Rehab a house in 3 months BY MYSELF?! Am I nuts?!

Rehab a house in 3 months BY MYSELF?! Am I nuts?!

Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 0 votes

I want to quit my six-figure desk job and swing a hammer for a few months by rehabbing a small single-family house.  Then I want to sell it and move out of state.  Long story, but that's what I want.

To that end, I'm looking for a property right now that needs some work.  A lot of work, actually.  I'm basically envisioning taking it down to the studs and then bringing her back again.  And given my upcoming move, I probably only have 3 months to work on it.  I want to do almost all of the work myself.  Am I delusional or has anyone else actually done this?

Some relevant information is that I used to build new homes with my dad (about 15 years ago).  I think we built 8 or 9 together, so I do know my way around a construction site.  My dad was a good teacher, so I know how to do everything except electrical wiring and plumbing.  However, my dad's nickname for me was "First Gear" because I don't move very fast, sort of like I'm stuck in first gear, he said.  Funny.

Anyway, I'm capable of doing the work and I enjoy it - I'm just worried about my timeline.  My dad and I used to build fairly large new houses in about 4 months together, so I'm using that as a reference for how long it would take me to rehab a fairly small house by myself.  Anybody else been there?

Thanks!

Ryan

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Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2008 · 978 posts · 985 votes
7y

Don't quit your day job; you're delusional. 

I've been in this business for 10+ years, have a well-organized and trained TEAM, and a list of subs and vendors so long it would make your dizzy... we can run a a full on gut-out in 3 months or so, but everything has to run 'just right' including city inspections.

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  • Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2008 · 978 posts · 985 votes
    7y

    Don't quit your day job; you're delusional. 

    I've been in this business for 10+ years, have a well-organized and trained TEAM, and a list of subs and vendors so long it would make your dizzy... we can run a a full on gut-out in 3 months or so, but everything has to run 'just right' including city inspections.

  • Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    I think 6 months would be a better estimate on time for a one man show completely gutting a house to the studs and rebuilding it. It's also all dependent on what you run into and what size house you're doing. I dream of quitting my desk job to one day become a full time investor! Good luck! 

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Montgomery, NY · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    I'm a flipper who does a bunch of work myself, demo, paint, floor install, tile, cabinets, installing fixtures, doors, appliances and lots of other smaller scopes. I can get a relatively small scope done in 2-3 months (kitchen and bath gut and redo, windows, some exterior work, paint throughout, landscaping) however this is paying subs for electrical, plumbing, hvac, roofs, siding etc... 

    It is hard to fully grasp the amount of time things take to get done. If you gut a bedroom, you have to insulate the walls (figure an itchy hour), load in, cut and hang drywall (couple hours if just walls, most of the day if you are doing a ceiling), tape drywall (days worth of work between coats and sanding). Then install doors/frames, probably hour per door (2 doors minimum). Then door casing and base molding, figure a couple hours here. Caulk fill nail holes on all of it. Prime ceiling and paint. Paint trim. Cut in and paint the walls. Paint the doors. Install outlets/switches/lights. Install door hardware. Install flooring. Honestly it sounds glamours but just to knock out this one room, you would probably need a solid couple weeks (it will take you a lot longer to tape and finish than a good drywall guy). Thats doing one room. Each of those scopes will spread to the whole house and take 3 times as long. Some rooms need a ton More work (kitchens and baths). Then the exterior needs everything done also, landscaping, I assume siding, roof, windows...

    One guy, full time, minimum 6 months. Realistic, 8-10.

  • Contractor · Baltimore county, MD · Member since 2018 · 17 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    I agree with Brian Pulaski 8-10 months, possibly more if just yourself is a little more reasonable. I did a full remodel last year on a rental property, 1965 house, almost 2000sq ft not gutted to studs. But a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, full basement, deck, porch etc.. that took a helper and I 5months. I've been doing residential remodeling for 20 years full time. That was a little too long a time frame for me. I'm subbing more out next time. Especially drywall, it's not that fun carrying 60 sheets into a basement, then hanging and finishing all of it.

  • Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Thanks guys - I've read through each of your replies several times and am very grateful for your feedback.  It sounds like my suspicions were right and I'm very likely underestimating how long it would take to do that.  A special thanks to Aaron McGinnis for not sugar-coating it and cutting right to the chase:  "you're delusional."  Haha!  I laughed out loud when I read that!

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