"Hack of the Week" - Sept. 5 - Brick Bungalows and How to Create Massive Increase in Value!

[Wendell De Guzman]

For those of you investors who want to become rehabbers or flippers...here's a good "hack" for you. If you want to create massive increase in property value, tearing down walls and having an open floor plan is a good strategy. Just look at the before and after picture of a house that I wholesaled to a rehabber-buyer. This property is in Sangamon in Crete IL.

BEFORE

AFTER (open floor plan)

We sold the house to the rehabber for $55,000. We made almost $11K wholesale fee. The rehabber is now selling this property for $159,900 and I think they will get it sold. They will likely make over $40K profit. Nice.

Here's what happened to the kitchen when they opened it up.

BEFORE

AFTER

Which type of houses are good prospect to have an open floor plan? BRICK BUNGALOWS are good - because there's usually no load bearing walls in between the brick walls. Of course you have to check first to ensure that there are indeed no load-bearing walls.

[Aaron McGinnis]

This is false and potentially dangerous advice.

Brick siding is just as structural as wood siding. That is to say - it isn't at all. It's just exterior cladding.

Old houses that are wider than about 10' are always going to have interior bearing walls. It wasn't until the advent of manufactured trusses that 'wide open spaces' became commonplace (Although some of the building techniques in Japanese architecture and borrowed in very high-end bungalow architecture had some incredibly innovative ways to create open spaces, but I digress...)

Before removing walls in any structure, you should consult a professional... especially if some dumbass wholesaler is telling you that the brick siding means that there are no load bearing walls!