All Forum Posts by: Sam Zawatsky

@Jai Blue I would keep the rental for a while. Are you saying to pull off all the t111 and replace with Hardie board ? Or to only remove the rotten sections and transition to Hardie Board for those sections?

Hello, 

I'm slowly fixing up a  rental property in Tallahassee, and it is about 1300 sq ft. Part of it is brick, while the rest is sided with what I believe is T111 siding. The T111 areas are rotten at the bottoms now and actually there is a piece high up on the side of the house that seems to have gotten warped and is letting a bit of light into the attic that I have seen. What is the best thing to do in this situation? How much should siding replacement cost?

Can the quoted  price that a company gives you usually be bargained down? Or should you just take the initial quote from each roofing company and not try to haggle them down?

Hello,

I currently have two rental properties in Tallahassee, and one of them I have been unable to get insurance on due to it needing a new roof. The decking has rotted on the edge of the roof, causing the roof fascia soffit vents to rot and fall out in two places. There is no water coming into the house, as the leaky areas are on the edges near the gutters. I have been instructed by an insurance inspector that I must replace the roof in order to qualify for insurance. What is the most cost effective way to get a new roof in this area? The house is only 1300 sq ft and has a very basic roof design.

@Chris Atteberry

I don't think this property sounds like that great of an investment. You may be able to get it for less and make it into an ok deal, however. I would watch it and make a lowball offer if it sits for a while. My guess is that you would be better off focusing on finding other properties. I always aim for over the 1 percent rule, that way you generally will come out on top. It is exceptionally hard to find good deals right now, maybe start asking around in person, knocking on doors, etc?

I've got a property that I recently purchased with cash at tax deed auction. I have not yet set up property insurance, and there is a tenant living in it. When I called an insurance company while looking for a quote, they asked me about the roof and the age of it. While the roof is not leaking, I believe it is older and could cause me to pay more for insurance each month. What is your experience with the cost difference of insurance with an old vs new roof? Is it worth it for me to rush into getting a new roof for insurance reasons?

Update- I got a real estate attorney to deal with the title issues with the property, and he also worked on the issue of the residents of the house. We sent a letter stating that they must leave within 5 days and to contact the attorney with any questions or concerns. The residents ended up contacting the attorney and asked to stay and pay rent if they can. I took over from there and got a lease agreement and asked them to comply with several requests, including complying with code enforcement regulations that previously caused code infractions. They complied with everything, including my increased rent price and paid the first month's rent already and signed the lease. Now I am currently working on efficiently rehabbing the property while they are living there.

I've recently purchased a house in Florida that was built in 1979 and the tenant that was already living there and  signed my lease agreement let me know that there is a window that needs repair or replacement. They said that air was leaking in around the edges of the window, and that the prior owner came 5 years ago and caulked the window but did not seem to solve the problem. Since then, the tenant has been placing a plastic sheet on the inside of the window and taping it up to seal air leaks from the outside. I feel as though the old window looks bad, and am willing to replace the whole thing if I need to. A window company came by and recommended me to have them re-caulk the windows. What do you recommend I do?

 I have a property that I purchased 2 weeks ago, and it is most economical for me right now to allow the current tenants to live there. What do you recommend as far as a lease agreement and rent collection ? A property manager would charge at least 10-12 percent of the rent, and I don't want to do this just yet for this property, due to it needing some work and legal actions to be completed before I spend thousands fixing it up to get more rent per month. Is there an app or something that provides a good lease agreement and offers direct deposit of payments to a checking account? Also, if so, what is the cost for these services?

@Nathan Gesner What is your experience with eviction? how much does it usually end up costing you? Do tenants usually damage the property in anger while they are leaving?