All Forum Posts by: Jessica Hood

@Tyrell Perry It was great to read about your experience!  I have been eyeing properties in the Columbus, Ohio area in a similar price range, but have been a little nervous.  I have to start small, within my financial means, and work my way up the ladder.  I see so many opportunities like that, but I worry about the rough neighborhoods, vandalism, etc.  I'm a tough lady, but you just never know for sure what you are getting yourself into.

One of my hurdles is obtaining financing for a deal like that. I have plenty of equity in my home, but can't get to it now because my debt to income ratio is just barely too high for the HELOC. I thought about trying to get a mortgage, but then you run into the problem of poor property conditions not meeting the bank's requirements. What type of loan did you get and did they have property condition requirements? Most of what I have heard is that mortgage lenders will force you to somehow include repairs in the loan or make the owner do them.

I am trying to figure out how to get financing for a low priced house in need of repair without the bank forcing me to use contractors for every little thing.  That is how it is with the 203k.  They don't want you to do anything yourself.

Having acquired that property for so little and with tenants in place, was there back taxes that you had to resolve?  I have seen that a lot as well.

Thanks for sharing!

Here is a video of the second attempt...

Here is a video of the first results.

I do want to say thanks to Countertop Epoxy for sending us the second batch of epoxy to get it right.  Otherwise, I would have been out the $300 and I would not have been happy with the color patterns in the first round.  I hope they updated their instructions after that too.

We were on a budget when we bought our foreclosure.  It had hideous old 80s style countertops.  You know, the old fake yellow wood stuff.  We spent a lot of time comparing all of the cheaper and creative options within our budget.  We did not like the pre-made countertops that are imitation stone.  We did not like the wood butcher block style for this home.  Concrete seemed like it would be difficult with the necessary framing.  Real stone was just too expensive.  

A friend of mine had recently refinished her floor with a copper color epoxy resin.  I had never seen anything like it.  It was stunningly beautiful.  I also discovered that you could apply epoxy resin on countertops, bathtubs, and shower inserts as well.  

After a LOT of research on epoxy for countertops, I decided we would try it.  I figured if it went bad, we would just take it out and do something different.  

My biggest concerns were:

• Is it food safe?  It is if you buy the kind specifically for countertops that says "food safe".
• Is it durable and long lasting?  It seems to be and they claim it is.
• Does it scratch easy?  They said no, but I have to disagree.  It does scratch fairly easy from moving pans and appliances on the counter.  The surface is high gloss and scratches show up pretty well.  There are methods for removing the scratches, but I have not tried it yet.
• Is it easy to apply?  They said yes, super easy.  I say... no... it is not.  It is very messy and somewhat stressful.
• Will it look good?  Every picture or video I saw looked gorgeous.  My friend's epoxy floor looked awesome.  Reviews were all positive.  My own personal experience... it is absolutely beautiful!
• Is it expensive?  Not really.  Very similar to the cost of replacing counters with those formica (fake stone) counters.  Our small kitchen cost about $300.  It varies depending on how many colors you choose and the size of your counters.

Here is what we experienced.  We ordered from CountertopEpoxy.com  My shipment arrived in a timely manner.  

The instructions on the website seemed to be thorough, but there were some issues with it.  There were also differences between the instructions on the bottles, vs the instructions on the website.  I had printed them out from the website and did not realize until after the project that the two were slightly different.  This caused problems during the project.

The instructions say to mix enough epoxy in your containers as needed for all colors being used.  It then said not to leave the epoxy in the containers for extended periods or the epoxy will heat and harden.  Ok, so that is kind of vague and open to interpretation, right?  We knew we had to hurry, so we rushed quickly through mixing the epoxy and colorant as the instructions said.  We then immediately went to apply the epoxy, but realized it had already started hardening and getting REALLY HOT in some of the containers.  Let me point out that we were moving really fast.  No time was wasted while mixing, so we were shocked that it was hardening already.

In our haste, we tried to apply the epoxy to the counters as quickly as possible.  During this, clumps started to form and ended up on the counters.  Some of our colors hardened so fast that we could not even use them.  So our initial plan for color and pattern styles went out the window and we were just winging it, trying to make the best of the situation. 

