I had to buy a commercial premises for an investor visa. I scoured the whole country and found a commercial building with an additional house on the same lot for 110k in Daytona Beach.

Total building size combined is 3000 sq ft. The house is a 2 bed, 1 bath.The shop also has a kitchenette and bathroom,

Total land size is 9000 sq ft. It was listed for 110k. I negotiated to 105k.

It was a bankruptcy sale and the listing said access was not allowed and the property had to be bought site unseen.

I was buying from overseas, so I figured site unseen worked for me.

I paid cash, so there has been no holding costs.

Once it closed, I sent a contractor I’d used a few times before to get inside.

The contractor speaks zero English and also can’t use a phone or google translate. So I had to hire an additional person just to do translation.

Once he got inside, it was about a 9/10 in severity.

I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Not only was the property in disrepair but there was a meter high sea of rubbish.

The whole property had to be stripped and the plumbing and electrical redone.

Let’s just say it was an arduous process trying to project manage a remodel from overseas with a contractor I could barely communicate with.

I ended up parting ways with the contractor when the house was 90% done because his hours were becoming less and less yet his weekly pay was remaining the same amount.

I then found an amazing contractor who I am way happier with now and I wish I’d worked with him from the beginning.

I have just finished the house and rented it for $1100. (I have repainted the green decking to grey).

The total house remodel was at least double what I usually pay for a property of this size. That was due to working with a contractor who was being paid a full time wage but only worked half the hours, plus some material wastage. 38k in labour and 20k in materials. It is double what it would cost me had I been there in person. The house alone would sell for around 150-160k if I subdivided the land and sold it separately.

I’m now working on the shop with the new contractor. Fortunately the shop is in good shape and requires substantially less work than the house.

Moral of the story is not to try to remodel a property overseas, with a contractor who doesn’t speak English.