| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
So, I'm getting to the point where fixtures and finishes are going into the apartment I own (rental/investment property). 1951 construction, pulling the last wires Monday, for a water heater. Nothing in the building was grounded so it got a new 200A panel and all new wiring; everything is pulled except the water heater because of some...challenging routing. The building is a duplex and when I bought it, it only had a single water heater; I'm adding the second so there's no tenant bickering about the bills. Each unit now has its own panel, its own meter, its own heat pump, and its own water heater. I've figured out my kitchen cabinets, bathroom is tiled and finished except for electrical, I have to put flooring in the sunroom and foyer (old 7' asbestos tile flooring now, gonna cover it all up with...something to be decided) and I have to put linoleum (well, fiberglass nowadays) in the kitchen. Main floors are hardwood, 2" t&g. Kitchen has always had lino on the floor, they put felt on the hardwood and the lino on top of that. I - due to budget concerns - plan to do the same. I know. But...it's a rental. Once this first layer of lino wears out I'll have some time of rent income, and can put actual tile down in its place. Right now...I'm on a shoestring budget. For now, I can't use the hardwood as the finish flooring - there's decades of water damage (discoloration) in addition to 66 years of black felt stuck to it, and no amount of sanding would bring it back. And, there's no logical "boundary" for the sanding to stop. The whole place is hardwood; sanding would be an all (1200 SF) or nothing endeavor. So. Any badwebbers have experience with laying vinyl flooring? I'm looking at an area that will be 13'3" x 11'6". Rolls of vinyl are 12' so that works out perfectly, I'll buy 14' of 12' wide and have enough for doorways. I know the concept of flattening the base layer. Any suggestions for methods/materials? Or just go with what the minions at Lowe's recommend? This kitchen is over the first floor apartment's kitchen so I want to minimize the chance of water damage through the ceiling should I get a clumsy tenant (I plan for the lowest common denominator); is there a membrane layer I can use between the vinyl layer and the hardwood? Or just glue the sucker down and be done? Any places that are stupid-cheap to get vinyl? Lowe's, for the grade I'm looking at (rental, remember), is about a dollar a square foot. I could do the adhesive tiles...for $3/sf. Next time. This time...I just need it DONE and generating revenue. Drywall, I've done before. Backsplash and cabinets and plumbing, I've done before. Electrical, I've done before. Paint, I've done before. I've just never done vinyl flooring before and would love any tips/tricks folks know, before I dive in and screw it up! | ||
| Ourdee |
I cheated and went to a flooring place and got a bid. Some stuff like kneeling on a floor I don't like doing anymore. | ||
| Hootowl |
Are you married to the sheeting? They make floating vinyl flooring. Goes in just like a floating wood floor, and they look like wood too. Can be had for $1 a square foot. | ||
| Ocbueller |
Joe, The only thing I will say is that the cheapo vinyl, linoleum, whatever, will show every bump and dip in the base layer. Buy the thicker stuff and it will lay better and won't tear as easily. SteveH | ||
| Hootowl |
^^^ Yes. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Couple reasons I don't want floating vinyl. First, it sounds cheap and hollow when you walk on it, especially when everything else in the place is solid hardwood. And, I don't want to go with "wood" because it'll never match the reset of the (real) hardwood flooring and will always look like I tried to match and missed. It's a kitchen - "tile" is a little more intuitive to me. I'll probably go thicker - all depends on budget. Again, it's a rental, doesn't have to be perfect - I'll make it nice, and I'll make it durable enough for now, but ultimately it'll get real tile once I get some revenue saved up to pay for it. This is my "done with the day job, I have to get this done or it'll never get finished" project. Zero income at the moment so it's all coming out of savings along with my personal mortgage and expenses - which I knew going in, just trying to keep from hemorrhaging money TOO badly! I did the bathroom when I was still employed, real subway tile 4' up the walls, tile shower surround, tile flooring...durable and solid and I'll never have to mess with it again. Would love to do the same in the kitchen but just don't have the cash at the moment. First tenant will have to live with it for a bit. If they're good to me, I'll be good to them as opposed to waiting for the break between first and second tenants. | ||
| Ourdee |
I've been trying to tutor my landlord. He doesn't charge enough compared to the competition. Told me he wants the tenants to stay. I told him you don't do it by discounting rent up front. Move them in at the going market rate. Then when you get the good ones you reward them by not raising the rent. He is a decent guy that stays on top of everything. I told him that he is giving away his families money. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Rent amount is tough where I am. I live in a gorgeous area in the mountains, and am 1/4 mile from the front gate of a decommissioned Army base (Ft Ritchie, MD). The whole town (Highfield-Cascade) grew up around the base, which was built back in the 20s or 30s. There's "old railroad money" homes here from the late 1800s, from when the RR came through and a lot of the barons built summer homes. Pen-Mar Park is a couple miles away, which was opened in 1877 as an amusement park for the well-to-do that had old wooden rides and everything (nowadays it's just picnic spots and a pavilion). But...when the Army shut down the fort in the '90s, the whole area emptied out. Buildings have gone vacant and fallen into disarray and a lot of the older stuff is just abandoned. The RR houses have been kept up because they are GORGEOUS and nobody could walk away from them; there are some homes like my personal place that are newer and larger, and were built because the area is so beautiful (my house went up in 1987). But business-wise...there's a tiny gas station, one small ma and pa grocery, one pizza joint, one liquor store (with a surprisingly good whisky selection!)