fliprent

Today my contractor on the Old E. Baltimore project decided that this job “wasn’t worth it” in his own words.  Hey maybe he’s right.  It’s not worth it for him.  In fact it hasn’t been worth it for me either.  Needless to say, I had no problem with it.  It’s been way too long and he is trying to juggle too many jobs.  Good thing is I don’t have a lot left to do.  Bad news is, its time to get another crew in there.  Parting ways, with no hard feelings, is just fine with me.  I may loose a few more weeks but it’s better than the ensuing battle at the end.  The search begins…  Hey…do you know of a good TRUSTWORTHY carpenter in the area?  Drop me an email if you do. This ought to be fun!  

I’ve been around the block just enough times to decide not to agree to anything in business with a simple handshake.  If I don’t have a contract I don’t write a check.  In the current economy, this is more important to me now than ever before.  here a lot of “hungry” contractors out there right now, which can be both good and bad for investors.  The good news is that the prices have come down considerably.  The bad news is really the same as its always been but a touch worse.  For instance, some contractors will tell you any price to get the job.  After they get the job…well you know the rest after reading this post.  However, once Ive worked with someone long enough I may let up just a smidgen.  

 It seems the smaller contractors don’t like writing contracts.  Some of them even prefer that I write them up.  That’s a scenario that I welcome as an investor.  Since I already have a template, the only things I need to change are the project scope, contractor information and the dates.  The basic protections are in every contract so I don’t need to adjust those normally. You can find more information on remodeling contracts in some of my other posts.   Don’t be afraid to write the contract yourself, in fact insist upon it. 

I have received some emails questioning why I have my comments turned off.  As some of you know I was not updating for a while mostly due to some health issues.  Well while I was away spammers decided that I had an abandoned blog and as you may know, spammers love those.  Once I get this spam under control I will re-open the comments sections of my new posts.  Feel free to leave a comment on any of the previous posts as they are still open.

 Thanks,

Vernon

The never ending battle between contractor and real estate investor continues.  No matter how many times you seem to use a contractor there will almost always be a time when the contractor wants to be paid and the investor is not satisfied.  Well..that’s the nice way of putting it.  More than likely, it’s that the contractor wants money before he/she finishes the job. 

I will never understand why it’s so hard to find a tradesman that just wants to do the job the way it was agreed upon and THEN ask for the check. 

Yes, Yes I know… there are those investors that don’t pay on time (if ever), and the contractor has to look out for himself… Really?  So asking for money early somehow protects him against being ripped off?  I’m guessing asking to be paid prior to finishing, won’t help very much.  What are we to think is the real reason they want to be paid early?   Here is a “short” list of reasons:

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Most of the electric is done on the Old E Baltimore project and the meter was installed a week ago.  I’m constantly reminding the contractors to turn off the lights when they are done for the day.  The last thing I need is to add more bleeding to this project.  Hvac and plumbing repair is close to being complete so its about time to get it section 8 ready.  This means making sure all the trades are up to code, banners installed, no paint chips exposed (lead), outside railings front and rear, windows are caulked, doors are installed, fridge, and oven are working.  If it still sounds like lot of work, it is.

Still nothing more from the city on my Hopkins area rehab house.  It looks they want to blame the economy for the fact that their projects are so far behind and lack of funding.  I say karma may have something to do with it.  You reap what you sow.  EBDI has made a mess of this project and they walk around like they are doing people favors.  They would have been behind schedule economy or not.  You can read more about that house here. 

The Old E Baltimore project is now moving forward.  I hope to have this thing rented by mid December.  Considering my recent health, I decided to bring in a contractor “friend” to finish the project.  Notice the quotes…  One would think that today’s prices would be much lower, but by the looks of his quote, maybe he’s still back in 2005.  Needless to say, I will be working those numbers down tonight directly in the reply. No need to rework the contract until we come to an agreement.  Most of the electrical is completed and the electric company installed the meter and brought power lines to the house.  Plumbing needs completion along with a long list of repairs that I will break down in another post.  Most of the repairs will be required for Section 8 approval.

Still no word on the Hopkins area project.  I assume they want me to go broke paying legal fees and mortgage payments but I will finish it and rent before I allow that to happen. 

Unfortunately I have not been able to post in a while due to health issues.  I’m still not exactly sure what is going on.  I have been through many tests, to no avail but I’m still here… there’s a plus. 

Quite a bit has occurred since I last posted concerning the Hopkins Project and also the E. Baltimore project so hopefully sometime soon I can update you all on the full details.   While I have a few seconds before my head gets too crazy I’ll give you some updates. 

 The Hopkins Area Project

The city has made me a ridiculously low offer for the house…as if you expected better.  Obviously my attorney is now involved and it’s going to end up in court I assume.  The offer is less than what I paid to for the house in the beginning believe it or not.  Not to mention all the money I’ve poured into this house.  If you are new here and you want to read more about how the city can try and take your property and not even pay you  fair market value, follow the link.  Throw in the fact the this house is being rehabbed but they are trying to use a codemnation loophole.  Talk about abuse of power and stepping on the little people.

Old East Baltimore Project 

Since my health issues started around the same day I closed, I have not been able to do much on this one.  However, recently I have started working here.  The plumber is roughing in new gas lines and fixing minor plumbing issues left from the previous contractor.  The electrician is working on a new service. Permits are pulled and things are going somewhat smoothly.  Believe it or not the city is gotten themselves involved with this one as well.  Coincidence?  I think not.  This one is not even in a redevelopment zone that the city nor Hopkins have any documented interest in.   The drama continues.  I’m wondering if this whole real estate business is even worth it, at least not in Baltimore anyway.

I apologize to my readers for my absence this month.  I am still struggling through this imbalance, vertigo or whatever it is.  Just as a brief update, I have not started the East Baltimore project but I hope to be able to drive again soon.  I appreciate your prayers and thoughts.

Other than this site there are lots of useful places on the net to get ideas on remodeling and rehabbing.  Forums are a great place to bounce ideas off of professionals and others in the business.   House flipping is basically remodeling on steroids, especially for rehabbers. 

One such site that I like to visit is the zillow.com forum.

The remodeling and repair category usually has useful information and some of the visitors seem to know a thing or two.

Another site that I like to visit is doityourself.com. 

This forum not only has valuable information about home projects but you can find tips on other subjects such as automobiles and purchasing land.  On the site itself you will also find lots of useful articles on different projects.  The users in the forum seem to ask good questions they usually get some really decent answers.  Heck you might even find me out there asking and answering some of them.

I still believe that this is the best time to get into the real estate investing business.  However, the strategy used in this market may be the key to your success.  I’m not so sure that all of the creative strategies taught buy the self proclaimed gurus will work in this current market.  The differences in the strategies can make or break you as an investor.  For example, if you are looking for short term investments in which you control or own the property for less than 4 months, i.e. house flipping, this market should scare you some.  No one knows where the bottom is, including the gurus and even at a 20 percent discount (in today’s market) you could still be over priced in three months.  Wholesaling (house flipping on speed) may be a safer route to take since in most cases, you only control the property for a very short time frame.  The down side is you run the risk of not finding a buyer and potentially loosing deposits or down payments.  Don’t get me wrong I am still a proponent of house flipping, however only as one car in your freight train to wealth.

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