All Forum Posts by: Ryan Mertz

Being a handy man or attempting to be,you should not be allowed to ask this question But since you did may be the best thing you could bring with you besides tool box is a real handy man. lol
Of course you will need plumbing tools.
Here is a list of things you should buy if you own homes!

A handy man book from home depot or the like!
anything that has to do with plumbing.
which may seem like a lot but really if you know what you are getting into you will either have it in your garage or you will be able to make the proper list to go to the supply store and get everything you need at one trip.

My 1st year doing home remodeling left me spending alot of time and money going to home depot because I would not know what the hell I was doing.
Not that I couldnt do the job just didnt have the experience yet.

If you have a home and you do not know how to do plumbing i suggest you learn and practice.
Buy some copper pipe and some fittings and get your torch out and learn how to solder!
You can just practice so that you know the process.

True story..
My mothers waterline to her air condition unit was leaking.
She didnt notice til quite some time and when she did she called some one out because she "thought it was bad" because there was a puddle of water . The plumber told her $300 to fix , he told her he had to do this and that and bunch of stuff that had he confused and worried and frantic to get it fixe ASAP. She called me and I got on the phone with the guy and told him FLAT OUT TO " FxCK OFF" sorry guys he was trying to rip off my mother.
I went to my moms house and all the problem was is that the coupling/union wasnt soldered correctly (by the installer)
It cost me $2.00 to fix!!!

YES $2. and 5 minutes of my time!!
I had fittings in my tool box,my torch and all my plumbing tools, wire brish ,sand paper, flux,silver solder, and a piece of wonder bread from my mothers bread box to stop the water from messing my soldering up.

I did this over 3 years ago and it hasnt leaked since.

Plumbing isnt really a big deal to learn and experiment.
I would never advise to do gas or electricity jobs because this is something you really cant practice at and could cause major damage and loss of lifes.

But water "usually" if not done correctly will have a tiny leak that will not be unnoticed if you follow these plumbing steps
1.shut off water
2. make sure your pipes are clean
3.make sure fitting are tight
4. solder correctly
5.check fitting to see if the solder reacted into the fitting
(fitting sometimes come pre-soldered)<-- i dont recommend these but can be used!
6.If you think everything looks good and is ready for water flow turn the water back on.
sometimes its better to have someone help you turn it back on so you will be right there by the work you just did to be able to yell " TURN IT OFF" if you suspect or see a leak.
If there is no leak you should be good.
Dont leave the house for a while after the job is done and if you do leave shut the water off again so if anything unexpected happens such as the fittings dont hold the water pressure and the pipes break free you wont come back to your house under water.
I had a professional plumber working on a property I was remodeling. I didnt know anything about plumbing at the time so i contracted the "so called PRO" to a bath room remodel job I was hired to do. It was just toilet and sink!
I had to leave the house to go to another job and the plumber called and said he was done. I asked him to double check his work and lock up. He had the nerve to giggle and say its all good to go.
Tell me why the toilet leaked into the basement for hours because this dumb dude didnt set the wax ring correctly.
I worked for free after fixing the mess this PRO caused.
I was told to sue but I just took the loss and called it a bad day.

As far as other materials and tools
dry wall putty
(touch up paint)
caulk
Roofing MASTIC <--- this is a must for roof maintaining
Also bring garbage bags
and a long hose if you dont have one.

Sorry for the long post just wanted you up and coming handy men to get your stuff right!!

Altogether

Steve is right in about the EPDM. There are 2 roofs that you would want your residential flat roof to be. Rubber or Torch down. If you cant figure out roof joints and flashing than this would be a very bad house altogether. I dont think there were to many scab workers back in the day. But I may be wrong.
Anyways I would go with a rubber roof. You can get the instructions on how to install a rubber roof anywhere.Have a contractor come out and explain what he is going to do.

He will / should take a "test cut" and find out how "built up the roof is and with what".
Then the test cut be repaired and sealed.
All this should be free or maybe $50-$150 if your in a area where there isnt much competition. If your in Michigan I got your back others just email me.

I maybe given away some secrets here .But the truth of it is milliong dollar flat roofing systems are and can be designed and constructed by "CRACK HEADS" and young men who get scabbed that dont remember what they are being told to do as we speak

Advice to investors and rehabbers!

Older homes may have asbestos insulation so if you have to find some "workers" to come tear off the roof for you its probably best to spare your health just in case ( i dont know if that sounds right, but I probably tore out asbestos or worse without knowing just to make a fast dollar and I have no one to blame but society and myself)
Back to the subject at hand.
A roof isnt that expensive if you know how to do it yourself and can get the tear off done. Just my opinion others may feel different because roofers do and will make a lot of money of a job regardless if you know whats going on or not. Just costly labor for a job most are very affraid of!!

