All Forum Posts by: Lily Nelson

How do/did you decide on a budget for the renovations that need to be made on a rental property? Say you know what needs to be done, but need to determine cost of materials/labor.

This is a repost:

I'm a new to REI, but I have my eye on a duplex in KS and am currently living in NC. I work full time, so I wouldn't be able to take off a huge amount of time to get the place ready for tenants, personally. But it's a very cheap buy and has great cash flow potential.However, there is obviously some work that needs to be done. Kitchen/bathroom remodel in one unit. Needs new flooring - has bad carpet/tile/sub flooring. Wallpaper needs to be removed and needs new paint. And then I'm not sure what else needs to be updated. I'll be visiting the town in 3 weeks, and plan to get inside the house and have a better look/idea of what all would need fixing. I know I'd also need to get someone in there to inspect the place to tell me the things that I may not know to look at.

My question is, after you scope the place out, how do you come up with a realistic budget for the repairs, remodels, and labor? And what is the best way to go about making sure that the work is getting done within the time frame that you need, the way that you need/done right the first time, and that you aren’t being taken advantage of? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

So I'm a new to REI, but I have my eye on a duplex in KS and am currently living in NC. I work full time, so I wouldn't be able to take off a huge amount of time to get the place ready for tenants, personally. But it's a very cheap buy and has great cash flow potential.However, there is obviously some work that needs to be done. Kitchen/bathroom remodel in one unit. Needs new flooring - has bad carpet/tile/sub flooring. Wallpaper needs to be removed and needs new paint. And then I'm not sure what else needs to be updated. I'll be visiting the town in 3 weeks, and plan to get inside the house and have a better look/idea of what all would need fixing. I know I'd also need to get someone in there to inspect the place to tell me the things that I may not know to look at.

My question is, after you scope the place out, how do you come up with a realistic budget for the repairs, remodels, and labor? And what is the best way to go about making sure that the work is getting done within the time frame that you need, the way that you need/done right the first time, and that you aren’t being taken advantage of? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

@Salvatore Lentini

If a recent college graduate with loans to pay, and not enough money of their own to invest came to you to ask you to mentor them/invest with them—what key points/pitch would you want to hear to be persuaded to go into that? Analyses? Numbers? Other things?

As well, what is some of the best, hands on advice you would give them to go out and learn more in a concrete way? Any and all advice would be appreciated!

I am new to bigger pockets and real estate investing, and one of the concerns that I have is what to do if you put money into a property and then can’t find tenants to rent it. What are ways of overcoming this (say you’ve tried multiple means of marketing and it isn’t working) and what do you do if the property just starts becoming a money pit? Any and all insight would be greatly appreciated!

Hey, I’m Lily Nelson, new to bigger pockets! I am a recent college graduate that moved back home to pay down debt while working full time. I am interested in potentially investing back in my college town, in Kansas. A good handful of students live off campus and the properties are extremely cheap. However, I don’t have the money to invest right now, and I’d be doing this from a distance. I have some contacts for people to do any work I might need on the house, as I used to work for a flipper in the town. But I’m curious what advice anyone has for investing out of state. As well, what ways would I be able to find an investor that could also act as a mentor, since I do not have any experience yet? Any and all input would be helpful! Thank you all!