Help with first multi family-Killeen, TX

[Brent Gottsberger]

Hello, first time poster here. I recently purchased a property that had suffered from a fire in December of 2015 in Killeen, Texas. The property has been vacant and almost entirely untouched until January when I purchased it. (For sale by owner, 20k, 5k down 10% interest over 4 years). The property is a 6 unit apartment building with 3260 sqft. Comps in the area go for about 130-150 ARV. I am looking for advice on how to get a total estimate for repairs that need to be done on the property to get tenants back into it as that is my ultimate plan for the property. Who would I contact to give me such a thorough inspection with an estimate so that I can move forward knowing my borrowing needs? Any advice would help.

[Christopher Gilbert]

Depends on how bad the fire was.  If it is not habitable then you will possibly have to work with the city inspectors to get another certificate of occupancy.  I would ask them first and see if it has been marked as condemned or anything.  They will want you to pull permits, etc. so they can inspect the property as it is being rehabbed.  Depending on what the layout of the building is, there is a good chance that smoke and water could have damaged much more than what is visible and sitting empty for that long can be difficult to for mold and pest reasons.

If the damage only affected one or two units it may be easier to put at least a few of the lesser damaged ones into service quickly.  You may have to pay a structural engineer to do a review of the building to figure out what framing/roofing needs to be replaced.

Any decent general contractor can help with the remaining estimates and repairs, get some referrals from other investors in the area.  Also choose at least two or three and have them quote since the range may be all over the place.  Expect to have to re-wire and plumb everything to current code which sometimes can be more expensive than the rehab itself in order to get a new certificate of occupancy.