How far should the flip go?

[Marko Cvetkovic]

I bought a 3 bed 1.25 bath SFR in a nice area of town. The purchase price was 60k, the rehab will cost around 32k with just fixing up the outside and main floor interior. The problem we (wife and I) are kind of lost on what to do for the full basement with low ceilings. The past owners used wood paneling walls to make a few rooms. And it has a drop ceiling which needs to be removed because it make it to low.

Question 1 is this a 3 bed 2 bath goes for around 145k in area, would it be worth another 12 k to place a bathroom down stairs or simply fix the main floor and outside and sell it for 130K?

Question 2 is should we paint the wood paneling and remove the drop ceiling just to give it some appeal before selling?

Thanks 

[Jeff Stewart]

Question 1: I would take a more detailed look at your comps and figure out how much value a second bathroom adds if it's in the basement. All 3/2s are not created equal. People may not find a bathroom in the basement to be that appealing. But don't guess; investigate.

Question 2: I'd imagine the basement feels very dark and small with the drop ceiling and dark wood paneling. It's probably worth addressing.

There's my two cents. Good luck!

[Marko Cvetkovic]

thank you Jeff

[Russell Gronsky]

Most definitely paint the paneling. I'd replace it with drywall myself but if you aren't doing the work yourself, it can be pricey.

Usually another bathroom is a good thing but like it was already stated, check that the cash you spend putting one in will raise the value of the house so you aren't taking a loss on that investment.