...and a hole-in-the-wall biker bar. And a Legion post. That's all that's left at the moment. My apartment building was a foreclosure that had been empty for years when I stole it from the bank - 1951 construction, cinderblock walls, aluminum siding, hardwood floors, arched interior doorways, full concrete-slab basement, full walk-up attic, 2 units. Not a "pretty" structure, but it is neat, tidy, and will last forever. Paid less for the building on 1/3 acre than I paid for my Jeep. Right across the street from the parade grounds of the old fort - which at this point, is a 20 acre park. Nice view. I keep the place nice and I ask good money for rent. People told me I was crazy when I was interviewing for the downstairs space - "you can't get that up here, you need to rent this place (ground floor 1200sf + full walkout basement; 2 bed; 1 bath; wash/dry hookups; covered front porch looking at the 20 acre park; new heat pump in 2013; city water and sewer included in rent) for like $500 a month". Nah, not happening. If I rented it for $500 a month...I'd get $500-a-month people and the place would be trashed every time tenants changed. My ex had a rental and she insisted on Section 8 rent - subsidized housing. "Guaranteed money" wasn't worth having to totally rebuild the place every time someone moved out. Cherry picking? Maybe. But when folks pay good rent, they take better care of the place in my experience. The fort is actually part of my motivation to get done with the upstairs apartment - the county has taken over the fort, and is making plans: http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/cascade- town-centre-unveiled-for-fort-ritchie/article_975b cfaa-4849-11e6-a672-cf22441a8690.html Once that opens - and they have started some site stuff already, razing some old buildings and grading the sites, renovating the 1980s high school and commissary buildings (each the size of a super WalMart), and doing lots of repairs to things like the on-site emergency response building - I can only imagine the influx of interest. And I want my apartments to be ready  I tend to do fixed rent; I rented my old personal home to a college roommate's younger brother and his wife. I'm up front with them - "You're renting for what the mortgage payment is". They don't have the credit to buy, I'm not making any money (but I'm building equity), and they have a nice place to raise their kid. Win/win. My leases don't have any clauses in them that I can raise rent due to market fluctuations...but I've had good luck with tenants in the past. People are understanding, and if I've gone to folks saying "hey, my costs have gone up because the county raised the taxes..." generally they're OK with a small increase. I'm not in the rental thing to get rich. I'm doing it as my retirement plan - not to bank money now, but to have monthly income once I'm no longer in the workforce. I'm starting now so all my overhead is done and gone by the time I retire - other than the utility bills and taxes, that is. Dad always had a property or two as "income cushion" and I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree after all. | ||
| Court |
The most important thing is that you HAVE A PLAN and you are starting in sufficient time to allow it to work and evolve. I like your "$500 rent brings $500 renters" and you are adding value that makes your rents a good value for good renters. Your dialogue with them goes a long way. My youngest is building his retirement based on apartments as well. He has the good fortune of getting a fairly substantial bonus annually. He is smart enough that, rather than pissing it away, he buys an apartment building each year . . . typically with 4 units. Ex brother in law did this and when he retired at 55 he owned, pretty much outright, 14 buildings in and around the San Diego area. Key thing for you to to HAVE and FOLLOW a plan. I've done that with my retirement and have learned to ignore my periodic stupid "I'll put it all in gold futures, make a killing and call it good". I've seen folks do that and it never quite seems to pan out. Very cool the way you've set this up . . . you're going to be in awesome shape. Now . . come set up my sound system. Hahahahaha | ||
| Ratbuell |
All ya gotta do is pick a date. And when you get a chance, email me model numbers and brands so I can download some specs and manuals. Hit the ground running, so to speak. I tried to talk a buddy into letting me go to VT to pick up a 73 Dart he just bought, since I have a) free time, b) a Cummins pickup, and c) an enclosed car hauler. But he's already planning a "man-cation" trip with his 2 boys, and his brothers open trailer. But that would have been a good "excuse" to drop in and set some equipment up for ya... Beyond that, I hope the plan works. Right now (and I knew this in January when I took the leap), I'm living off Savings. Hopefully the project is done before the savings account is, and I have time to get myself a new one o' those "day job" things... | ||
| Ratbuell |
Love me some original attic insulation!  | ||
| Pwnzor |
That deserves an old-timey looking frame, and hang it up somewhere! | ||
| Ratbuell |
May just put it in the apartment, since it's from there. Of course, I'll make a quality scan of it first, so when it fades completely... Maybe I'll attach it to the inside of a closet door...hmm.... Love the talk about the "reds" though. The more things change...lol... |
