All Forum Posts by: Jeremy Brown

I don’t know of a contractor I could refer. In fact, I’ve had so much trouble finding people at the sweet spot of price/quality/availability that I’m currently DIYing a complete gut remodel of 1 unit in my 4-plex (aside from an HVAC install). I expect that full remodel to cost around $25k.

That leads me to the 2nd thought - adding a bathroom is not a wise financial move. It’ll likely cost $25k or more. For that amount invested, this full remodel will barely pay for itself in better rent. One extra bathroom will get you almost nothing extra in rent, in this market. Same for the home value. It might go up, but almost certainly by much lest than it costs to add a bathroom. 

It’s such a sellers market, it’s really tough to find anything to buy. For the most part, sellers know how easy it is to sell and get top dollar, so it takes a lot of work to find someone willing to let their house go for below market value.

That said, on the sell side, fixed up houses sell very well and there are a lot of cash buyers jumping on houses that are in good condition.

In my opinion, the hardest part of a flip right now is finding anyone to do work at a reasonable price. The high-price guys are all booked way out. The mid-price guys don’t return calls. The low-price guys don’t exist. I have a couple people I use regularly for specific trades, but have some holes I haven’t been able to fill with people at a price/performance point that I’m happy with. 

Airflow was around $10k for everything, which included new electrical and gas lines, all the equipment, ducts, permits, etc.

Oleg installed a new system and ducts for me in a rental house that didn’t have central HVAC before. I was very happy with his work and the price.
https://goairflow.com/

From what I've seen in the last year, you'll have more competition trying to buy a single family. If you aren't paying cash, forget it. Some duplexes may be possible. What size down payment do you plan to make? If 20% down, you'll have a hard time getting an offer accepted and you will have a hard time making any cashflow.

Newer homes will be worse for cashflow than older. I don't know your exact criteria, but you'll have a hard time finding any newer home in your price range unless it's a condo.

I haven’t looked at comparable sales, but asking was $399k, zestimate was $412k, and there was supposedly a cash offer over $500k.

It’s looks under-priced. Any time you do that on an area with low supply, you’ll get a ton of offers. There are a couple nearby for $460-$470k. Similar or slightly worse condition with smaller lots than this one that was listed at $400k.

We did recently price one too high, so yeah, it’s possible. But, we lowered the amount some and immediately had more interest. Aim high. Back off if you have to. It’s better to have an extra week or two of vacancy than be perpetually $200 too low. 

Right. Folsom had a few major employers, but residents work all over the Sacramento region. There’s some tech, but plenty of other things like medicine and government. 

You mentioned house hacking. One approach you can take with that is to buy a house near the Folsom Intel campus and rent out rooms. You’ll have access to a large group of tech employees that way. There’s some new construction almost right across the street and a fair amount of more mature neighborhoods very close by. 

Having $20k is a tough spot. It’s enough that it can take awhile to save that much, but doesn’t go very far when buying in the Sacramento area. For someone buying their first rental here, I’d recommend having about $100k. With where you are, you could consider lending, but you’d probably have to lend it all out at once to one person/project, so putting all your eggs in one basket. If you can bring a little cash and some other skills to a partnership, that would be another option.