When you’re looking for a house to fix make sure you’re able to fix the house and it’s not a house that is unable to be worked upon. Do a proper inspection on the house and determine how much money could be needed. Don’t be stuck with a crooked house!

Bed

Clock

Speakers

Laundry Basket

Bookshelf

Coat Rack

Wine Cellar

Bookshelf and Bike Rack

Clock

The Herculean Project of Rehabbing a House

Rehabbing a house can be daunting to someone doing it for the first time. To eliminate the feeling of intimidation, let’s tear down this massive piece of work into several smaller and manageable tasks.

Steps in Rehabbing a House

1. Assess the project and establish the specific jobs that needs to be done with your contractor. Ask your contractor for his ideas, then from there, set your final action plan on how to undertake the renovation project, particularly how to go about specific repairs. It is also in this stage when you decide whether or not to modify the basic layout of the house. To simplify things, have your contractor gather his own rehab team and discuss with them what has been agreed upon. It would be great to work with a… Read the rest

Quick Tips on How to Minimize and Control the Cost of a Rehab Project

Purchase the general construction materials and supplies for your contractors and have it delivered to the job site.  Instead of having your contractors spend their time looking for material, do it yourself if you can.  It’s amazing how long a simple trip to Home Depot can turn into.

Property Rehab Written Scope of Work

Always put the scope of work in writing with enough detail to avoid conflicts and “misunderstandings” during the rehab of the property.  It’ amazing how crystal clear your vision of the finished product is during the walk  through with the contractor and then how any questions come up in the middle of the rehab.  Questions such as, “Oh, you wanted that wall knocked down?” or “You wanted more than two kitchen… Read the rest

House Fixing at its best in this series of unbelievable home repair projects.

I should have known better when the contractor from Good Ole’ Boy Engineering said, “We can Fix House to meet anyone’s budget! He wasn’t kidding.

Alternate ceiling fan connections.  Eliminates the need for for those expensive electricians.

Here’s what you can do with a little PVC pipe and a lot of couplings!

The ultimate in supply and return air efficiency!

Roof flashing not needed.  It must not rain in this part of the country.  Wait till you see the roof leak catch system installed in the attic.

Save money.  Just use use nail gun nails; they… Read the rest

House Fixing – Riskier But Richer
The higher the risk, the higher the yield. This is one of the general rules in investing, and it applies very well even in real estate investing.
Retailing in the housing industry presents to the real estate investors substantial profits that are far heftier than wholesaling. This is because you can increase the value of the property by rehabbing. However, conforming to the investing precept just mentioned, rehabbing also brings greater risk because it requires more capital to fund the house fixing. It is thus, vital that the project be carried out properly. You need to buy the right property with the right repairs, hire the right contractors and fix the right contract for a headache-free house fixing project.
Buying The Right Property for House Fixing
While a property selling below 60 percent of

… Read the rest

These days, getting funding for your handyman specials from hard money lenders are getting harder as their requirements become more rigid. Traditionally, getting funding from these private lenders was almost as swift as their speed of driving by the property involved in the deal for inspection.  At the present real estate climate, however, many of these lenders may check on the tax returns, bank statements and current pay slips of borrowers. For this reason, some REI’s may be seeking for other financial fountainheads to fund their deals. Usually in their search for alternative source, they give Federal Housing Administration’s 203K loans the brush-off.

Giving 203K Loans A Second Thought

Ever since the Department of Housing and Urban Development set down the moratorium on investor involvement in the 203k Rehabilitation Program, ethical REI’s avoid this loan program lest they be… Read the rest

Should you be afraid of trying to comply with the EPA’s new lead based paint laws?  I have heard several real estate investors offer up many different opinions on this topic.  Based on the fines involved, I would not willfully violate these laws whether you like them or not. The six ideas presented below are derived directly from the EPA’s FAQ website.

The good news is that only one in four homes built after 1950 has lead based paint.  Depending on your city, this may not affect you very much.

The first thing you have to do is pay $300 to have your firm lead based paint renovator certified; which is strictly a fee in order to get on the EPA’s approved list and receive an approved vendor certificate.  Then, the newly certified firm has to pay to have their… Read the rest

Standard Foreclosed Home 1,000 sq. ft. 3 – 4 beds, 1bath
Rule of Thumb Costs (costs are averaged)

EXTERIOR

Roof – standard tear off and reshingle
$4,000

Roof – replace plywood
$1,500

Roof – add a layer of shingles
$3,000

Vinyl siding (removal of old siding included)
$6,000 or $5 – $6 / sq. ft.

Tuckpointing
$1.50 / sq. ft.

Pour new concrete – 4″ deep
$7.00 / sq. ft.

Replace windows
$225 – $250 / window

Cap windows (w/ aluminum)
$80 – $100 / window

New soffets and facia
$2,500

Install new gutters
$1,200

Replace exterior doors (steel or solid wood)
$400 – $500 / door

Landscaping/grounds cleanup
$500 – $1,000

INTERIOR

Gut whole house interior – includes disposal costs
$2,500

Rough plumbing – run new copper plumbing through house
$4,000

Upgrade to 100A panel
$1,500

Rough electric

… Read the rest

Landlord’s flooring guide for rehabbing for cash flow

Rehabbing a foreclosure to hold as a rental property, versus selling it to a homeowner, requires a different approach to the rehab than one may be accustomed to.  Think durability.  Most tenants generally do not care for their homes as well as homeowners.  Also, many homes in rental heavy neighborhoods usually wind up having many more live-in boyfriends, girlfriends, and kids than originally accounted for on the lease.

Rehab choices for a rental house should be made with with durability and ease of maintenance in mind.  Remember that when you decide to sell your investment property down the line, you will have to clean up after the previous tenants anyway.  So at that time, invest the additional $3,000 to $4,000 to spruce up the house to make it look homeowner ready instead… Read the rest