Rehabbing a meth house

[Jeanette J.]

Hello all,

I'm very new to real estate investing and I'm so grateful for this website. I have my first duplex rental under contract right now, but I can't stop doing research on other possible deals. I did find a house that I've done comparables on that I think is valued at about $210,000. It's going up for auction starting at $50,000. The problem is that it's a meth house. I've read a few different posts on this forum and people say to stay away from it because of the huge cleanup costs. I've read a report on the tests that have been done to this house and it's really toxic. So I was thinking that I would have to gut it if I bought it. Does anyone have any idea on the extent of the cleanup/rebuilding costs? I know that's a hard question to answer. The house is 1600 square feet, 2bd, 2ba, and an 800 square foot basement. I'm guessing to strip the house down by specialized people would cost about $30,000 and to rehang sheetrock, texture, and paint, would be another $20,000. I can rebuild the kitchen and bathrooms, but that shouldn't be more than about $20,000 if I take it easy. Flooring and other stuff, $10,000. I'm completely guessing, but I think with all those costs, I can still come out with about $50,000 in my pocket (and a few more grey hairs more than likely). Does all of this sound ok or should I run in the other direction screaming?

Thanks for reading!!

[Tom A.]

You've got the right idea now, watch what happens with the meth house and learn. As a first-time flipper, don't jump into the deep end of the pool right away. There's a steep learning curve. Do a simpler flip first. Paint and carpet, minor repairs. No gut rehab, no additions, no moving structural walls, no foundation issues, no fire, no meth. Maximize your chance of success.