Multifamily repairs, renovations, and remodels in Huntsville, AL

[Jordan Butz]

Hey BP I have been scanning properties again and did a drive-by of a property in my neighborhood and it was a fourplex in my neighborhood that was in desperate need of some TLC. The grass looks as though it had not been cut in a minute and the foliage is getting out of hand. I drove up to it did a walk around and found all the windows to be busted in along with the doors and some of them boarded up. One AC unit was actually missing! On the inside it is easy to tell kids would come in and hang out and get wild as there were dozens of liquor bottles and cigarette butts strewn throughout all the units.

The carpet was horrendously stained with God knows what but luckily it didn't smell as bad as it could've thanks to no windows :) Holes in all the drywall and most faucet heads missing. In fact, there was even a hornet's nest in the upstairs unit. The weird part is the man who owns it still pays taxes on it... 

But my real question is, is there a line you as an investor will not cross when you are looking at homes in despair and in terrible condition? What kind of projects will you just not touch with a 20 ft pole?

[Tobias Falzone]

@Jordan Butz

If it is a small project - door, windows, and carpets, you probably don't need a GC.  You will save yourself about 20% without a GC but you will have to make time to oversee the project.  I agree there is no wrong way to do it.  It is just a balance of time and money

As for properties I won't touch.  I always say anything is a good deal at the right price.  As long as the seller is psychologically willing to factor in the repairs into the sale and the rest of the numbers make sense on the property then I would go for it.  Just make sure you pad the repair costs a bit.  There is always more risk buying a distressed property, and you should take that into account on your offer.

I would recommend taking precautions, ideally having someone sleep there at the property during the renovation if people breaking into the property is a concern and it is safe to do so.  There are also portable security systems that can help with vandalism while you are working to get tenants back in the property.