If you just have to do repairs. Email me pictures of your job and ill guide you through!!

Kevin,

Can we become colleagues?
I would like to keep in touch and possibly have you coach my through my 1st deal. Split profits 50/50. I am generating some seller leads , and getting a few buyers but nothing serious yet.

Should I try and tie up properties as they come in regardless if I think I can deal with them or not?
Lets keep in touch ...thanks KEVIN!
I would appreciate it so much!
Not to sound desperate but I am currently laid off and out of unemployment benefits. I am a journeyman roofer now loosing my life due to my financial situation.
I also have a baby due this month and need to generate some sort of income.
I hope this shows that I am not a one hit wonder and that I would like to fulfill a career in REAL ESTATE
I have set up a web site and a LLC now I need to start making deals .

I have worked on FLAT ROOFING SYSTEMS for the past 10 years. I specialize in LEAKS. So I know all there is to know.I am a union journyman roofer/waterproofer in Detroit.
I have worked on buildings that held millions of dollars worth of property and equipment. Flat roofing systems if constructed correctly will last many years (15-50) without much maintanence .and only a yearly check up and maintainence will keep your roof alive FOR EVER. YES FOREVER. Why do you think they put flat roofs on huge buildings such as hospitals, schools and sky scrapers!
Have you ever seen how people have decks out on there roofs . such as in new york. Its because the roofs are the best of the best. yeah you can do a roof hack job but a true flat roofing system will not ever puddle water and if it does the fix is very easy. Find out why ! and fix it!
A flat roof on a house is very easy to deal with and would only cost about $100 in materials to keep the roof alive for the rest of your live. Now if the roof is "SHOT" which means so bad that it must be tore out and replaced then you have to actually do the math. Find out the material price have a good union company come out and give a estimate and make sure you get a warranty. TREMCO roof products are the best roofs Ive personally put on and they are used on building like hospitals..
If anyone ever needs advice on how to repair or find estimated on flat roofing systems I can help.
My family has owned a commercial roofing company for over 60 years and at one time was one of the biggest roofing companies in MICHIGAN.
If you are having roof leaks in the winter dont stress this is a easy fix.

I read find buyers 1st and then I read find sellers 1st.
Im not sure what to do so I created a website to generate leads for both sellers and buyers. I guess I am just hoping deals will come my way.

is a double closing something that is more comfortable for both parties?

Carlton,

I am not sure why you would respond as you did. Im not taking any offense to your response but check out what Kevin,Jon,and Jawsette wrote.
Its true I need to research and learn more about QCD.
If you had any common sense you would see the reason for my post was to gather information and get pointed in a direction.

Thanks to all you others who actually gave me some decent insight and advice!

I set up my website and went around to places I thought were a good place to drop flyers and business cards. It wasnt even a few hours until I get a few forms submitted.

There is one property in particular I have questions about.
I recieved the address so I went on my counties Deeds Record website and I seen that the person who owned this property had a quite claim deed.
What is up with the quite claim deed and how do I go about investigating the true title of the deed.
I understand the basics of real estate but I still cant figure out the quite claim deed thing yet.

Main question.
How do you go about researching a property that has a quite claim deed?

Also how do you find out if the property has any liens.
water,taxes,gas? can you guys give me some directions.

I would also like to know why when i searched the property records I noticed this person had 4 properties that had quite claim deeds and they all were with a "consideration of $1.00" can some one please explain what this is all about.
I think once you guys teach and advice me about the whole DEED thing I will be more comfortable making deals.

Thanks for your time its greatly appreciated

Do you predict DETROIT and surrounding areas homes to continue to drop in price and if so for how many years.

With that in mind I want to take my time and come across the best deal I can so that I will have a minimal risk as a 1st time investment.

It seems that all the real estate agents buy the houses around here.
Basically it seems like the majority of "so called investors" are agents in disguise.

Thanks for the information.
Jon your exactly right.It is a Hedge fund trying to dump some homes.
Ill take your advice,Title search and insurance sounds pretty smart.
So im to assume if I can obtain title insurance the title is free and clear.
Thanks for the welcome.

What are some debts on the house that are out of the ordinary?

From my understanding check debts on the house such as water,gas,electric,taxes,and title ? anything im missing?

i was just on the property deed search on the michigan.gov site and im sure this would be fraud to sell someone elses property just because you hustled up a deal.

Im sure people might fall for it going to investment homes and what not. I read your answer about if there is debt on the property. why would you wait til after you purchased the property before you did research on what is owed on the property.