All Forum Posts by: Brian Widdis

I would worry more about egress from the bedroom than anything else in an attic if you are renting as a room. If there is a fire below will they be able to get out through a window or other exit without having to go downstairs and get to safety. That’s where the liability and law suits would cause major issues. Life safety is everything to inspectors and lawsuits. Everything else to be worried about would just be a slap on the wrist, a fine, and/or wasted money on finishing it.

If you are no longer with the company you could probably put it into a self directed ira with no or minimal penalties, and use the money. Listen to a very recent podcast called six figure house flipping with Gabe Desilva from December 21, 2017. Explains how he did that to start his very successful business and growing fast in just 3 years.

@David Clarke 

I would figure $10-12k per bathroom.

Didn’t realize you had so many. I think you need to push budget to $200k, maybe slightly more.

You should put together a very defined scope or work if not drawings to use when bidding otherwise you will be all over the place with numbers that will ultimately change when construction begins. 

When and where? I couldn’t figure it out through the link?

In the process of doing something very similar in NJ at work for a flip. We had a gutted Home with good roof and siding. Installing all new mechanicals hardwood, 2 bathrooms with low-mid finishes, batt insulation, $5k kitchen plus granite, new appliances, misc framing changes and a foundation repair. We are coming in around $100k. Note we are Builders with good discounts for fixtures, hardwood, tile, Cabinets etc. Also leaning on our trades for good pricing because of the amount of work we give them. I think you are looking at every bit of $150k, If not more considering you are using copper piping (pex is a good product now if using the proper fittings, and saves on material and labor), spray foam, fiber cement board (probably hardie), 2 zone HVAC plus you will probably need “make up air”because of spray foam and new energy codes. How many bathrooms are there now? They can be big cost drivers.

Matt B. I graduated from uri in 2009 and lived in a few rentals while there. Our last house We paid $2700 for a 4 bedroom 2 story single family home, and I believe that was their weekly rate in the summer. Landlord was an out of state investor from Tennessee who had Anne O’Brien realty handle everything including renting and property maintenance. Looking back on it, it seems like a smart place to invest. Anything around URI does very well in the Winter with student rentals. The school also follows the rental season calendar. School starts after Labor Day and ends before Memorial Day which works out perfect. Bonnet shores is nice but I think anything by Narragansett pier is better and also further towards Point Judith in areas called “eastward look” and “new eastward look”. These are both in walking distant to the beach and nice little beach communities, although during School house parties are everywhere. so don’t plan on renting to anyone other than students because they probably won’t enjoy their stay. Based on the other posts seems like the rules and regs are changing so would definitely want to look into all of that.

In addition, this program helps to lay out the schedule, but as the PM you need to constantly drive the schedule and adapt. Sense of urgency is the most important trait, every day!. Construction changes so fast with weather and construct ability issues so it is important to email/text/call your sub Contractor as soon as things change to minimize lost time or capitalize on speeding the schedule up when possible. Also, make sure Material (windows, interior doors, plumbing fixtures) is ordered on time to ensure they will be available when needed. Most lead times are far too long now.

I have been using builder trend over the last year also. Scheduling is definitely the biggest benefit of the program. You can set predecessors for items to start when certain items are completed, as well as adjust for delays. The schedule can be viewed in several ways including the grant chart which is helpful. The critical path is also very clear when the schedule is created correctly. Other benefits include daily logs which also can include weather for the day and personal notes such as progress or changes. I find this very helpful. Still work on the accounting side of things but it is also very helpful to track sub contractors insurance and when they need to be updated. Builder trend also has their own APP.

I would look into getting a few estimates on the renovation/addition and see where the numbers actually come in and then move forward with decision making. You may find that it will be even more expensive than you anticipated, or right where you thought and you can make real decisions instead of hypotheticals. Estimates are almost always free so it can’t hurt to get real numbers. -Brian

Thanks for the reply Dave. BP is great so far, so much to read and learn without even posting. I will be starting a flip next week at work for my boss. I’ll be running the project so it will be a good way to put some data together and practice with someone else’s money while still collecting a pay check. Should give me the confidence to find my own deal in the near future. How is business different and similar in the Philippines?