All Forum Posts by: Benny Cash

Hey all, I'm up north in Concord MA and would also be interested in MA meet-ups.  I've been lurking on BP for a while as pretty much a newbie but eager to meet more folks and expand my network.  

About myself: for the moment I adhere to a relatively specific fix and flip niche so I'd love to build up my network with more wholesalers in particular who would be interested in supporting my approach and helping to fill my rather picky buy box lol.  Would be great to get some meet ups in motion!

Purchase price: $636,000

Rehab: $55,000

ARV: $1.1M

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Hi all, Looking for tips on how to handle a situation in which a mixed-use property was inherited with three non-paying tenants who had been given permission by the now-deceased owner to occupy the property without paying rent.  The story goes that tenants were down on their luck and couldn't make their rent, so the owner allowed them to stay until they could get back on their feet.  The property has been neglected and is in now complete disrepair, likely in teardown condition, and is an enormous tax burden on the beneficiary who inherited the property (significant back-taxes owed, high annual property taxes, etc).  What is the cleanest way to remove the tenants at this point, given that they had received prior permission from the deceased owner to stay, so that the property can be cleaned up and sold?  Is it just a matter of knocking on the door and notifying the tenants that circumstances have changed?  Or is it better to find a more "hands off" approach?  Thanks for any thoughts!

Newbie to investing and real estate  here, so sorry in advance if the answer to this is painfully obvious to experienced investors.

I'm trying to educate myself on the possibility of flipping houses in the greater Boston area, an area from what I gather is generally very difficult and competitive to find a good deal in, and an area generally with very high acquisition costs (e.g., high risk, high reward). 

There are many, many properties that are in tired or rough shape that are being sold to owner occupants with little room (in terms of resale value) for spending money on rehabbing. 

What I wonder is if there is a small niche market of folks who would pay a premium (I.e., significantly above comps) for very high end finishes, particularly in a town that is known for historic preservation. And by high end, I mean rehab money spent on architectural details that are in keeping with the historic charm of the surrounding neighborhood. 

I ask this because I recently saw a small 1500 sq ft 1950's cape bought for $630k and sold for $940k after a very well known architect had his fun with it. Not only did it sell for $940k but is was gone after the first open house.

Just trying to wrap my head around how much "over rehabbing" is more of a liability than an asset in markets like these.

Any thoughts or experiences are more than welcome!

I tend to agree with the rip it all out, but could be a can of worms depending on how the flue is constructed, I.e, is it masonry or is it steel stovepipe. 

Otherwise if I was me I would build a relatively simple built-in adjustable shelf unit above and alongside the fireplace with veneer plywood and a simple face frame (using a kreg pocket hole jig), perhaps with a tv recess, and maybe dress up the mantle with some off the shelf moldings from HD. Mask off the fireplace and surrounding floors and walls with plastic and spray the whole thing with an HVLP. That would probably be cheaper to do than demoing the fireplace and patching the wall and floor.

And to answer your question more directly, nothing is really going to be "easy". All the trades take years to master in order to perform them well, and poorly executed DIY jobs are not going add much value to your project. 

Unskilled or minimally skilled labor is naturally going to be the "easiest". For example, ripping up carpet or other demo tasks, removing wallpaper, etc. But you still need to be careful because demo isn't all monkey work -- you need to know enough about construction and rehabbing to have the judgement to make the right decisions when unforeseen things are encountered, and you need to be able to think through a demo beyond the head of your sledgehammer or teeth of your sawzall blade. Knowing how things went together is crucial in knowing how they need to come apart.

Painting is another good DIY skill to have, but there are good DIY paintjobs and horrible DIY paint jobs, and there are a lot of very small subtleties that separate the two.  So like anything else, even painting requires a certain level of competence. Again, a lousy paintjob isn't going to help your project so you really are going to need to use care in your prep work and technique. You may want to consider investing in a HVLP sprayer and learning how to use it for walls and trim. Picking one paint color and painting your trim and walls the same color can make spraying a huge time saver with a superior result.

Hardwood floor refinishing could also be a valuable skill. Buy or rent the right arsenal of floor sanders and learn how to apply the poly. 

Light duty finish carpentry isn't all that hard to learn IF the house is relatively new and walls and corners are square and plumb, and the woodwork is simple. Learn the basics of mitering corners of door and window casing, coping corners of baseboard and crown, and caulking gaps and filling nail holes. 

I know this doesn't address your question directly, but I would add that you need to remember that your time is money, so how much are you really going to save in the end by short cutting by not using a contractor. What if you spent those couple of nights a week that you were planning to use for DIY rehabbing time instead to look for more deals or strategizing your business. I don't know your exact situation, and maybe it does make sense for you to DIY, but just remember to ask yourself if it's really worth YOUR time.

Thanks for your reply Jaron. I should clarify that this will be a flip, and I would be DIY'ing the wall (I'm formerly a carpenter and this particular wall would be an easy one with regard to the great points you brought up).

This is my first full rehab! How exciting is this!

I am rehabbing a small 1950's cape that I feel has a really good potential but like many capes of its vintage it has a pretty claustrophobic floor plan downstairs with many small rooms and 7' ceilings. The dining room and kitchen are each about 10x11 and I'm debating tearing the wall down that separates them. My first thought is that it was a no brainer, but my realtor got into my head when she said that it may harm resale to only have an eat in kitchen and not have a formal dining room. Which way do most of you all go on this decision? 

Taking the wall down would take very little effort and cost. I just don't want to shoot myself in the foot if doing away with a dining room is going to work against my goals.

Thanks for your input!