All Forum Posts by: Kathryn Bowden

@Account Closed, we are right on the Oregon/California border, in Oregon.  We are working on our second flip up here, but I wanted to include the Del Norte County area as part of our potential work area.  Did I hear somewhere that it is more strict in California in terms of needing to be a licensed contractor to legally do a flip?  Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

@Account Closed, was this a sliding barn door, or a regular swinging door?  Just looking for ideas ......

@Josh Caldwell, I can't be reminded of that too much either (the budget), especially as a somewhat greenhorn.  I did run the various BP calculators every which way I could we bought the place, as a couple of posters mentioned here.

@Valerie Hiscoe, and @Matt Turbitt, we really would love to Brrrr.  And you're right, I should work harder on this.  I guess I assumed this is what I would find everywhere.  I've talked to two local banks so far, and although they would take the rent money into the equation (with a lease), it did not make up the debt to income ratio I would need.  The last couple of years have been very lean in our old inventory-intensive business, and I'm about to get my 2015 taxes done, but am pretty sure it won't be very pretty.  I wish they would take the rental on it's own numbers along with my excellent credit score.  Also, they wouldn't do a cash-out anyway until the place had "seasoned" for at least six months.  In this particular case it wouldn't be a problem only because we could take that same loan out on our current residence which is paid in full, and in fact the rate would be better, but we ran into the same problem with not enough income in the last two years.  This is a shame as our current house is a great resource of cash - we bought our home as a pre-foreclosure three years ago and increased the value dramatically.  So now we feel we need to sell our current place to get our cash out (tax free at least), but would be nice if we didn't have to unsettle our lives right now.  We have zero debt and very low cost of living in both these homes in taxes and insurance.  Would the big national banks be any better?  I had bypassed them all together thinking the local banks might be better.  For a long term Brrrr I was thinking I needed to get the best interest rate - but I suppose there's a possible option of a less conventional loan for a higher interest rate, since the numbers would probably still support it, and refinance later??

@Josh Caldwell, thanks, great info!  We are just getting started, and weren't sure at first whether we could get our cash out as a Brrrr.  So it made complete sense to do the deferred maintenance and repairs to start, to make it livable and financeable, and then have figured out which will be our plan of action.  Most of this will be outside (roof, siding, windows, etc.), which is where we'd start anyway.  The place already has a decent curb appeal which is part of what attracted us, so we will improve this further with a new door and a few items like that (glad to hear my instincts are good here).  On the inside I think our biggest "unique" pop factor will be the counter tops and sink/faucet.  Since we will spend less on concrete counter top, we will spend a little more on the sink and faucet.  This is not the most sophisticated area, so this is a better finish out than the norm except for the higher dollar homes.  Also, since the square footage is so small and we will be installing ourselves, we feel it's an opportunity to use real wood flooring (besides bathroom).  From past remodels of my own places, I know the key is to not overdo it and pick and choose carefully.  Thanks for these reminders.  Same on the response from @Katie Neason.

@Valerie Hiscoe and @Katie Neason, I didn't properly tag either of you.  I think I've got the hang of it now .....

@Matt Turbitt, this is also very helpful.  What you say makes total sense.  There's actually nothing we could possibly not do in this particular bathroom anyway, with the possible exception of a new toilet that was installed.  And you're right, bathrooms just don't cost that much.  And that makes complete sense with the kitchens, where the average homeowner spends a small fortune and with high dollar contractors.  It is so helpful to have people to bounce this stuff off of.  This is also a small kitchen, and we will be making our own concrete counter tops.  A pretty farm sink with a nice faucet will be a lot of bang for the buck we think.  And definitely new SS appliances, lighting, etc.  We will also need to replace the ceiling, as it has the original drop paper-type ceiling.   In that this place is only 600 sq. ft., all new flooring and such doesn't cost near as much as a place double or more the square footage.  Thanks for your assistance!

@Valerie Hiscoe , thank you so much for your thoughtful response; it is really very helpful. The cottage was used as a vacation rental, though would also work equally or better as a long term rental in my opinion. It is not right on the beach or steps away, but is located right downtown. The rental market is considered extremely tight here, and people line up for rare rentals. And prices have gone up because of this. This property is also zoned commercial which I believe should give it extra value (?) (with special use permit for SFR). There is a new hospital being built, and now there are quite a number of medical professionals looking for housing as well, and this is a short walk to the hospital. I don't think I can get this place Brrrrd unfortunately, for the fact that we don't show good income for the last couple of years, in spite of excellent credit score and easily sustainable rental. So since we're at the start of this venture, we will most likely have to flip this first one. But I believe it will appeal to a single professional or couple for purchase; since it's so small (1/1 - 600 sq ft), it is also on the lower end of the price spectrum (people are grabbing up, buying, the cheaper places for housing as well). Or it will appeal to an investor or possibly an out-of-towner who wants a beach town place here. So I'm glad there are several types of buyers who could be interested and the low end of pricing helps too. A realtor should be able to help in who might be the most likely purchaser for this downtown place. I will be more than happy to post photos when we get done! Reading your bio, I see you are also interested in design, so I may have to pass a design decision or two by you, if I get stumped. :-) Thanks again for your insights!

Valerie Hiscoe I

Thanks, @Katie Neason!  I used to live in Austin, so you were practically a neighbor.  :-)  Do you stick with mostly the Bryan area?

Hello!  I would love to get input from the BP community on this.  We are working on one of our first flips, and are trying to find that sweet spot on amount of renovations to do - most bang for our buck and time.  We will of course be doing needed repairs and tending to deferred maintenance.  This is a little 1/1 older beach town cottage.  We will be adding off-street parking, just because we can cheaply with our excavator, and tending to various curb appeal items.  Inside, we could either keep the updating minimal, or more extensively completely upgrade kitchen and bath.  The inside is definitely outdated, but still has charm.  My love for design urges me towards the latter, but I'm thinking perhaps not a good idea.  Inside we would do repairs, flooring, fixtures, paint, cabinet pulls, etc., at a minimum.  We will be doing most the work ourselves, so saving on labor costs (but of course, the quicker we can flip, the better).  The reason I ask this is I see flippers that seem to standardly rip out the outdated kitchens and baths on almost all their flips, and this was our initial plan on this place.  I also read all the time that on an average kitchen and bathroom remodels actually don't return 100% of their costs (at least not retail costs).  I will be consulting with a good local realtor, but also figured I can get helpful insights here, as to when and in what kind of areas/markets one remodels more.  This area is a little hodge-podge and mixed, so not real obvious to the eye.

@Jay Hinrichs, this is a little disheartening to hear about Oregon, though I'm certainly glad to be accidentally educated on it.  We have just started our new venture in flipping and Brrring (hopefully Brrring, but we'll have to see if we can get the financing when ready).  Our first place will close in about a week and we paid cash for it.  It has some deferred maintenance and repairs needed, but is otherwise cute as a button.  At any rate, we do not have our contractor's license.  I was thinking I might need or want to get my realtor's license at some point, but definitely didn't foresee the contractor's license.  We have a brother/brother-in-law who has been flipping many homes for a few years, and I doubt knows this law either.  We are all in Southern Oregon - brother in Rogue Valley, us on the Coast.  Probably more daunting than the contractor's license would just be the ongoing fees, when we are just starting out.  Although we will be proceeding as planned (without a license), it is something that is now on our radar and we will have to consider.  And yes, I do know you are not an attorney, and we will consult with one.  :-)

By the way, my Uncle and Aunt lived in Lake Oswego for years up till recently when they went to a retirement community (The Scheers).  They loved it there.

Jay Hinrichs

Jay Hinrichs