opinions and advice is done with the best intentions. In this instance, it wasnt about knocking how you chose to handle your situation, rather to point out the potential downside. I've been rehabbing properties for thirty years and my own house has ALWAYS taken the back burner. Its actually an inside joke amoung tradesmen that their own work never gets done.

There are new folks coming to BP every day looking to get started with limited resources. There are likely many who can get a mortgage and make a down payment but dont have the cash for rehab. I certainly wouldnt recommend that they go into a deal with the intent of using this strategy to get the needed repairs done. While it worked for you, i believe that the odds would not be in their favor for a positive outcome.

How often do range hoods fail? Not very often! Ever notice how quickly condensation fogs windows just from boiling up a pot of spaghetti noodles? Or how bout the tenant who frys everything? Ever have to wash that greasy, grimey, gooey mess off cabinets? And a range hood can mean the differnence between smelling that fried fish for hours, or for days. One thing if its SF, but in MF the neighbors get to smell the fish as well.

Thats great, as long as it goes as planned. I would definitely approach this situation as if you were contracting with a contractor to perform the work. It should specify what work is to be done and by what date. An inspection should be done and contract should say that if after x date y work is not completed, full rent must be paid in full.

A guy works construction all day and when he gets home says, "I put in a full day! The last thing I wanna do is hang cabinets or paint the livingroom. Ill do it tomorrow". The next day same thing... And the next...
Come the weekend and he decides to reward himself for a hard week and goes fishing. Come the end of the month and all he's done is fill nail holes!

Updated: 11:45AM, 03/03/2013
one more thing is what happen if I paid him $12k and he send me a cancellation of the contract? It stated on the contract ""Either party may terminate this Agreement for cause immediately upon written notice.""
Edited: 03/03/2013 at 11:45AM by Nate Wong

"for cause" ... If you have met your obligations under the contract you have nothing to worry about.

It's difficult to offer an opinion or lend advice without all the information. I get frustrated just reading this thread, so I can imagine how frustrated you must be, Nate. BUT, the input given is only as good as the information you provide.

Ive read thru this thread twice, and the only info given that leads me to believe your contractor could be in breach of contract is that he is slow. You did state that there is an end date and penalty in contract but havent stated what that date is or how much work is actually completed.

You stated that he was given a $25K downstroke for materials, but it sounds like you dont know how much of that material has been purchased. You listed milestones and payments due at completion of those milestones, but havent told us if any have been met. It sounds like the roofing has been completed. Was a part of the initial $25K to cover that labor?

One of your statements sound like you already tried to complain to contractors board, but he has receipts for materials. Have you seen the receipts? Did you tell him of your concerns about how much time hes spending on job and that you need to audit the job in order to be comfortable moving forward, or did you put him on the defensive and cause him to believe that you werent going to meet YOUR obligations.

Dont take this as an accusation... I dont have enough info to make a judgement... I would simply point out that human nature leads some to ask questions simply to hear what they want or need to hear. If one asks enough people, he will get the answer hes looking for. Again, im noy saying this is what you are doing, but advice is being given without enough info to based that advice on. A great many assumptions are being made.

That said, it does at first blush appear that he may have too many irons in the fire at one time, and since we have all seen this happen. When we factor in all the horror stories we have either experienced ourselves or heard of second hand, its easy to jump yo conclusions. However, it does none of us any good to just assume its anoter bad contractor without all the information!

Change orders are huge. They need to be addressed in detail in contracts. Unforseen complications can turn even the beat laid plans upside down. It isnt just the time, its how that cost is covered and how it can complicate even the most detailed contract if not properly handled. When a contractor bids a job, he adds a percentage to the job to cover the small setbacks and over-runs, but problems can be encountered that can eat the cushion up in a hurry. Anything over $200 in time and/or materials, an estimate is written and provided to customer for approval. The work is done and invoice generated for that work as if it were a seperate job. The only way in which that work effects the contract is possibly the completion date. If it does, an agreement is made at that time and the target date of completion is changed and initialed on contract.

One more point... A good contractor is likely a busy one. And he is no different than an investor who looks to have as many deals in the works as he can handle at one time. There are limits to what any person or company can handle and the closer we get to those limits, the least it takes to screw up even the best laid plans.

I would check with your refuse company and see what their policy is on locks on dumpster. Ive seen this done and tenants are issued key. If they loose it it costs $20 to get a new one.

If there is no bottom rail... Spindles run directly into treads... I'd just carpet the stairs. Doesnt sound like youre looking to rebuild anything at this point. On commercial properties i dont recomend anything on stairs other than carpet, rubber, or select textured stones. Most everything else is too slippery and a liabilty. Using flooring that requires any kind of bulky nosings are dangerous as well. May as well just push your tenants down the stairs and get the lawsuits out of the way!!