2nd diary of a property rehab

[Carlos Velasquez]

I was watching the MLS for this particular property because it caught my eye the drop in price. It went from 149K, 139K, 89K. 84K to 79K I was ready to make the offer but someone beat me to it. I few months later it was back on the market and I told my real estate buddy to make an offer. He suggested 80K because he knew the people that was dealing with the property and they had a hard time taking the 80K offer made by the previous bidder. I found out that on the closing day the previous guy buying the house failed to put a financial statement and the bank pulled back. I told my buddy to offer 70K and to my surprise they came back with 76K so I took it. As I begun the renovation, I found that the main water line coming from the street had burst and it was on my side so I had to fix it. To make matters worse the gas pipe had also leaks and the gas meter was missing. I managed to get help from a great crew and they helped me dig the trench so the plumber could fix the pipe. They worked hard digging on a pouring rainy day. The pipe was exposed and the whole was found so the crew stopped digging. All plumbers had no time because of their busy schedule, nevertheless I was able to find a guy and he came to fix just where the hole was in order to save some money. Of course the water company came to turn the water on and the pipe burst everywhere except the area the plumber fixed. I had to call the crew again to continue digging and make a hole through the concrete basement. I begged the plumber to come back which he did and replaced the pipe completely. During this time I was also dealing with an HVAC guy who also worked with the utility company. Great guy, he helped me solved this issue pretty fast. I am 98% done with the project and I have posted the house for rent at $1,500 and so far I have good feedback showing the house every other day. I learned from my previous rehab that if you wait until everything is done you will have the property vacant for an extra month. So I wasted no time and I am about to lease the property. All utilities paid by the tenant including taking care of the trash, grass and snow in the winter. Here are some before during and after pics. The crime scene yellow tape is to prevent people from falling while awaiting for the town to send the inspector (Most nervous time in a while).