First Flip Need to Know Where to Start Working

[Brady Speers]

Ok guys. Secured my first house to flip. Wife and I are excited but unsure exactly what to do first after owner moves out here in a week or so. Do we have a cleaning crew come of some kind come in and deep clean every square inch first, then clean again at the end, or do we do the rehab work and then clean all at one time? House isn't in terrible shape, but owner hasn't done basic routine maintenance in years either. Thoughts? What kind of cleaning crew would I be searching for? DFW area by the way if anyone has any contacts. 

[Cooper Bert]

I don't think you've given us enough information about the flip.  When you say "rehab work" what do you mean?  You want to do a "clean-out" at the front end, not a "clean-up" which happens at a rudementiary level at the end of demo and then at a fine level the end of punch-out.

My advice would be to first detemine your level of renovation:

• Gut to studs and then determine what to do
• Move a wall or two for an Open Floorplan
• Keep floorplan, replace flooring, fixtures, bath & kithchen
• Keep everything and apply lipstick

My experience is that if its anything other than the last bullet point, don't bother with initial cleaning, even at a base level.  You cannot imagine the amount of dust and dirt created by demo if you've never done it before.  Especially if the house was built in the golden age of plaster walls & ceilings!!  And then there is the dust from tile, and cement board, and granite ... oh my! 

Our initial steps after securing the property:

1. Remove all the tenants/owners stuff that is left behind.
2. Remove any appliances you don't want to keep (OfferUp.com)
3. Remove any debris and trash.
4. Optional - Broom clean to see flooring and feel better about your new wreck of an investment

Now you are ready to start the demo/rehab. We do everything in-house but I'd have my crew do this even if we didn't.  The clean-out process allows us to get to know the property and evaluate our renovation plans as we peel away the "layers" of our newly purchased distressed onion.  

All the gurus may tell you to start with a list or plan but that is always subject to change once you get into the project.  We do detailed preliminary planning for budget purposes but the actual rehab plan almost always changes once we get into a job. (Life hack tip - "Change is inevitable, change is good, embrace chance!")  Keep this in mind the next time you find black mold or carpenter ants.

Final thought on the owner not doing routine maintenance ... if the house if older than about 20 years then you need to check all the mechanicals (plumbing, electric, HVAC, low voltage) for code, quality and function.  You'd be surprised the amount of demo needed to fix minor mechanical problems.  It's not that unusual for a floorplan to change or open-up if walls need to be gutted or installed to repair/replace mechanicals.

Good luck with your flip!!