Flipping Houses Ethics: Ethical Rehabbing

In wrapping up my article series on the ethics of flipping houses and real estate investing in general, I?d like to share a word on rehabbing houses ethically.

First, for those who may be unfamiliar with the term, ?rehabbing? a house is simply the act of making repairs and/or renovations to put the house into ?fair market condition? ? or, as I prefer it, ?like new? or ?better than new? condition.

The purpose is typically to build value into the property where value currently lacks ? either for the sake of equity or profit at resale.

When I rehab a house, I tend to go over and above, spend more and do more than your average real estate jockey.

When I rehab homes, I like to do them ?right.? I don?t cut corners or hide things that should really be fixed, and if you strive to be an ethical investor, neither should you.

If I encounter something that could be costly, I always explore all of my options as long as the final result will provide my customer, the ultimate homeowner, with a quality product. Though I?m not opposed to finding the cheapest way to get things done, I want the job done properly rather than just covering up defects which should really be fixed. And whenever I'm helping newer investors learn how to get started right in the house flipping business, that's exactly what I teach them.

Of course, just like settling all of your deals, rehabbing houses properly can be difficult at times ? especially if you find yourself working on a shoestring budget.

But in the end you have to sleep well at night. And you can sleep well knowing that you?ve virtually eliminated any risk of a lawsuit from an angry homeowner and created a good name for yourself in the community to boot by rehabbing something the right way. As with settling your deals, this type of reputation can go a long way, particularly if you are focused on rehabbing homes in a particular area. And shoddy work yields a shoddy reputation.

Lastly, I must caution those of you who know the types of rehabs that I do today not to get caught up in thinking that you must do full-blown gut rehabs to do them ?right.? This is just my preference, and I?ve told you in other articles why I personally prefer the ?gut rehab?.

You can do cosmetic ?paint and carpet? rehabs and still do them ethically as I?ve described. I still like to complete one of these myself every once in awhile, as it?s nice to get an easy deal here and there.

My main point is this. If you know there?s a leaky pipe in a wall that no one else can see, fix it! Don?t hide or gloss over necessary repairs, even if you think no one will find out for a long time. If you make this a business practice, it will catch up with you in one way or another.

Florida's Gay Population and a Florida Gay Alcohol Rehab

Florida's gay and lesbian population is growing daily and with it is a growing need for gay and lesbian services. For the purpose of this article we are concerned with gay drug rehab, gay dual diagnosis and gay alcohol rehab services. Regardless of where a person is from, they bring their personal history with them. In the case of the gay and lesbian, the personal histories of which I speak are related to prejudice, discrimination, internalized hompohobia and shame. Growing up gay and having to deal with the attitudes of the general public and family, have led many gay and lesbians to the world of drug addiction and alcoholism. Unfortunately, what happens is the attitudes of the heterosexual population become worse as the gay man or woman becomes drug dependent and their ability to cope with their feelings diminish even more.

Florida Gay Alcohol Rehab

Now imagine that we ask a gay or lesbian to check into an alcohol rehab run by a group of heterosexual men and women. It is like asking an anorexic to check into an addiction treatment program for compusive overeaters. This could be their worst nightmare. Don't misunderstand me, this doesn't mean that the alcohol rehab has to be run by all gay men and women. That is not the real world. The alcohol rehab must, as a minimum, have a gay alcohol rehab component, within the alcohol rehab itself. This will provide the gay or lesbian with a "safe space" in which to express their feelings and thoughts without thinking they are being judged. Their are many other clinical benefits derived from a gay alcohol rehab run in this fashion, such as being able to eal with internalized homophobia, but it also allow for the heterosexual to deal with their own homophobia. Everybody wins!

Jonathan Huttner is a partner in Lakeview Health Systems's a alcohol and drug rehab, which has its own gay friendly alcohol rehab component called Freedom Rings. Freedom rings provides alcohol and drug rehab for the GLBT population.

For additional information on an alcohol rehab program that has a gay alcohol rehab component call 1-800-511-9225 or go to www.gay-rehab.com. If you are not concerned with whether the alcohol rehab is gay focused, then go to www.steppingstonecenter.org.

 

Proper Alcohol Rehab Methods

The best solution for a drinking or alcohol problem is to find the proper drug or alcohol abuse treatment program and then gently discuss with patient, if he is not the one initiating the alcohol rehabilitation, the dangers of continuing alcohol or abuse, the benefits of rehabilitation and your love for them. The patient may not be amenable to your appeal initially, don?t give up.

Tell them lovingly the need to get back on a healthy track and that going to an alcohol rehab center is like taking off on a deserved holiday, and that the healing effects of such a holiday will give them a new lease of life that brings about a behavioural advancement away from the influences of alcohol and its negative tendencies.

Whether you are the patient or you are the patient?s counsellor, I want you to bear in mind that rehabilitation is a very serious issue, which emotional impact on the patient you must try to understand in other to be able to deal with it. No one wants to lose their freedom to anyone or institution, but that is what an alcohol rehabilitation program is all about. The rehab center takes over your life in such a way that it shuts out a habit you have enjoyed for a long while.

This is why you should be careful in choosing an alcohol rehab that will in turn choose an appropriate medium and motivation for you or your loved one. Every alcohol rehab patient is an individual whose agreeable tendency must be found and used for his own good.

Whether an alcohol rehab should rely heavily on prescription drugs and techniques, holistic or natural methods, will depend on the individual patient?s readiness to embrace such a therapy without force. No matter how good an alcohol rehab may claim to be, only the cooperation of the patient can bring about a successful alcohol rehabilitation.

Aside from prescription drugs and natural treatments, ensure that your choice of alcohol rehab engages in psychological repair of their patients, because though the patient be purged of both alcohol use and cravings, their view of themselves is the main cause of alcohol abuse.

Whether an alcohol rehab patient should be an in or out patient depends on the gravity of the abuse, however, this decision should be left for the rehab center to take after thorough examination of patient and the patients financial ability to foot the bills.

There are lots of alcohol rehab centers in the United States and overseas, the best alcohol rehab centers for patients are ones that a little far removed from home.

Neshah writes for your success. He recommends Proper Alcohol Rehab Methods, the road map to life changing Alcohol Rehab programs.