All Forum Posts by: Olivier Mader

This is Guest Bathroom after...

Here are some before and after pictures of my current project.. Interior is basically done and I still need to paint and do some minor exterior work. Will also replace the windows and do some landscaping.. Got a steal on this house.. May make over $100k profit when I will flip it this coming year. House is in Davenport, FL, 20 minutes to Disney.. Doing all the work myself. I'm not a contractor but have a background in electrical engineering and also know to do plumbing, tiling, framing etc. etc.. On this project, it was a complete tear down and rebuild of the interior. Nothing there was usable.. Lots of electiric and plumbing issues.. Nothing expensive to fix as I did it myself but time consuming. Also converted the 280 sq/ft addition into a 4th bedroom and added central AC to it (wall AC in that room only). Installed new AC and new filtration system (house is on a shared commercial well). House is 1695 sq/ft with a 2 car garage (converted 2 car carport) on 3/4 acre of land.

First the before pics.. Will post the after pictures in a moment

Are you looking for Bank Owned Foreclosures (REO) or homes that are being foreclosed on via government auction?

Homes that are already foreclosed, can often be found on the MLS.

Usually, the homes that make the MLS are somewhat livable and insurable.

Homes that are trashed that can't be insured often are listed on http://www.auction.com

You can also find HUD properties on http://www.hudhomestore.com

Those sites have search features by area. 

Government Foreclosure Auctions in Burlington County, NJ are held at:

Burlington County Administration Building - Freeholder's Board Room

49 Rancocas Rd., Mount Holly, NJ 08060

Mercer County Courthouse

175 S. Broad St., Trenton, NJ 08608

You can go there and inquire on the time and days that those are held.. Usually they are held 2 PM on weekdays.

Here in Florida, most counties do all their Foreclosure sales online.. 

 Thanks, I try to use very nice finishes for everything I do as it really makes a big difference in resale. Standard grade stuff will save you a few hundred bucks but nice finishes sell, especially when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms.

 Removal of the mirror was easy. It had those typical brackets like those

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/3...

All that was needed to do was to lift up the spring loaded brackets on top and tilt the mirror forward and lift it out of the bottom brackets. Then remove the brackets (1 screw per bracket) and fill the little holes with patching compound. The wall behind the old mirror didn't have too much texture on it but I didn't re-texture it to match as the new mirror was about the same size as the old one and that area with little or no texture was not visible. I could have easily sprayed texture on it with the texture gun to match the knock down pattern that is in place on the rest of the wall. Wasn't needed in my case. 

The new mirror is secured with  2 spiral style drywall anchors (metal) which are rated 40 lbs each. Mirror is nowhere close to the 80 lbs that those are capable of supporting.

 http://www.chansestore.com/

That store is in South Florida. They do sell via Amazon. I personally drive there from Central Florida with my truck and pick the vanities up in person as shipping isn't cheap.

Their prices are amazing, especially their "specials". You can pick up a super nice, big vanity for $700 - $800..

Check this one..

http://www.chansestore.com/q036m-1.html

$670 for a BEAUTIFUL 48" vanity..

 I'm a part time investor and work evenings and weekends.. I have a well paying job that I'm not willing to give up. I just bought another property and will be spending the evenings and weekends of the next 4 to 5 months completely remodeling that home. I work by myself and do 99% of the work myself.. With other words, I would have to use up my vacation time at my employer to help out anybody else, so I'm unable to do that.. I can give detailed instructions on how to do it.. It's a lot easier than it looks like. That vanity for example was about 4 - 5 hours of work.. Not a big deal. The shower in the pic was 4 days of work.. It's really pretty simple with the right tools..

 They do make some nice vanities though.. This is the vanity from the Master Bathroom in my personal residence..

Thanks! I have previously made my own vanities by purchasing a buffet server and using a vessel sink and leftover granite from the kitchen project in the same house. I usually use prefab granite slabs and usuallu have larger leftovers and I take advantage of the leftovers instead of throwing them away.  (orientation of the picture below should be ok if you click on it)

A nice bathroom remodel if you do it yourself shouldn't exceed $3k but adds about $10k or so in value.. If you do 2 bathrooms, you probably spend $5k and add $20k in value.. I usually spend $1500 - $2000 on a nice bathroom remodel with quality finishes.. However, I'm able to do all the work myself. If you pay someone, it will be expensive and not worth it as you will be spending about the same as the increase in value.