All Forum Posts by: Rogers Smith

Big screw up. Roughing in plumbing today and plumber informed me that I had no drain for the kitchen sink. I made a common mistake beginning builders make; I changed the plans after sending it to the subs. In this case, I changed the kitchen layout, adding veggie sink to the island, while moving the main sink and dishwasher to an outside wall. I did not account for the fact that the wall has no nearby drain I can tap. Now I need to have the plumber chip concrete. I could have avoided this screw up by paying more attention.

And @Paul Boudreaux and @Bryan Knight, thank you both for your service to our Country. You guys are keeping us safe so we can invest in real estate.

Sounds good @Carmelo Gutierrez. Do you have your contractors' license? Where are you looking to build?

@Eric Robinson can you share more info on your spec? While my family is from Orlando,  I am completely unfamiliar with the market. Will you build in a subdivision, what size, what style, where do the comps fall? Simple intellectual curiosity, with a bit of trolling mixed in. 

I, like many small business owners (and REIs), chose this career path for my freedom and independence. I prefer not to entrust my financial well-being to employers, and I simply do not trust government to make decisions for me. I want independence from employers and big government, not more regulations. The financial crisis was caused by government regulations forcing lenders to make home loans to people who could never have afforded the loans without the regs. And freddie and fannie obviously joined the party, leading to the ultimate (and predictable) meltdown. And both sides of the political aisle were to blame. The Federal Government was at the epicenter of the problem, and now we want the Fed to create more regulations to ensure it does not happen again? I believe that is the cliche'd definition of insanity.

Indeed happy days @Account Closed! Dodd-Frank has been an incredible strain on our financial system for far too long. It placed far more strain on the small and community banks than it did on the mega banks, which could spread the regulatory compliance costs over a lot more customers.

With the ultimate repeal of Dodd-Frank, we should see banks finally start lending again, which certainly helps real estate investors. Further, with the proposed dismemberment of the horrid Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumers will start borrowing again.

It was a dumb regulation a decade ago, and it is a dumb regulation today. Yes, happy days.

@Steve Rozenberg good time to sell small-mid sized houses in our market. Larger houses are not moving very well, those with 3,500 square feet and larger. Rentals in the $1,000-1,400 per month range moving very well. Sweet spot for selling or renting are "workforce" houses in the 1,000-1,300 square foot range.

Hi @Paul Boudreaux. I cannot believe no one answered your kind introduction. So, from a fellow Gulf Coaster I bid you a hearty hello!

Agree with @Linda Weygant and @Tom Spaeth. I was romanced to try QBO, and I did not like it one bit. Very limited in reporting and quirky format. Went back to the desktop version.

Finally wrapping up a 

custom house in Abita Springs, LA. I am building this custom home for a friend. Even for a friend I would not suggest building a custom home. Specs are a lot for fun.