Making Lemonade out of lemons

[Steven Maduro]

Making lemonade out of lemons is probably one of the best adages I can think of for learning to be creative and solving problems in real estate

if there is a problem with a property 

or dimension issues 

you dont always have to go to a contractor to solve the problem

contractors have a certain mindset

and are operating on a specific paradaigm

here are some solutions I have done in the past that have really worked and paid dividends

i had an ejector pump in a bathroom and the space was covered by a makeshift door 

I decided to have a custom cabinet built 

that functioned as a trash receptacle and had shelves as well 

now the unsightly space is home to a beautiful custom cabinet that can be easily removed for servicing the pump when it needs it 

problem two 

I bought a house that had front of the shower enclosure removed

rather than buy another shower enclosure cost 500.oo

i opted to replace the front wall with backer board and tile the front and ended up with a beautiful custom look 

cost was cheaper than replacing shower enclosure and the look is twice as good 

problem three

when i bought my house there was a hole knocked out one of the walls about the size of a  door 

i suppose thieves came in from the crawl space into this part of the house when it was vacant

rather than close in the space

i enlarged the crawls space door 

poured a concrete floor and created a second exterior doorway to the space making the downstairs ready to become a legal apartment. 

Contractors are not always designers or visionary

but  you can n always study your property and create lemonade out of lemons.