All Forum Posts by: Erica Redcross

Hi @Kevin Paglia.  I share your enthusiasm for option number two because well, I just really enjoy taking a house in really bad shape and transforming it into a wonderful home.  That being said, I offer a bit of food for thought: contractors equals permits equals inspections equals the need for a certificate of occupancy.  All of these things may be difficult to manage with the ongoing pandemic.  I would hate to see you get stuck with a property that you can't rehab immediately because you can't get permits and/or inspections right now.  House #1 might be the better option right now until this pandemic is under control.  I wish you the best either way and I'm excited to hear about your journey.  Please keep us posted!

Welcome @Oladele Tomide.  I was in your shoes last year.  My advice to you is to build your knowledge by watching as many webinars as you can and reading the forums for new investors as well as mistakes and successes on rehabs.  The webinars will help you to understand the lingo and the concepts so that it starts to make a bit of sense.  Also read some of the books on flipping.  It will be difficult to obtain a mentor before you develop a basic understanding.  The thing that I found the scariest was figuring out rehab costs.  I'm still learning, but I'm happy to help you in any way that I can.

@George W.  Yes, my contractor has a generator.  My issue is that I have to demo the roof and 2nd floor and I need to disconnect the power line from the 2nd story before starting the demo.  I need the inspection in order to do that.  

@JohnWarren I agree that is sometimes the better tactic but I'm hesitant in this case.  The building inspector is not known for his bedside manner if you know what I mean and has a reputation for issuing stop-work orders and making contractors tear things down. I don't want to get on this guy's bad side and I would definitely need a CO to sell the property after the rehab is completed.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Southington.

Purchase price: $120,000
Cash invested: $25,000

Purchased in November 2019. 2 bed/1ba. After rehab, will be 3 bed/2.5 bath. Purchased with hard money loan (full purchase price and part of renovation costs).

I bought my first flip in November.  I will be doing extensive renovations (knew this before I closed), and worked with a designer to complete construction drawings.  This took a bit of time and I had to wait for this to be completed before I could apply for the permits.  Unfortunately, the town that I purchased in is extremely backlogged, and it took 5 weeks to get zoning and building permits.  I had the asbestos abatement done while I was waiting.  I couldn't get the electrical permit issued until the building permit was issued.  I was communicating with the electrical contractor but they couldn't schedule me in until they knew when the building permit would be issued.  I stayed on top of it and as soon as the building permit was issued, I connected with the electrical contractor and kicked that off immediately.  I needed a temporary power pole to be installed so that I could start the demo of the roof and 2nd story.  The day after the electrical permit was issued, our governor issued the shelter in place order.  While the electrician still proceeded with installing the pole and the cabinet for the meter, the town will not send the inspector to complete the inspection so that the power company can disconnect the power from the house and install the meter, and the electrician can connect to the power pole.  Without this, my contractor can't start the demo.  Even if the town does send the inspector for this, I would need another inspection after the demo was completed before the contractor could start framing.  I am at a total standstill until they resume inspections, and it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.  In the meantime, I will have to keep paying the interest payments on the hard money loan.  Anyone else out there in the same position?  Anyone have suggestions on what to do while I'm waiting?

Thanks @Aaron Schump and @Jared W Smith! I put together a scope of work that includes sketches of how I want the layout to look post-rehab. I've walked through the house with 3 contractors so far and have a couple more that I'd also like to meet with. All but 1 do design and build, but I definitely intend to have a local architect either review plans that are drawn up by the contractor or have the architect draw the plans. It is a lot for a SFR, but this is in a highly desirable area in CT (Southington) on 1/3 acre with a private back yard and a great school system. These opportunities are few and far between in this area.

Thanks for the feedback @JaredWSmith. I'm in the process of buying my first flip, and the house will need an addition on the 2nd story to make it for functional for my target buyers. It's a small cape (1221 sqft) with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath (1st floor). My renovation plan is to add an ensuite for the master, a 3rd bedroom and a full bath on the 2nd floor. Obviously, this work is extensive and will need to be done by an experienced contractor to prevent structural issues and leaks. I would definitely feel better having an architect or construction engineer review the plans prior to kicking off construction. The house has great potential if the plan is executed properly and I could make a net profit of about $40k. I feel like I'm having a panic attack every day while I'm waiting for the contractor bids to come in.

Does anyone have experience using this service?  It sounds great on paper, particularly for a new investor working on their first flip that requires major structural work for a 2nd story addition.  Having the benefit of a construction engineer to review my scope of work, construction plans and bids would be awesome,  but I'm leary of shelling out $3000 to this company.  The reviews from contractors have been mostly negative, but I haven't seen any reviews posted for the premium service.  Any thoughts on this?  Would you use this service?  Are there reputable companies out there that provide a service like this?

Hi @ FrankPatalano.  I drive for dollars and monitor Zillow daily.  I spend A LOT of time estimating repairs and researching contractors and materials.  I feel like I'm improving every week, but I also have limited cash funds so I have to limit my search to lower $ properties right now.  If I can just get that first one under my belt, I think that will inspire me to find another gear so I can progress to investing full time.