All Forum Posts by: Robert M.

@KENDRA J. I have been doing that on a SFH I purchased with the original intent to make it into student housing for a medical school nearby. It has been one of my best as far as callback for maintenance. I renovated the unit by replacing 32 inch doors to 36 inch and redid the bath so caregivers could nearly enter the shower area along with a wheel chair. I signed a 6 year lease and will soon be entering year 3. I would do as many of these as I could but the company is now focusing out of my Market area.

good luck.

I am not suggesting doing this for the roof but two ways to convert insoluble iron oxide( rust ) to a soluble form that is removed with a water rinse is to use either oxalic acid ( 5% solution on the rust for about 30 minutes( can wet towels so it adheres and does not run off) in water or a commercial product called "Iron Out" which is sodium hydrosulfide I think.

@Chris Sukala, If you search the site you will find many comments on "cash flow". Not as many on "profit" as that is usually a term used after tax calculations and it is not readily available early on. 

Consensus appears to be $100-$150 per "door". 

I went thru similar situation. Filed everything myself at court house. Tenant then lost job and refiled for chapter 7 asking courts to discharge all debt. Court said OK as long as they go to financial planning seminar. They did not so Court reversed decision and the debts are NOT discharged , Tomorrow I will go to JP and file claim and garnish future wages I hope.

Good luck and stay unemotional! its just business.

@Dillon Loomis Hey Dillon, Are you aware of and a member of the Northwest PA Apt Association's lease  template. Free to members (member ship is $50 a year I think)

Review by PA Attorney General and Associations attorney. I used it as a template and then covered issues as they came up to prevent reoccurance ( issues like neighbor complaints. dangerous dogs, trampolines, parking boats on my lawn , etc.)

Well water with bacteria should be treated to remove the bacteria as they are not normal in well water. Chlorinating the well and plumbing system (recirculate with a hose form spigot back into top of well) with a cup of "clorox" for a few hours then pumping it out and retesting after 2 weeks to ensure the treatment was effective is the correct approach. (how "high" was the bacteria, and were they coliforms?).

Is well cap above ground as it should be or is well buried?

How high is the arsenic?  What are local arsenic levels in well water? Arsenic is present in insecticides/fungicides. Any possibility of contamination form those?

Mold will grow first on leather (belts, shoes, jackets) as it is an organic product and absorbs water from the air. Many clothes are polyester/synthetic that do not readily support mold growth. 

Mold will not grow below 50% relative humidity. ( buy a meter) 

Most closets do not have good air circulation so humidity increases there. ( use the meter)

I would guess no air circulation or heat in closet.

The same thing happened to me. I filed the appropriate papers with copies of debts owed. The went from Chapter 7 to 13 which meant I would get nothing. However, the same attention to detail on their finances and there attitude caught up with them. They did not believe they needed to abide by a requirement to attend a financial management course in order to get the debts dismissed so the Judge in the case dismissed their claim for bankruptcy. 

Now I can file wage garnishment and they cannot protect themselves my filing bankruptcy.

However, I still have no money from debts from June 2014.

Good luck.

about 50 years ago I dismantled a freezer plant that used ammonia as a refridgerant runnning through steel pipe with cast fittings. The piping consisted of banks of horizontal piping on all four walls of many rooms. I used a heavy 6 or 8 pound hammer to break the fittings. It was very fast! 

@Debbie Arnold 

I am currently renting a SFH to an organization that places seniors (3) on medicaid into the home. They are provided with a 24/7 attendant and meals.

At their request, I modified the home for wheelchair accessibility, including widening doors, installing ramp, changing door knobs to door levers, and a major bathroom renovation including a huge wheel in shower ( nearly a wet room).

I was able to raise the rent to amortize all the improvements during the term of the 6 year lease. 

Happy with the arrangement. Let me know if you have any questions.