A few more questions about rehab projects?

[Patrick Philip]

I am preparing to do my first flip in the upcoming months.

1. I have seen some listings where the house currently has a tenant in it. Should I avoid these or does this matter? Is it just "oh well, deal with it," for the tenant? I have no problem if it is, but I might be worried about him/her getting injured or something.

2. I have read the section on landscaping from J. Scott's book, but I have an additional question. If the yard currently has dirt/sand, does that mean that I should plant grass seeds and buy bushes? I literally know nothing about landscaping and I don't want my ignorance of the subject to result in me getting ripped off.

3. What legal trouble could I get in for injuries of unlicensed, uninsured handymen on the job? I definitely am going to hire them to do things like floors, cabinets, and drywall on non-loadbearing walls because they can give me a better price. I also plan to hire them even to do stuff that requires a license such as installing fans and toilets because they give me a better price. What's the worst case scenario here? I have found some quality handymen that can really save me a lot of money and I don't want to give all my profits to contractors just because they have a license.

[Bob Okenwa]

@Patrick Philip

1. If it's a good deal and you vetted the numbers thoroughly, go for it. Make sure you have good insurance though.

2. The landscaping you choose should fall in line with what the neighbors have. I live in a place where 95% of the front yards have rock and cacti. Some have grass, but it's almost always rock. If the yards in your neighborhood are all grass, you should go grass. Out here, even though damn near every neighborhood has rockscaping, going grass would be beneficial aesthetically as the house would stand out, but grass takes a lot of water and care to maintain in a desert. Being in FL, I'd assume that most front yards have grass, bushes, and maybe palm trees for that whole tropical look. 

3. I'm not a lawyer nor do I give legal advice, but you're going to want to look into a builders risk and/or general liability/worker's comp insurance to cover the property and people in it if you are using unlicensed people in the house that do not have their own insurance. Worst case scenario is someone getting electrocuted or falling off a ladder and suing you for it. I would always use licensed individuals for licensed-type work such as plumbing, HVAC, electrical. If you're unlicensed person comes in and does something wrong, things can get ugly. I understand it's all about the profits, but cutting corners can lead to some bad results in the long run. 

Just remember, when it comes to pulling permits, the sub-contractor will need to be licensed to do so or you will have to pull them yourself. https://cityofwinterpark.org/docs/departments/building-permitting-services/permit-application-forms-resources/guides/residential-construction-permitting-plan-review.pdf