All Forum Posts by: Nick Stango

@Michael H., @Terri Pour-Rastegar is absolutely right! I've been a kitchen and bathroom remodeler for over 25 years and I always prefer plywood boxes to MDF. Plywood is also lighter in weight and holds up to water better, accepts nails and screws better, stains because it's real wood veneer as opposed to MDF which is usually a paper veneer that does not hold up to water, heat or weight, which is always a factor in kitchens and bathrooms. RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets are a great way to save money on materials as long as you are handy, patient and have the ability to determine if a cabinet box is structurally sound and is not going to fall apart when it is hung by itself with weight in it. I usually use hot glue and pin nails in addition to the assembly hardware provided. Most important thing is that the back panel (which is attached to the wall studs) is attached to the cabinets side panels, (which hold the shelves and weight) are assembled correctly! I pin nail side panels to the back panel and hot glue the back panel to the side panels behind of the cabinet. Estimate 20 to 30 mins per cabinet to assemble. Wall cabinets take less time then base cabinets due to the drawers for the base cabs. As you get through the learning curve you will get quicker at assembling. You can also YouTube How to assemble RTA cabinets? I hope this helps, good luck. Nick

welcome to BP @Donald Whitfield I'm a Philly boy too NE, living in Lower Bucks now. You found a great place to network, learn and give back. if you have any contractor questions let me know.

@Account Closed That would be great Sarah, Thank you, my e-mail: [email protected] 

Thanks to everyone for your replies, they are very much appreciated.

I have 20k in money from a private lender and the ability to use hard money too, but I not sure how to use both on the same deal and securing them both with the real estate at the same time.

I'm looking to get started with fix and flips, I'm not 100% on how to estimate what to offer on a foreclosure. Is there a rule that I can use? I've heard about 65% of ARV, is that minus repairs? So if an ARV is $200k x 65%= $130k minus say $30k for repairs, so I can use $100k for my ideal purchase price? Thank you in advance. Nick

@Sean O'Connor hey Sean, that sounds good, I will also check out WPB, my contact info is on my profile, give me a call. Thanks

@Darrell Shepherd great info Darrel, I do appreciated your detailed reply, so it looks like it's going to be a tricky situation to get everyone onto a deed especially with a HML and two private lenders. A non recorded deed sounds like that might work, but I'm not sure how to do one.

@Carlos O. can't rent the house for cash flow, i just refinanced and my monthly payment is still too high to rent with any positive cash flow. Although I did get a 15 year fixed at 3.875% so I'm paying over $1,000. per month in principle which is good, but my RE tax is $430. per month, expensive school district, and are kids are all out of school here. I really want to get started with buying foreclosures, fix and flips.

@Chris L. I forgot to tag you In my last post.

I can rent a townhouse for around $1800 per month, use the cash to get my fix and flip biz started, and see if I can find a duplex to house hack or flip. My wife and 25 year old daughter should have their RE licenses by then to save on the sales of the flips. There are lots of foreclosure properties becoming available lately.