All Forum Posts by: Ivan A.

How much you pay for a house has nothing to do with how much you can spend renovating it. You could doze that $65,000 house and build a new $500K one in its place! That happened all the time here in Denver during the boom years.

Just looking at the before and after pictures you linked it looks like some pretty nice work was done. That's a very big transformation. If you want to do fix and flips and do that level of work, you really need to have your own crew and be your own general contractor. If you are a homeowner and you do that level of transformation, and you pay a one-stop shop to come in and do the whole thing, you're going to pay double or triple what it really costs to do that work.

Its difficult to do all the work yourself. Not impossible, but it takes a lot of time. And time is money when you're doing a fix and flip.

In many areas, you will have to pull permits for that level of work. That likely requires a general contractors license and licensed contractors for some specific trades. Electrical, plumbing, and mechanical in most areas, maybe other trades, too. Even if you know how to do those jobs, you won't be able to be licensed in all those different trades.

Ivan A. Call a few contractors and ask if they can go look at the house and give you a bid. Ask how much they charge, and what that includes. (CAD drawings etc., or just a bid?) The question is, do you want a "similar" look or that identical remodel? Make sure you tell the contractor specifically what you want, so that his bid is for the end product you want. You don't want to think you're getting solid wood flooring and he installs laminate, etc.

There's huge savings to be had by shopping cabinets, fixtures, appliances and flooring. (Solid wood/laminate floors, solid wood/ composite cabinets, or a mix of both, etc.), and you can get the same "look" for less. We give clients an allowance and let them shop their stuff and keep savings if they choose. Other contractors mark stuff up, and want to use stuff from their sources, etc. Ask them what their policy is.

Aside from finish materials, which is what most people are focused on, there's the bigger question of designing the space, moving walls, tearing out current kitchen, etc. If you take out a load bearing wall, it has to be replaced with a beam to carry the load. Then there's moving plumbing and electrical lines.Does the house have electric appliances now? Do you want gas? Need to run in line, etc.

Good luck. Message me if there's anything I can help you with.