All Forum Posts by: Robert Carpenter

Thanks Colin,

Yeah people are accustomed to the built-in cabinetry of the kitchen but need a little prodding to see the light and realize  built-ins could replace most of their  individual pieces of furniture :)   My impression is in Europe   built-ins are pretty much made up for entire apartments.  A technician comes out and measures and then it all gets fed into CNC machines which cut everything out of sheet stock.   Its delivered  to the job site  as a flat pack and bolted  together with inserts and cam locks.

In my mind in an ideal world  all the furniture would be so designed and integrated with the construction documents.  Revit has a way for you model these sorts of furniture assemblies and there are specialized programs like PYTHA. 

What might be some desirable  trends in urban apartment design ?  

1. Supersized living space

2. Micro sized sleeping space

3. Projector screen focal point

4. Long table w/ lots of chairs  

5. Defined entry area

6.  Built-ins galore

7. Internet / Office nook

People renting apartments in urban areas tend to be young professionals.  In New York they usually move there from other places and usually only stay   around 5 years.  They usually move several times  during  that period. 

Ideally such tenants would never have to buy a stick of furniture.  Everything would be there for them and built in to maximize space and  spaciousness.   As it is renters seem to  throw away half their stuff when they move.  Built-ins not only make for greener buildings but make life far easier for tenants. 

I believe the L shaped apartment is the best design.  A long living room area and shorter kitchen dining area wrapping around a micro sleeping area: http://bit.ly/2qG6khC

I would like to get a discussion going on apartment design.  What are your thoughts ? From a dollars and cents perspective such design would cost more upfront. The question is would tenants pay a premium to move into an apartment where its as effortless as  checking into a hotel.  The desirability factor might also work to reduce vacancies. 

@Eddie Starr

Check out  Robert Hytha 

https://www.facebook.com/FIXnotes/

I think his company is a trader of  non performing construction loans.

A new company called Bankruptcywatch.com is offering an online bankruptcy monitoring service that sounds way better and much easier to use than PACER.  Just wondering  if any BPers have had a chance to use it and if so what their experience has been. 

Fieldbook should work great for process mapping BOTH real estate flips and non-performing note workouts.  It has the ease and convenience of    spreadsheets with  the power of a relational database.

Agree with Safeer, AirTable looks to have a very bright   future in DIY project managment.  I'm trying to develop a DIY AirTable Note project management system.  The great thing with AirTable is that it allows you to link tables together giving you   a relational database  level power.

Great point @Manolo D.  These are look and feel sketches not yet held to account of harsh financial reality.  The unit footprint is approx  6K  sq ft, 35 x 175,  with similar living space sq  ft.  

I   imagine metro LA as a 50 mile by 50 mile suburb where in theory there's still plenty of room for townhouses with a good sized footprint.  Is new construction  going toward multistory multifamily as is the case in the metro NYC area ? On zillow I saw some very nice new townhouses   in an area called Century Park.  Asking  price was 5 or 6 million for five or six thousand square feet. 

Hey Ari,

Heres one idea for townhouses.

http://vachej.wixsite.com/townhouse/gallery

Got another much larger one on the drafting board :)

William, just this past Monday Scott Carson interviewed Attorney Scott Smith on the series LLC. I understood Scott Smith to say that his firm is in fact creating series LLC's used for holding notes and which can also work as a vehicle for doing note JV partnerships. In addition I understood him to say that he recommends taking title to a note in a trust, then assigning the beneficial interest of the trust to a series LLC, the better to preserve anonymity. You can see the video here.

Great. Thanks Wayne.