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All Forum Posts by: Brent Causey

Brent Causey has started 12 posts and replied 58 times.

Originally posted by @Jeremy Baker:

Great work, question on the Reno costs. How would you characterize the level of contractors? High medium or low end?

Also did you use 1 gc and he found all the subs, did he include materials in the bid?

Thanks

Jeremy -  I subbed it all out myself. I had a mixture of skill level. I got individual bids. Tile guy, window company, painter, etc. my carpenter was sort of a jack of all trades so he did a lot. I did a lot of the things that no one specializes in like ac outlet cover replacement, door knobs, yard clean up, demo, landfill runs.  

Originally posted by @Phillip Lirette:

@Brent Causey The house looks amazing. Great job! Can you tell us a little about how you financed this deal?

So The bank loaned me up to 80% of the after repair value. It appraised for 140 "with repairs" so I got 115 from the bank interest only and nothing down. I'm not sure if they used other collateral since I  already had some other loans with them or they just used the equity in the house. Once that ran out I used a service called prosper - they're a peer to peer lender sort of like lending club. The interest is high but I only needed the money for 2 months. So I had a 20k prosper loan. I used one credit card for a few major purchases like windows and appliances. The little bit of interest I paid was worth it to see the return in the end. My advice is get creative but don't put yourself in a bind. It's very easy for something to go wrong that holds up the sale of the house and you don't want to lose your profit on loans. I tied up 0 personal cash in this deal. 

@Jennifer Petrillo I had the exact same problem. I used the rustoleum tile reglaze kit. It's really hard to find, nobody keeps more than a can or two in stock. Even amazon took 1-2 weeks to get it to me. It looks REALLY good. The house kept its original "feel" but also looks clean and updated. I hate when people rip the old stuff out and put in drywall and slate tile in a 1960's ranch style house. It just loses some of the charm. 

My biggest advice is a) get a professional to do it b) follow the instructions line by line c) make sure and let it dry and put multiple coats. I think we used 7 cans of it total on those two bathrooms. We did the tub and walls. It's also really strong so make sure no others are working in the house.

I cannot attest to how long it'll last but there are some good reviews on Amazon that it seems to hold up. 

Rust-Oleum 7860519 Tub And Tile Refinishing 2-Part Kit, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PTSBKW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wug5ybHDV4V1K

@Lisa Loveless Here's the logic. I'm a 30 year old single man, so sometimes dishes get left in the fridge for a while and they start to stink. Well, with the dishwasher right next to the fridge you can move straight from fridge to dishwasher without having to smell the nastiness! I'm kidding, but it is a good idea. 

We had to move the fridge to create more cabinet space. We added the big double door cabinetry where the fridge was originally. It was not ideal, but that was about the only option that worked well without ripping out cabinets and completely re-doing the kitchen.  

Thanks for the kind words!

Originally posted by @Wes Johnson:

Was this in Ruston? I'm from Monroe and I'm a little surprised this ranch style got a 187k contract price. I definitely didn't think prices had gotten that good

 Wes - Yes in Ruston. Actually had an offer of $192 within 24 hours. Appraisal didn't hold up to that due to the neighborhood and area so we settled on 187,5. There's a housing shortage in Ruston. You can't find anything decent for less than 150k. 

Originally posted by @Rodney Sums:

@Brent Causey you should have left the circus-colored ceiling fan, would have scored another 5k. Just kidding, good job man!  I like how you saved on paying out commission, are you an agent or did you read up on listing and selling yourself?

 Haha, Well, I decided the fan was so nice I would hang it in my living room at home! 

I am not an agent. I listed it online and had multiple full asking offers the first day and a contract within 24 hours of showing the house. I let a realtor bring a buyer but I did not "list it".  I just have a hard time writing a check for $11,000 to a real estate agent when I knew this house would sell itself.  I paid the realtor a little less than 2%.  

Thanks y'all. It was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing more. 

@Scott W. -   My utils ran about $65/month. No realtors were involved on the purchase and I only paid 2% when I sold as a referral as I listed it by owner. Insurance was $30/month. Taxes were $1200 for the year.  Closing costs were about 4k when I first bought it.  I think I had about 7500 in Quickbooks when it was all said and done.