Finished the rehab of a 200yr old log cabin

[Christopher B.]

Hey BP, I just finished the remodel on a 200 year old log cabin and wanted to share the results after this exhausting remodel. The project was initiated to help a close friend in a house remodel because she almost purchased a lemon which is humorous now because we truly purchased a lemon in this house. The cabin was actually the first church and school house in Concord, TN so a lot of history with the property. However, we didn't know it was a log cabin initially because of how the remodels and additional structures were built around the cabin over the years so it was a "nice" surprise during the demo stage. "Nice" as in completely termite eaten throughout the cabin. Due to setbacks and difficult neighbors, tearing down and rebuilding wasn't an option either. The damage required required a new foundation around almost all of the house and the logs created a different challenge at each phase of the project. The project took awhile as I had to continue operating my business and had two surgeries and 9 months of rehab in addition to other health issues during this project but we finally got her finished. I could write a book on this house so will stop here, the numbers before/after pictures are below. 

I consider this a success because perseverance prevailed. There will be difficult projects, and projects like this can even put an investor out of business. Adapt or die, you must be flexible and be able to roll with the punches sometimes. 

House is a 3/2.5 2312 sf

Purchase: $72k

Rehab: $146k

Total Investment: $218k

ARV: $300K

She did a cash-out refi on the property and is in a strong equity position moving forward.