All Forum Posts by: Guevara M.

Thanks for the advice.

Been thinking of doing some remolding in my master bathroom but not sure how it will effect the value of it. House was built within the last 5 years, just a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in a nice area & subdivision. Master bathroom has a garden tub and a kind of tight shower. Been thinking of getting rid of the tub & making one pretty big tiled shower with seating. The second bathroom has a tub in it. Plans are to stay here from anywhere from 5 to 10 years & then sell it or use it as rental property. Will this decrease the value of the home?

Thanks for the advice guys! Basic real estate investing knowledge is something I plan on spending time learning before I actually start bidding on properties. If I do partner up with my best friend we possible have someone who would lend us the money to purchase the property at no cost depending on the amount. We would use our own cash for the repairs. Once the property is sold then we would reimburse the money back to that person who lent us the money.

Quick question I have is are there a certain type of neighborhoods you guys like to stay away from or actually like looking for deals in? My thoughts are that I should look for properties in lower to mid income residential homes.

I have been on BP for a few years now but have never really gotten this serious about actually getting into the world of real estate investing. I'm at the point of my life where I need to start planning for my future rather than just worry about what I'm going to do this weekend for fun. 34 years old & single with no kids is a lot of fun but I'm ready for bigger things. Thanks for a great site you guys have here!!!

I've been interested in doing a flip for some time now but just haven't had the dedication it takes to actually get the ball moving until now. My best friend & I have been talking about doing a flip together. His mom is a home loan lender for a large bank & has been in the industry for several years. Her best friend is a really seasoned real estate agent who I have known for about 8 years. His parents have a friend who works for the local police department & he flips houses part time. Not real sure how long he has been doing it but from what I've been told he has been successful with his flips. I've met the guy before & he is a really nice person. Looking at using him as our mentor & in return we could go help him work on his flips on our days off. He does most of the work on his properties & I'm sure he would love a couple of extra hands helping out.

Am I moving forward in the right direction or should I step back & rethink things? Any advice would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks in Advance!

Replacing the windows while it's occupied won't be a problem. Everything else would have to wait till it is vacant. Most of the renovations will be done by myself and friends to cut costs. I figure if I at least upgrade the windows then the tenant will be ok with the increase in rent. My ultimate goal is to get the rent up to the average price as soon as possible.

Not real sure what to do in my situation & would like the advice of more experienced landlords. I have one rental property which is just a 1 bedroom, 1 bath town home/condo. It is a upstairs unit & is about 600 sq/ft. When I first purchased it back in 2005 I went through & gave it a quick, cheap make over. Replaced the carpet, toilet, vanity, sinks & paint throughout.

I've been into the unit that is downstairs from mine which is also being rented right now & it looks really nice compared to mine. Laminate wood flooring, updated appliances, tile floors in the kitchen/bath & paint. My unit looks old & outdated. I have white walls everywhere, maroon carpet, vinyl laminate flooring in kitchen/bath, old appliances, old looking kitchen counter tops, old wood cabinets, etc...

I started a thread a few days back about raising the rent because I am charging about $100 below average of all the other units in the same complex & it got me thinking if it would make sense to finally go in there & update the entire unit then start leasing it for the average price or higher.

Some things I would like to do is replace the old windows with new energy efficient ones. Only 5 windows in the unit. Also new flooring throughout with tile, update the kitchen cabinets, replace the kitchen counter tops, update the kitchen appliances, knock down the popcorn ceiling, paint throughout, etc...

Is this a good or bad idea? It is currently rented right now for $565 a month. I can probably just replace the windows & raise the rent to $600 & still keep the same tenant in there. Anything over $600 & she will probably leave. If I update the unit I would ask $685 for it. What do you guys recommend?

Thanks!

Thanks for all the help!

I've had the same tenant in my small 1 bedroom, 1 bath townhome for aout 6 years now. She's never gave me any problems. I've only rasied the rent once since she has been there from $525.00 to $565.00. I just found out last week that I am charging about $100.00 under the average rates at this complex. Since she has lived there I have replaced the water heater & complete a/c system. I plan on replacing the old worn out windows with new ones next. The landlord downstairs from me is renting her same unit for $675.00. What is the best way to go about rasing the rent on my current tenant? She's been doing month to month, no lease agreement.

Thanks!

My home warranty only covers the repairs on the A/C.

I think it has been leaking for some time because when I went to check it my tenant had put a towel near the bottom of the furnace & it was soaked. I'll have to go by today when I get out of work to do some more checking. I just hope it isn't too much water damage because I'm broke right now.

First off, I am not a expeirenced land lord at all. I have had my rental for 5 years but have never really had a serious problem with it. It's a 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo on the 2nd floor.

Yesterday afternoon my tenant calls me telling me that the lady that lives under her called her to let her know that her ceiling in the utility room was dropping water. So I go over & take a look at my unit that is in the same location just on top of hers & it seems that the a/c is leaking water. I'm sure it is the drain pan. I turned it off so that it wouldn't leak anymore. I have a home warranty so I called them & they are coming out today to fix it. ( I hope.)

My question is as a landloard, what other problems am I looking at? Am I going to have to repair the ceiling of the unit under mine? Any other problems that I might have with this water leak?