All Forum Posts by: Isaiah Thompson

I agree with what Patti said on this one.  I have a couple of properties within the historic districts in Portsmouth and the city is very on top of landlords when it comes to inspections, maintenance, landscaping, etc... I would verify with them to make sure that they approve of whatever you plan on doing ahead of time.

Welcome to the area!  It seems like the young investor community in Hampton Roads is really thriving lately.  There is relatively low inventory right now but don't let that discourage you as you continue to look through deals, as there are plenty of people closing on investment properties despite that!

If you're looking at Norfolk, you'll also want to narrow down which neighborhood you want to move to as well.  As an example, if you decide to look for a townhouse in the Ghent or Oceanview area, the likelihood of you finding a high quality roommate/tenant are much higher.

You'll pay a slight premium over a similar townhouse in most of Norfolk, but you'll have a much larger pool of high quality applications to choose from (both during and after you move out of said househack).

No worries!  I'm just basing it off of the scope of work that you mentioned.  If it helps the below items are what stuck out the most:

Plumbing:  Your material costs seems high on this, usually plumbing labor cost is a lot higher than material cost.  I would make sure you're aren't overpaying for plumbing materials.

Heating:  I would inquire about possibly using some mini-splits instead to cut down material/installation costs.

Flooring:  You could save a lot here by using carpet in the bedrooms/closets/hallways/etc...

Electrical: You mentioned that it's updated, so I would review to see you aren't replacing/updating more than you need to.

Hopefully this helps!

Hello Kim, I'm also an investor in the Hampton Roads area (and based on the information you've provided I'm confident I know which property you're referring to) and it seems like you've done a ton of due diligence in regards to setting yourself up properly to cover all aspects of this home rehab.  I suspect that based on that you'll have a lot of success as you continue to grow your rental portfolio.

That being said, based on the information you've provided I think you're overpaying for the rehab budget.  The purchase price that you were able to negotiate is solid but I think your GC has some inflated pricing.

I'm not sure if this is due to the GC needing to be approved for the 203K loan that you are using but it still seems abnormally high.  If you can I would cross compare some of the work with other GCs in the area.