All Forum Posts by: Joseph Sangimino

All, 

I'm dealing with a tricky floor transition problem and was hoping to get some recommendations. I'm just finishing up a buy and hold rehab project on an older cape cod. There is a pretty steep drop between the living room floor (luxury vinyl) and the kitchen tile. Its about a 1" drop from the vinyl to the tile. I hit a couple unexpected hurdles while installing the floor in the living room that resulted in this issue. If I could go back I'd do a couple of things differently and make sure the floors were nice and even, but at this point I'm happy with the end product - with the exception of the floor transition issue in this area. 

I cant find any 1" deep transitions online and at Home Depot that I think would work well and look nice. I'm almost leaning toward some kind of short interior ramp. 

Does anyone have any recommendations on products or techniques I can use to transition the floors? 

Thanks!

Joe

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d start advertising immediately because as soon as you start advertising then your repairs or improvements can be written off as opex and capex appropriately. If the property isn’t producing income once they move out and isn’t advertised, then I’m not sure you can per the tax code - or at least not to the same extent.   Also depends whether you own it or an entity I’m sure.  

I’d estimate how long the repairs will take you, begin advertising immediately stating the improvements that are actively being made, and just state the first available move in date.  I’d show applicants the unit while you do the work.  To my experience they don’t care and I think some actually like to see it’s getting improved.   I wouldn’t do work while old tenants are there, and I wouldn’t recommend getting new tenants in right away knowing it needs work. 

Thanks everyone! All of you provided phenomenal feedback. I can tell you that this remodel has gone pretty well overall with the exception of this kitchen. It has been a real challenge and continues to be. 

I'm going to reconsider painting the cabinets white based on the positive feedback. White cabinets looks very nice in general, are in style, and have stood the test of time from a popularity perspective. Thanks for the help with that decision!

I really like the alternative layout ideas and would like to add the shelving and additional cabinets as suggested. The kitchen definitely needs more shelving and pantry storage space.  The kitchen desk would also be a great addition! Very creative...

Switching the dark cabinet and range seems essential because the corner is just a terrible place for the range. Its my biggest dilemma at this point. I wish I would have done it already as I think it will be difficult and expensive at this point and I'm approaching my budget. The microwave does vent to the exterior, so moving the cabinet may require running ductwork over to the current cutout in the wall? If I switch the dark cabinet with the range, I'll need to switch the microwave cabinet with the other cabinet and have to patch the lathe and plaster which could get messy and interfere with the new ductowork unless I cut a new exterior vent slot.

It is going to be a rental so I hate to overdo the rehab, but I am in favor of doing all major remodeling upfront.  

Does everyone agree that the range MUST be switched with the dark cabinet? Or considering its a rental and not a flip, would you consider it acceptable just not ideal? Personally if I were living there, I don't think it would bother me.  My girlfriend on the other hand, feels differently....   If I dont move it, I can finish the kitchen in a few days. If I move the stove, itll take more like a week and I'll go over budget - but I could manage. Its a long term buy and hold. 

Thanks Payton!

Calling all interior designers! I'm finishing a BRRRR deal and am trying to wrap up a long, tricky remodel of an older cape cod. The kitchen was the trickiest part of the house due to a VERY poor original layout - but I did my best to make it the most functional and aesthetically pleasing kitchen I could. Overall, I think the house turned out very nice and I'm right on budget - with the exception of the last stage of the kitchen - painting the cabinets. I've made some mistakes with the kitchen when I first started and am paying for them now. I need recommendations on what color to paint the kitchen cabinets! I've been looking at lots of ideas online, but can't confidently choose one...

The overall color scheme and theme of the house is cool with gray walls and floor, new stainless appliances/ fans/ updated fixtures, etc. However, the kitchen was painted a green/gray and the tile is tan. The countertop is black with tan splotches. It doesnt really flow with the rest of the house since these are warm colors.     

I still need to install the butcher block, cabinet knobs, toe kick, and some crown molding/trim before its painted. The house was a foreclosure in bad shape; the cabinets were missing a drawer, a face, and one small piece of trim. Considering these are custom cabinets from the previous owner, it was a real pain trying to match them - hence why all the replacement components are a different color than the original. Lead times for exact replacements were ridiculously long. Also the quartz countertop was installed by the previous owner. 

Since the cabinets are different colors, I dont think staining is an option unless its a really dark stain - since they will come out different shades - so I was going to paint them. Im thinking either a light gray, beige, or tope. I was going to paint them white, but all the trim in the room is white, so I think it may look TOO white.

What are your thoughts?

I agree that Southside is a good rental market because it's a highly desireable place to live for many people, but would argue that the market is incredibly competitive and slightly flooded right now making entry at profitable price points difficult.  I think it's slightly on the downslope as a rental market due to other up and coming areas attracting young crowds that used to mainly hangout in southside.  I think unless your wiling to do a major rehab from top to bottom or have a valuable competitiveness advantage, id recommend searching other areas instead.   

Nice job! What did you do to the basement floors and walls? 

I'm decently familiar with the area if you'd like to discuss. I'm working on a property right next to Munhall. Like Alex said, it varies street to street. Find the deal and then analyze the street and determine if its an acceptable level of risk for you personally. If you only target certain streets in a small area, you may wait a longgg time for a deal unless your willing to settle for small margins. In my opinion, Pittsburgh homes are far from cookie cutter type projects so you have to analyze every deal carefully.

Welcome Brian! I live in the area so if there's anything I can do to help let me know! I was in your position not that long ago...

Everyone will tell you something different in regards to contractors, property managers, etc... For what its worth, I'd look into Alex Deacons Keller Williams group for property management and I use MySmartMove.com for tenant screening. Hope those help as leads. I've have found good general contractors hard to come by unless you have a consistent amount of large work to give them - then you get to be picky and really vet them. Ive found thumbtack useful in certain instances. 

One piece of advice for what its worth is to make sure you define your long term goals before buying your first property. Owning just a couple of single family rentals can be annoying/time intensive until you grow big enough to economically scale to complete automation... (dont ask me how i know lol)     I believe with single families you need to have quantity to offset the heavy capital expenditures involved. 

Good luck!

Jason, 

I agree with Alex. I think at first glance there's not a ton of meat on the bone unless theres a lot of upside potential I'm not seeing. It sounds like a good amount of rehab work on an expensive property so holding costs are going to be very high... By rehabbing a three family, your not going to see as big of a swing as if it were a 5+ unit and valued on the operating income rather than the ARV. I have been in your shoes and would come up with your number that you KNOW will make you money (which may be 235k) and stick to it! Even if they reject it you never know... if it sits for long enough they may give you a call back... Unless you have a ton of experience, you want to be 100% certain itll make you money.

Another thing is if this is your first or one of your first properties, Id make sure you run your numbers with contractor rehab. In my mind, doing the work yourself is a bonus cause it saves you pocket money, but unless you can knock it out really quickly, its not worth the hassle from a time value of money perspective. 

Hope that helps, 

Joe