he wants me for my tile. and my muscles.

[mopinko]

fix and flip is a go. talked it over with my friend, and i think it is completely within our capabilities to do a good job on this.
he has been doing them for others, and has all the equipment and subs to do a very fast kitchen and bath, coat of paint, out. he needs muscle, and i have 2 sons that ought to be out working and getting some muscle. the older one is definitely interested. he helped my on my last tile job, and he is the resident schlepper here. great kid. but he has sleep problems, and can't adjust to a regular schedule. we don't care if he wants to pull down drywall at 2 a.m. or 8 p.m. once he has a little training. the younger one is about to die from high school, and would really flourish with this guy. he is trying to stick it out, but i think it would be great for both of them.
he says that, in the houses he has worked, the thing that really rang people's bell was fancy tile. so that is what he wants me to work with him on. i love tile. (i know. i need pictures.) in the meantime, i also like being able to work and not have a boss.
i think the market here may not stay burning hot, but it is not going to crash. if chicago goes under, we are all fucked.
off we go.

[eleny]

1. best of luck all around

you sound raring to go.

it's also nice that you understand your sons patterns. my brother was always a night owl. struggled through school. went to college twice. first time he went a few yeats and bombed at it. second time he did very well scheduling classes later and evenings. then he tried to hold down some jobs at regular hours and couldn't hack it. but in the end, he opened a mail order antiques business specializing in his interest in military history - he was a roaring success. not every job can be tailored to ones own rhythms. this endeavor is an opportunity for your son to rise and shine when the sun goes down. if my contractor said he could finish a job faster with a worker willing to come in and pick up the pace at night, i would have flipped with delight.

best of luck with putting your toe in these waters. may you keep your eyes open and it be the first of many successes.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. We've got a flipper in downtown Baltimore ......

Well ..... it started as a flipper but now we may just keep it a while. We've had it for three years and its more than doubled in value. The market here is sorta hot, but not like it was. My son was living in it during a rehab .... his, not the house. We were trying to rehab his laziness and lack of motivation (not drugs .... he doesn't do them .... just can't hold a job for very long ..... anyway ..... loooong story but he's moving in with his girlfriend .... )

My younger son and I are going to do the rehab on the house. Its a turn of the last century row house, but all the old detailing is long gone, so we're gunna do a modern loft kinda thing which is also very popular around here. New floors, new kitchen, new bath, new windows, new heating plant and some cosmetic nice-nice and then rent the place. It will rent for about twice the mortgage so that's a good cash flow and we get to ride the appreciation rocket longer.

As you said about Chicago ...... if Baltimore goes under, the whole country's screwn. Since ours is at the low end of the market, and since there's a shitload of younger professionals working in DC who seem to have discovered Baltimore, and since our house is in a good commuting area and also in a VERY up and coming area that's gentrifying, it will take one HELL of a housing bust to hurt us.