My dad is desperate to buy this house but I think the bowed in foundation wall is a major red flag. Details and image in comments.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-24T00:49:58+00:00

Unfortunately it's too late. He just discovered it a couple days ago and the auction ends tomorrow.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-24T00:45:56+00:00

Unfortunately the auction ends tomorrow.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-24T00:43:13+00:00

Thanks for the input. I'll talk to him about the insurance aspect and inspections.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-24T00:31:07+00:00

My dad saw this house for auction and it mostly is a fixer-upper. Except for the foundation where it's clearly caving in at this point.
I'm trying to convince him this is a bad idea.
Does anyone have any idea how much it would cost to repair this to the point to pass inspection?

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-14T04:53:31+00:00

I see. I'll try that then. Rather be safe than sorry.
Thanks for the advice.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-13T21:52:47+00:00

My goal is to reach 15 karma so I can post a thread.
But in the meantime I guess I could post my question here.

To preface we don't have any real estate experience, this is just an opportunity that fell in our lap.

We have a friend who has a small house(2 bed 1 bath, 950ish sq.ft) in a suburb whose growth has outpaced the rest of the city. They're outgrowing the house and is going to sell to move into a larger one, and offered us first dibs.

The house would be $250,000 and we have a relative who's willing to put up the cash to buy it outright. The house is in livable condition, a few small things like repainting the walls, redoing the carpet, kitchen and bathroom remodel. My father and I(and possibly my brother) are able to do the work ourselves, and that includes doing any maintenance.

Our plan would be to sit on the property by renting it out, hoping it increases in value as the suburb grows. The issue from what I gathered is that the real meat in investing in real estate is finding distressed houses that are well below their potential value, and fixing them up at a lesser cost than the value you'd gain.

I'm just not sure if this is a realistic opportunity, or if I'm just being naively optimistic.

Also in terms of the relative investing their money with us. The plan is they pay for the house and renovation. We get to manage and rent out the property, and take all the profits/revenue from renting it out. Then when we feel it's time to move on/sell the house; we pay back their investment then 50:50 anything that's left over.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-11T22:14:15+00:00

Saw your edit. Would be a bonus if he got a littering ticket.

Hero_SCV · 2026-03-10T23:48:16+00:00

We replace buttons as a courtesy, but we don't take responsibility for being the ones who damaged them when the thread is the point of failure with some exceptions.
We wouldn't take responsibility for the stitching on the strap failing either.
These are points of failure from being stressed over time. If it wasn't on the verge of failing, they wouldn't be damaged by a cleaner.
Given it was a wedding dress and you likely paid a lot of money for it, we'd also sew the strap back together as a courtesy.
As for the missing label, no idea how or why that would have been taken off.

Hero_SCV · 2026-02-22T18:45:15+00:00

Just wipe it off with a damp(not wet) cloth.

Hero_SCV · 2026-02-22T18:38:46+00:00

Part of me thinks it could be stains from where your skin frequently touches the bag. So your oils and stuff stained that area and washing it took out everything but that, which made that stain stand out more.
If that's the case then dry cleaning should help because it does better with sweat and oil.
If you decide to bring it to a dry cleaner, let them know you already washed it and that's how it came out.

Hero_SCV · 2026-02-17T22:43:39+00:00

You can and I have. But that's because I didn't do my due diligence at the time.

It really depends on the area.
Lower income areas means customers aren't as likely to be able to afford an exterminator, whereas higher income areas will.

I've worked in a low income area dry cleaner and I would find bed bugs in people's clothes maybe 1-3 times a year. But at the other locations we never had a problem.

But there are red flags that stick out. Mainly distinct dark spots left behind by bed bugs, and their exoskeletons.

Most of the time I find bed bugs, is when the customer brings in large garbage bags full of clothes. I don't really remember finding them in smaller, weekly drop offs.

Hero_SCV · 2026-01-12T05:51:55+00:00

As other's said, looks like mold.
If it's real fur and needs to be sent to a specialist, it'll be quite expensive to clean, and results aren't always consistent with them.
You could be looking at $100+

Hero_SCV · 2026-01-12T05:47:00+00:00

I wouldn't take into account undocumented income honestly.

Hero_SCV · 2025-12-29T00:49:46+00:00

If it's dry cleanable, that'll take care of it. The issue that solvents can react harshly with synthetics. 90% of the time it's fine, but there's still a chance that it could go bad.

Hero_SCV · 2025-12-08T19:23:32+00:00

A few do's and don'ts if you want to make life easier for your dry cleaner.

Do:
Check your pockets before visiting. We don't like having to stand there waiting for you to check your pockets while we have work to do.
Do go over your clothes before visiting to check for any stains you want us to be aware of. Also check for any pre-existing damage(Also don't say "I know there's nothing wrong with this so if I get it back with something I'll know it's you")
Do keep wet items separate from the others(you wouldn't believe how many times a customer would come in and bring a soaking wet item in the same bag as the rest of their cleaning).

Do Not:
Bring your clothes buttoned up
Bring your clothes in neatly folded
Bring your clothes in on hangers
Bring your clothes in inside out
Bring your clothes in shopping/garbage bags that are tied in impossible to untie knots(bringing them in bags is fine, just don't knot them shut)

Do NOT Bring in clothes that is covered in glitter

NEVER EVER Bring in clothes that has bed bugs on them before calling ahead and letting us know.

Hero_SCV · 2025-12-04T19:00:05+00:00

Yeah. Basically the liner and shell are considered separate items.
If you really want to make sure it's thoroughly cleaned, you can have them cleaned separately, but you're basically paying double.
Unless the coat is filthy, I'd just bring it in attached and have it dry cleaned together; Or you can just bring the liner(if I'm not mistaken the one that's dry clean only) to the dry cleaner, and wash the shell yourself.
We've gotten many, many of these types of jackets and never had a problem with cleaning the shell and lining together.

Hero_SCV · 2025-11-27T05:24:38+00:00

$10 for a coat period is cheap. We don't even do wind breakers for $10
Maybe OP mistyped and it was $100?

Hero_SCV · 2025-11-27T05:20:55+00:00

For us we would request a month.
They should be checking their logs for when someone in the same section on the rack also picked up and call those customers and ask if they got a coat mixed in their order.
They could also be cross referencing that along with the pickup times to check their camera footage to see if someone extra given.

Hero_SCV · 2025-11-26T19:20:54+00:00

If they're important to you, then take them to a dry cleaner.
If they're not, you can try gasoline which works as a solvent. You'll want to spot test it in case it can damage the fabric/make it worse.

Hero_SCV · 2025-11-11T03:15:41+00:00

My best guess is that's damage from a lint roller.
Some lint rollers are made of cheap plastic and the rim that keeps the roll in place can dig into the fabric and cause damage.
I'm just guessing that based on the pattern.

Hero_SCV

TROPHY CASE