While we were frantically applying epoxy, it was dripping and getting all over the plastic sheets we put down.  Instructions say to cover the cabinets and floor to protect from drips and spills.  Let me tell you, that stuff is extremely sticky!!  It got on our shoes which stuck to the plastic... which we inadvertently got stuck to ourselves and nearly ripped off the cabinets.  It was a nightmare!

Part of the process is to use a mixture of isopropyl alcohol mixed with colored powder in a spray bottle.  You spray the mixture on the epoxy while wet to create patterns.  Part of the process is also to take a blow torch to the top of the counter to release air bubbles and marbelize the colors.  Well... in our haste, we sprayed the alcohol first and then used the torch.  Needless to say, the countertop was momentarily on fire!  Ha!  SCARY!  Thankfully, alcohol burns off quickly and no harm was done, other than the near heart attache we almost had.

There is supposed to be a method for not having runs down the countertop sides, but it did not work for us.  We had a lot of runs which my boyfriend hates, but I think it made it almost look textured and artistic.  You have to spend about an hour scarping runs off the bottom edge.  We still ended up with some anyway.  But we found that you can use a dremel sander bit to sand those down once it is completely dry.

When all was said and done, it actually looked pretty interesting.  Even with the lumps, it looked like some sort of unusual rock material.  I was actually impressed that after such a nightmare of an experience, it looked pretty cool.  The only bad thing was, it was not what we wanted or had intended.  The colors were all wrong and the lumps had to go.

But what do we do now?  We were so angry that we did as the instructions said, but it was a disaster.  So I called Countertop Epoxy and told them everything that happened.  The first guy I talked to told me that we never should have mixed all of our colors at once.  I said "Your instructions say to do exactly that."  He pointed out the part that says not to leave the mix sitting in a container for an extended period.  I told him we didn't, that their instructions should have been more specific, and it hardened right away.  It took a lot of debating the matter with that guy and Levi, but they finally agreed to send me replacement epoxy so we could try again.

The second time around, we mixed only one color at a time, did not use plastic sheets on the floor, and did the torching differently.  It went so much better the second time around and turned out amazing!

So, I would recommend this for those who are on a budget, but be prepared for a mess and make sure you know exactly what to do.  Practice on something else would be a good idea.

Counter before:

Counters on first epoxy attempt:

Counters on final epoxy attempt:

I recently refinished kitchen cabinets for the first time.  I did a lot of research initially and finally decided to use Valspar cabinet enamel.  We removed the cabinet trim and hardware, sanded everything down with an electric hand sander and handheld sandpaper/blocks.  We opted not to use a chemical stripper because we try to avoid chemicals as much as possible.  It is important that you wear a mask while sanding!  We wiped the cabinets down with a damp rag after sanding and allowed to dry.  We then applied the cabinet enamel, which is especially made to be durable, with a small cabinet roller and brush.  It took only two coats.  After drying fully, we reinstalled them with new handles.

That was several months ago and the cabinet enamel is holding up very well.  It looks professional.  I went with a light cream/white color to match the trim in the house.  We did not have any troubles with staining or yellowing.  It does look like there could be a little bit of pigment that comes off if you use a harsh cleanser, so be careful about that.

If you are on a budget and cannot afford new cabinets, or just don't want to do it... I do recommend this. 

@Jay Hinrichs Oh trust me, I was well aware of the 1 year requirement before I went into the FHA 203k. In fact, my mortgage guy made it very clear in the beginning and again about 5 months in while we were discussing options. It wasn't until about a month ago that he said something has changed regarding that rule. I debated the matter with him, but he was quite insistent. I guess we will need to look it up to know for sure.

Thanks!!

I could also do a cash-out refi, but I am not sure if I can get a better interest rate or if it would be worth it.  I am at 4.75% now.

@Jay Hinrichs  My mortgage guy actually told me that rule recently changed and that I could move now if I wanted.  I am not sure at what level it changed, but he was certain I could sell now if I wanted.  He is a Wells Fargo 203k lender.  I have also been here almost a year.  I closed in July 2015.  We have been taking our time, since this is our own home.

I do not think I want to sell this house. I think I would prefer to rent it out or borrow against the equity and continue living in it for now. I have been debating about what route to take next. It would be HELOC for sure, if I weren't running into the DTI issues.

Thank you! I have been trying to gain access to a HELOC, but am having difficulties because I am just outside the DTI requirements. :( That is my plan though!