All Forum Posts by: Bonnie Low

@Natisha Phouphayly - you should listen to the most recent Real Estate Rookie podcast on BP. I think it was episode #25. They featured an appraiser who is also an investor and asked him this exact question. His #1 advice for achieving value was to double check the square footage of every property before you make an offer because it's very common that the square footage is not accurate so you could greatly benefit if it's much higher than listed. Adding bedrooms to a house that is big but underutilized is also a big one. Like a 2/1 or 2/2 that is 1600 sq. ft - should be plenty of room for another bedroom, for example. Kitchens and bathrooms add value. But go to the podcast for much more detail. Good luck!

We're rehabbing a SFR in far northern CA (Shasta Lake City, Zone 9). It's a total gut rehab so everything about the property is new and very nice but solid middle class - nothing extravagant. We had to pull out every bit of "landscaping" that existed because it was a jungle - vines growing through the windows and weeds covering all kinds of hazards around the house. So now it's basically barren red clay dirt. Of course we want to get maximum $ from the appraisal. My question is, how much does landscaping factor into the appraised value? Since it's going to be a rental and most tenants won't keep up the landscaping, what's the balance I should be trying to achieve to positively impact the appraisal but not overwhelm a tenant with expectations they'll have a lot to keep up? Suggestions for specific types of plants and/or hardscaping ideas would be much appreciated. Very hot, dry summers. Fairly cold winters (30's with some snow days). Full sun.

@Will Fraser - what about the opposite effect on an appraisal? We had to remove most of the "landscaping" at the house we're rehabbing for a BRRR because it was an overgrown jungle and was hiding lots of garbage and other hazards. So we had to remove it so we could make the yard safe. Now it's pretty much barren red dirt. I feel like we need to do SOMETHING to it so it appraises well - this is a full gut rehab so absolutely everything else is band new and appropriately attractive for the neighborhood. Is there a rule of thumb that says appraisers expect there to be some amount of landscaping or could they care less? SFR on a decent sized lot with a detached garage. B to B- class neighborhood, other homes have "quaint" curb appeal but nothing fancy.

@Hamza Qureshi - you volunteered so I'm taking you up on your offer! We're rehabbing a house in Shasta Lake, CA (Zone 9). Very hot summers and a bit of snow most winters. We're going to BRRR the house, so I feel like we need to do some amount of landscaping to get our best appraisal value, but I know most renters don't take care of landscaping. So my question is how best to balance out these 2 factors? I want to put in enough landscaping to give it some curb appeal for the appraisal but not spend so much that it's money lost if the tenants don't take care of it. The house has a very small front yard which we plan to put a little patch of grass and short fence around. The backyard is pretty generous. There are sidewalks on both sides of the house with room for flowerbeds between the sidewalk and foundation so we have to put something there or else it will just be dirt. Can you make some specific suggestions for plants that are low maintenance, not to costly to install and/or other ideas such as mulch/gravel/hardscaping in lieu of plants? Any help will be much appreciated!

@Marcia Maynard - this is just what I was looking for! We're rehabbing a house now that we intend to BRRR and it was an overgrown jungle when we bought it. There was so much junk buried under all the growth that we had to pull everything out just to expose all the hazards so we could remove them. So now we're left with a barren lot, basically. Even though we're going to put tenants in there so we want low maintenance landscaping and not much of it, I think we really need to plant something or we'll get dinged on the appraisal. Are there specific plants/trees/hardscaping you do or don't recommend? We're in Shasta County, CA - we get very hot summers and cold winters - a bit of snow most years in this area. I'm thinking a little bit of lawn in the back yard, some shrubs and mulch in the areas between the sidewalks and foundation and a shade tree in the front yard with a small patch of lawn. Too much upkeep??

@Ed Emmons - I'm curious about the following: 

- average age of the MH's you're acquiring

- average cost of rehab is per unit

- rent per unit after bringing it up to standards

Thanks in advance for your help!

@Jerry Lucker - I see you're a flipper/rehabber. Are you doing any rehabs on the mobiles you own? If so, what's the typical age of your units and average cost of upgrades to get them rentable?

@Rocky V how does insurance compare to, say, SFH insurance for non-owner occupied? Curious what you're paying for homeowners insurance on your mobiles?

@Steve G. - I like this suggestion. The lot rent and occupant requirements of the MHP associations have always seemed like a barrier to me. Yes, the units lose their value and aren't as durable and financing is difficult if not impossible for older units. That said, there's a real need for affordable housing and some nice used units available fairly inexpensively. I'm curious if you've looked further into the cost of developing a piece of land for MH pads (i.e., electric, sewer, water hookups and permits?)

@Brian Ploszay good advice!