Creating a Master List of Products to use for a Rehab

[Richard Bell]

Hi, long time lurker, first time poster. I own a flooring/home improvement warehouse in Dallas and we have developed a great following of real estate investors over the past couple of years. Since we deal in closeouts, surplus and discontinued products we are able to have very aggressive pricing that goes towards the bottom line of an investment house. We also direct import items to have running line consistency, which is important to some. Our main product is flooring, but we also carry lighting, faucets, door knobs, plumbing (Toilets & Sinks) and other opportunity buys as we find them.

Well, before this turns into a commercial, I need help from the investment community. I am trying to learn the “why” about our products opposed to the “what” in terms of the investor. I know there are different approaches to a rent house compared to a flip house and the neighborhood and comps play in to the equation. I ultimately want to have a list/guide of what products to use in what situation. For example, use a laminate floor for houses under $175K and engineered on flips over that amount.

It seems that everyone has their own opinion, but there has to be some basic theories on what to use when. I am looking for information (I have purchased the J Scott books) that goes in depth on product selection for a rehab. Such as, do you use the cheapest toilet you can find or does an elongated comfort height add value to the project. Can anyone recommend books or resources with this information? Also, would anyone be interested in starting a per group to develop a set of guidelines for rehab products. I can offer the insight from the supply side, but need input from the real world applications. Thank you in advance for your feedback.