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All Forum Posts by: Robert Blanchard

Robert Blanchard has started 2 posts and replied 194 times.

It is growing on me but I keep wondering if that is stain or paint.  I might have to go view the property, though I am not in any way prepared to spend $365K for it.   

Average price in this area but they list it as a 6 bedroom with 2 non conforming basement rooms, so actually a 4 bed 3 bath house with a nicer shed/ workshop in the back yard. 

I was looking at the some listings via redfin and came across this kitchen. 

I have seen some interesting color schemes in the past but this one is one of the worst.  It looks like the cabinets needed at least one more coat of the red or orange paint or stain. 

Yes, those are yellow walls that you see in the background:

and green in the bedroom.  Notice the upper storage doors above the closet, another unique thing about this house.

This house is considered "hot" by redfin and since it is a good suburb of Denver, it will sell fast.  I just hope the at the new buyers have a good minds eye and choose some more.. um..neutral colors. 

Reminds me of when I went to visit a property of my Fathers that he got back.  It was a Mobile Home and the buyers were in it for just over a year.  I had helped my Father paint all of the walls a nice eggshell white and was surprised to find a bedroom painted pink. Not regular pink.. Pepto Bismal Pink.  I told my Father that he should just give a paint credit as I did not want to try and cover the color.  This would have been the 3rd time I had painted this MH in less than 3 years.   He agreed.  He lived 130 miles from the MH and I did a lot of the work for him. 

What is the strangest color of walls or cabinets that you have found in a property?

Congrats Joe. It sounds like you only had carrying and closing costs, thus no down payment.  Is this correct? If so, how did you get the house?

You can not even buy a Garage for that kind of money in the Denver Metro area.  Tempted to do out of state investing but the risks can be higher. 

Post: New Member from Denver, Colorado!

Robert BlanchardPosted
  • Littleton, CO
  • Posts 195
  • Votes 72

Hi from Littleton!

What school are you attending?  

How did you find Bigger Pockets?

What REIA are you attending?

Here is a link to the ones in Colorado, we have 2 larger ones in the Denver area:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/colorado-real-estate-investment-clubs/

I stumbled across it years ago and was lurking for awhile.  Then I decided to come back and register. 

Post: Tenant attending to repairs and then billing me?

Robert BlanchardPosted
  • Littleton, CO
  • Posts 195
  • Votes 72

@Nat C. I am confused to why you did not have a legal right to enter the property using your key to the property.

In some Leases, it states that a Landlord can enter without giving prior notice to repair items that might cause damage..IE water backing up, leaking or other issues that could cause damage.

Post: Success on our first investment!

Robert BlanchardPosted
  • Littleton, CO
  • Posts 195
  • Votes 72

Congrats!!!  Sometimes option B works out better in the short term. 

May the rest of your year in your RE investments be as good as the start.

Post: Increasing Rent

Robert BlanchardPosted
  • Littleton, CO
  • Posts 195
  • Votes 72

You stated that comparable rents are $600 without having a Garage. You could mention this when you send out your rent increase letters.   After 4 years of no rent increases, one is due even if an older tenant told you not to.  You bought the property to make money and increase your net worth.   Also, by raising the rents you can tell them that you  will do your best to make the place as nice as possible.  Are you planning any cosmetic improvements?  Any large ticket items like a Roof, Boiler, or AC needing attention?  You could always say that you are putting the extra rent in a fund for replacing such and such or painting the place.

I do like the stepping method mentioned above but I would do it annually instead of every 6 months.  If they are stable renters that are not demanding much, offer then a 2 year lease with a built in rent increase that is less than what you would have normally done.  This gives you the piece of mind of having a unit filled for 24 months and getting an increase at the 12 month mark. This also gives them piece of mind in that they know what the increase will be and can budget for it.  Not sure how rare 2 year leases are in your area. 

Please keep us updated on what amount you decide to raise the rent and if any of your renters complained. 

I am curious to why the previous Owner chose to sell if he/she has had 100% occupancy for 4 years.  Is he/she upgrading his portfolio? 

Happy Investing and wishing you a good year!

Post: Today's plan: make an offer

Robert BlanchardPosted
  • Littleton, CO
  • Posts 195
  • Votes 72

Do you know if the other Investor that purchased the first house that you were considering, is a cash buyer? If he does not use partners he should have that much liquid cash to purchase houses for under $50K. You mentioned that you knew that he owns 75 properties. How do you know this? Did he disclose this at REIA or did you search his name or business name on the counties website?

Good luck in your hunt for a deal. 

How much are you setting aside for each property for vacancies, unforeseen expenses and other things?

There are many threads on BP that go over the exact numbers and such.

What got you started in REI? Just wondering since you are under 30 years old. If you add 1 property a year for 15 years, you should not have a problem of owning over half of your properties free and clear. If I had gotten started earlier, the thought of having 20 rentals before reaching 50 years of age, really motivates me to accelerate my investing so I can have monthly rental checks coming to finance my retirement years.

Where did you find your current Contractor? Do you belong to a REIA? Sometimes, investors in a association will clue you in to what Contractors that they have used and are reliable and good. Sometimes it is better to pay a bit more for a better Contractor than use one that comes in with the lowest bid or hourly quote.

I have used the oil based Kilz with success, but switched to the Zinsser product after reading some good things about it. I think it is even a bit lower priced than the oil based Kilz if I remember right.  

 Here is a thread about a flipper trying to find out if the price quoted to paint cabinets was in line on not:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/24/topics/1666...

From what I have read on BP, painting cabinets can be a very trying experience. 

O/T :Have you already gotten the discount for signing up for a new Home Depot card? You get 10% or so off of your first purchase. If you plan ahead and meet your contractor there with your new card, it can add up quickly. Home Depot finally stopped approving new cards for me after I had 3 active accounts. You also can get special financing if you spend over a certain amount. Just be sure to pay it of before the time frame ends. You might know all of this but it is nice to see it in black and white for the lurkers that are just starting out.

Good luck on your flip and please post the finished pics once it is done in the Success Stories section of BP.