Live in Flip deal

[Chris Herrera]

Looking at this SFH 3bd 2bath , no basement. PP is 175k and comps for the area go at least 240 to 280 for high end homes. Great area with great schools. Already in move in condition, basically rent ready but we want to put about 30k worth of upgrades to get it up to standards with the area. Taxes about 5k. We'd do the majority of the work ourselves, but what does BP think?

[Russell Gronsky]

Wow..... @Chris Herrera, do you have friends who do some kind of construction/remodeling who live near you? If this is your first attempt at remodeling, you are going to need lots of advice when you run into problems. And yes, you will run into lots....and lots....and lots of problems. It's part of the remodeling game.

Here is the biggest problem I found when I was doing my first fix and flip: I lacked experience so I didn't know how perfect I had to do each step. For example, when patching holes with drywall how big of a gap between drywall pieces is acceptable and will come out looking good anyway and when do I need to start over and cut a brand new piece? Is my texture job going to come out looking like the existing stuff? Am I putting on too much? Not enough? Will paint make it look different? What if the baseboards I'm putting in on corners align crooked? Can I fix it with caulk or do I need to cut new pieces of baseboard? 

Those are just a few small examples of things I found I was lacking in my first remodel. Also, you are aiming for the top end of the price range for your house. Considering this is your first remodel, you are not going to do a top notch job. Sorry to be blunt but remodeling is just like any other skill, it must be mastered with time, practice and patience. Just food for thought, not intending to be rude.

Now for your ideas about the work you need to do: 

Kitchen - I assume you mean cabinets, counter tops and flooring...maybe appliances as well? I'd hire someone off craigslist or home depot to install cabinets. Those can set you back a long time, especially if your walls are crooked and you don't know how to account for that. Also, careful with flooring. If you raise the floor too high, your dishwasher may no longer fit under the countertop so measure everything out to the very last 1/8" before starting work.

Bathrooms - For tile, be careful as raising the floor height may cause a bad seal for your toilet and it will leak. Then you'll need flange risers and extra thick wax rings to fix it. For double sink conversion, that will probably require cutting drywall unless you already have a long enough vanity and all you need to do is drop in a vanity top with double sinks. Call a plumber to do that portion unless you have a friend near by who can help you do the work. Plumbers in my area are a minimum of $120 per hour, most charge more.

Flooring - I assume you have to redo hardwood? Just refinish if you can get away with it. If going with another type of flooring, use your best judgement.

Wood Paneling - if removing it, you'll probably need drywall. See my comments above in regards to drywall. Also, if you are doing the drywall yourself, get a sander that connects to a shop-vac to cut down on the dust you create. It will help immensely, especially if you are living in this house at the time. Also, I found that texture in a can matches existing texture better than the powder stuff you mix yourself. However, texture in a can is expensive relative to the powder stuff.

Order your flooring, tile, cabinets, vanities early in the process. Many things have weeks or even months of back order.

Hope this helps. A lot of this stuff I learned the hard way in my first remodel.