All Forum Posts by: Vincent Plant

@Jeff Williams

Don’t go to a credit union. Go to an actual mortgage lending company. Get a few opinions.

I just did a brrrr and one lender told me I had to have the property for a year in order to refinance, another told me it didn’t matter at all how long I owned it. They all have their different programs, policies, and procedures. Where someone says no, someone else could possibly say yes, just shop around.

I just leased my newly rehabbed home to a tenant. Everything is going well so far. He paid 2 months up front and has been a pleasure dealing with.

When rehabbing I cut a few corners and went kinda cheap on the kitchen sink option. It’s a bit small.

This tenant is a handyman (so he says) and he called me asking if he can upgrade the kitchen sink to something better and bigger at his own expense. I don’t mind the place being improved but and I have no reason to believe he would do a bad job, but I also don’t want to risk him causing damage or installing something improperly.

How do I handle this situation correctly and protect myself and my house?

I bought a house in December 2018 and have been working through so much since and have finally successfully pulled off the brrrr.

I got a great deal, I had to rid the house of disaster tenants, I rehabbed a home that was in horrible shape, I rented it for way more, I got it appraised for $82k more than I bought it, I’m cashing out 96% of the money I put into the house, and I’ll be left with with a fully rehabbed home and cash flowing $510 per month!

Honestly feeling on top of the world after doing this. I have a pocket full of cheese and I’m on the hunt for what to seek out next. I know the the R is “Repeat” but all I know is this project took so long and was so stressful. I might want to consider something with a less work involved.

Any suggestions?

What’s the best site/app/service to use for your rental applicants to submit to when applying for your rental?

Looking for something the prospective tenant can use easily to log in, pay the fee, and the report gets sent back to me.

I have a property now that I bought about 6 months ago for $53k.

It was tenant occupied and in rough shape. I new that I could get a sweet deal and once the tenant left I could rehab it and the property would be worth around $120k-$130k.

Well, things are going to plan so far, the tenant is out. I’m about half way through the rehab which should be done in a few more weeks.

I just can’t decide what to do next. If I listed the house I know I can easily sell it in this market quick and walk away with about a $25k-$30k profit. Or, I can rent for around $1,400 and refi, maybe pulling out a profit of around $5-$10k and be cash flowing about $300-$400/m.

I like the idea of renting to hold the asset for long term wealth building and passive income. However I’m also antsy to see if I can pull a nice profit and go find another project.

Thoughts?

I’m preparing my very first rehab. It involves a full kitchen remodel and full bathroom remodel.

What’s the most effective way to go about doing this? I spoke with a few contractors and I see that I really need to put together a scope of work. Is there a good tool to use to design the layouts and present what you want to the contractor?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

I own a property occupied by a section 8 family. The tenant told me there was a leak at the kitchen sink. Water was leaking through the kitchen floor onto the basement floor. I filed an insurance claim right away. While the guys were in there working she claimed that mold from the water damage made her kids sick and she went to stay in a hotel. Her renters insurance covered her hotel visit. I specifically requested mold testing from the insurance co. so as I was worried about being liable for her kids being sick. The results came in with very harmful levels. The restoration co went back to work remediating those areas and also tested for mold in the rest of the house. Those results came back even worse. The tenant is staying in a hotel, her insurance is almost out, the restoration co wants to remove all of her stuff and remediate the entire house and my insurance limit on mold is only $10K. I already know the tenant will expect me to pay for her housing AND for her belongings to be cleaned. Am I able to terminate this lease because the house is not safe? Am I responsible for her stuff to be scrubbed? How do I get through this without getting sued?

How does that work legally? 

Keep in mind this is also a section 8 tenant.

Here's the thing, if there is mold present and there are test results that prove it how can I just say "wellll not my problem, either you move out or take the risk of having your kids get sick." 

Wouldn't that be the same as if part of the house collapsed or burnt down then I tun around and say "It's not my problem move out if you don't like it?"

That doesn't make any sense to me. 

I agree that I should get a 2nd opinion on the mold test however the question is WHEN? The restoration company that did the initial demo and mold testing went back in for a 2nd round of cleaning. They contained and cleaned the kitchen and the room in the basement where the water leaked into. Currently I have been waiting for the last 3 days for the new mold test results to ensure that the remediation is clean. However, they also are testing other general areas of the home for mold to ensure the whole house is safe to basically give me a 100% clear report so that I cannot be accused by the tenant or have her claim her children are getting sick due to mold. 

The project manager already told me that he's not confident the tests for the other areas of the home will pass because the house in poor shape with a musty basement and on top of that the tenants were living in disgusting unsanitary conditions. 

If they fail again, they would need to remediate the entire home which would take another few weeks. If I got a second opinion it would delay things as well to have another test done. Also my insurance company might not like that too much that I'm putting things on pause to test with another company. Most importantly, the tenant is living in a hotel! She only has a $5,000 limit so soon enough she's going to be coming after me to pay for her housing. The longer this drags on then obviously the more of a nightmare it will become. 

@Nathan G.

This all sounds good but can I really just say “welp the house is uninhabitable, sorry you have to leave.” That doesn’t seem like a possibility.

@Jose Linares

There was visible mold on the drywall on the basement ceiling and walls where the water was leaking through.

When the contractor came in they immediately took out the base of the kitchen cabinet under the sink, And all visibly effected drywall.

They did put up plastic sheets in the basement when they brought in their drying machines and air scrubbers.

The problem is the restoration co is saying the air being tested is going to pull from all areas of the house. So likely the tests will fail and this cycle will continue all while this tenant is living out of the house and I will likely have to foot the bill of her alternative housing.