All Forum Posts by: Brian R.

 That would probably have been smarter. I figured I had nothing to lose since I did have a financing contingency of "20% down commercial" mortgage and inspection contingency. I didn't know it at the time but the property was owned by the developer that bought the land in 2002 to build the subdivision. This was one of 2 houses that were the farm houses on that land. He basically got it for free and had been renting it out since then but did shoddy work on it and let it deteriorate. I think he was just ready to be rid of it or needed some cash or both.

 The flooring is from lumber liquidators. Its copper ridge 5mm vinyl laminate. Everyone who has seen it loves it. It goes great with earth tones (tans and browns). Its much better than the cheap stuff ($2.19) from home depot. I went to the store when I first bought this property and gave them my info when I got samples. Told them I rehab houses and after that I started receiving texts and calls from their pro accounts guy. Told him I would get back to him when I was ready for flooring and when I did he was able to do $1.95 per sq. ft. It was originally $2.39  but if you get 800 sq. ft. or more they take off ten cents to make it $2.29. I bought 2500 sq. ft. My local store had 2600 so i took almost all they had. I was able to pick up what I needed for that week and they held the rest till I was able to pick it all up. I couldn't get it all in one trip anyway (too much weight for a pickup truck) but the store is 10 minutes from the property anyway. If you do flooring I recommend getting the rolling knee pads from Harbor Freight for $20.

 My wife said she likes their jingle too.

 Well I think its more of a "value it at the minimum necessary to facilitate the loan requested" type of thing. They still have to find comps that justify it. Just don't let the bank put the loan in for a lower amount and then tell you they can raise it based on the appraisal. It seems they just do the minimum because they are scared of getting sued by the lender for overvaluing.

Its kind of strange. I have only ever looked at ONE property (this one) and I put in an offer that evening. I don't have any idea how long it will take me to find another deal or even how to find another deal. I scour the MLS for houses in need of serious work but they don't last long. I am looking at one tomorrow that my realtor has been in and said the previous client he walked it with said it was too much work to be done. It is a small house so cant be as much work as this one I just completed. As long as the price is right. Its been on the market several months and has been lowered a lot so they may just take a low offer. It has 2 lots so I may be able to build a duplex on the second lot too. We shall see.

Thanks guys. It was a lot of work. Had I known how much work it would be I might not have undertaken such a large project for my first one. But now that I've finished I would do again in a heartbeat. The numbers only worked because I did most of the work myself. Anyone who hires everything out would probably have only broken even. Lucky for me I had more time that money. I had a friend take aerial photos and video when I bought it last spring and last fall when the outside was complete. I decided to buy my own drone and will be using it to do my own in the future. It was my gift to myself for all my hard work. Good for inspecting roofs on potential properties too.

Brian

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