All Forum Posts by: Steve M.

So ...

Your note(s) alone cost you $2,509 and you'll be bringing in $2,500 in rental income .... Something is definitely wrong with this picture. You're $9.00 upside down each and every month outside of expenditures. Your hoping/counting on appreciation, but at this point, I don't see it happening anytime soon, and we may still see quite a bit of depreciation if interest rates rise after QE2.

Have you read up on the 50%/2% rules? I suggest you take a look at them and work your numbers in to it ...

My Opinion = Walk away from the deal unless you are able to bring in ATLEAST $5,000/month in rental income on an almost $300k house. I would also NEVER partner up with anyone ... not even my wife. Things get ugly when money & credit are on the line.

Nope ....

Sec 8 Screeners will come out and look at the overall building, and the unit. They will not go in to the other units.

At least that is what happened to my duplex in Memphis. It was 2 separate inspections.

25.2674643 years ... of course, that's via the Mayan calendar. Via Nostradamus, its actually 24.875934 ...

your results may vary but I am super smart & a self proclaimed guru, so you better believe I'm right.

Most have already suggested what I'm about to ... But I was able to go from the 500's, to 720+ in a matter of 6 months or so.

This is what I would do:
1. GW (Goodwill) Letters - Write a letter every day and send it to the CC company that you have the 30 day lates with. All it cost is the cost of a single stamp. I was able to get SEVERAL lates removed. I apologized, fessed up to being late, but explained I was trying to buy a home and these lates were hindering me from a better rate. Had all lates removed within about 2-3 months.

2. Credit Limit Increases - Most CC Companies will do a *soft pull* which won't affect your credit rating. This will reduce your DTI ration.

3. Sell a house - pay down your debt, and you'll be in much better shape. Otherwise, pay down your balances, and take another look at things 6 months down the road.

4. LAST thing I would try if I REALLY needed to. Open several 0% balance transfers CC with high limits. Transfer the balances over several. You should have 12-18 months to pay them down, and with the additional credit, your DTI will come down. But you do get hard inq's for new CC's.

There's no quick fix. Check out www.MyFico.com (no, i am not affiliated with this website) ... I did some simple things, never hired anyone, and literally raised my score 140+ point in a matter of months.

Chris ...

Do you plan to do any of the grunt work yourself? I ask, because if this is your first, it might be a good idea to do as much of it yourself as you can.

Will save quite a bit of $$$, not to mention, you'll learn the in's & out's of rehabs and gain incredible knowledge on LOTS of things. Many things will need to be sub'd out, but the first thing I would toss is the GC. Sub out what you can't do (HVAC, Roof, rough plumbing/electrical, etc...) and the do the rest yourself :) With the money saved, you can buy tools & books and STILL keep additional money in your pocket.

I've used AngiesList successfully for several sub jobs I have needed done. Best $20 bucks I have ever spent.

Once you get your hands dirty on the first one, and understand everything from baseboards, to faucets, and types of primer, you'll be better prepared for the 2nd one, 3rd one, etc... and then can sub everything out if you so decide :)

My fiance & I are going through our first rehab in which we are doing 90% of the work. Its taking quite a bit longer than if we were to sub it out, but the money & experience we have gained outweighs the time savings IMO!

Good luck!

This is dangerous .... Just make sure you have your RE Attorney dot the i's and cross the t's and there is no wiggle room. I'd hate to see this get ugly for you 6 - 12 months down their road when they call on the loan for some odd reason.

Sounds like an awesome deal! Best of luck with it! :D

Trying Pictures Again ... This is currently what we are dealing with :lol:

I just don't understand how some people can live!!! ugh ... the cleanup of this house sucked, and we continue to find surprises daily.

I am in the midst of one right now .... A heavy cigar smoker lived in this house for 13 years ... We are talking piss yellow EVERYTHING from all the tar in the cigars.

Do NOT use oil based or water based Primer such as kilz. The yellow tinge will eventually come right back through and the smell will have never been locked in from the beginning.

These are what you need to completely rid the house of smells & color distortions.

Zinser BIN SHELLAC (Alochol Based) Primer:
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&q=Zinsser+BIN&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9180131921643511145&sa=X&ei=cDLZTfe6AsuDtgfX743pDg&ved=0CDYQ8wIwAg&biw=1680&bih=869#

You will also need an ozone generator. This is the one I picked up.
http://cgi.ebay.com/OZ-2000-Ozone-Generator-2000mg-hr-New-Technology-/260760622946?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb68b5762

Ozone Generators break up smoke particles, they also kill mold, mildew, & bacteria. Its actually what mold companies use when restoring a flood house, etc... (Make sure to read the safety precautions)

We are currently at about 95% fresh smelling now (and thats without being fully painted or even flooring in at this point). The only lingering smoke smell is coming from the kitchen area. We'll use another 2-3 ozone generator treatments, and paint/flooring should take care of the rest.

Here's an example of the yellow tinge I am talking about :) The wife has been blogging about this. We are doing about 90% of the rehab ourselves. We're using this house as a learning experience so the next time we need to do a rehab, we can sub it out and know exactly what needs to be done, and the time involved, so we can get more competitive bids.

EDIT: Pictures aren't working for some reason? I'll try and fix so you can see what I'm talking about

If you have any more questions, would love to help out if you need it! Best of luck!

HEAVY, i mean HEAVY cigar smoker (butts and shaved ends everywhere)... Lived in the house for 13 years and was a hoarder...

the smoke permeated EVERYTHING ... From the ducting, to the kitchen cabinets. What was white at one point, was not as yellow as this smiley face :lol:

3 Things To Kill Smoke
1) BIN Shellac Based Primer - Will Lock in Smoke
2) Vinegar/Amonia Bath (Walls, Cabinets, EVERYTHING)
3) Ozone Generator

I was NOT sold on an Ozone generator until I tried it ... These are what big Mold remediation companies use to kill bacteria, growth, mold, smoke, etc.... Within 2-3 hours, the smell was GONE.

The Primer & Vinegar took care of 90% of the smell, the ozone generator took care of the rest.

Parts of the house removed.
1. Carpets & Vinyl
2. Baseboards - These were beyond yellow & just nasty

That's it at this point. Everything else was remedied with the above 3 things. It takes lots of time, lots of headaches - literally, and a desire to rid the house of the smell & it will happen :)

depending on the stench - buy yourself an ozone generator.

i just picked one up for a terribly smoke filled house I'm rehabbing right now.