All Forum Posts by: Brandon Lee

Thanks @Troy Knight!

Looking forward to attending and meeting other CLT BP-ers.

Hello BP-ers!

I've been looking at a house that is in a desirable subdivision. It has been on the MLS for 115 days. The home is smaller than the others, and the kitchen/baths need work I am comfortable doing. I'm looking for the big unknown before I submit an offer.

The listing says the Exterior Construction is "Hardboard Siding." I have been doing some Googling, and reading the horror stories of Masonite. 

Is this a stay away situation?

Thanks.

Thank you all for your input. I definitely feel like I learned a few things in calculating my costs...mainly, I can figure out exactly how many fixtures, lights, outlets, switches, and boxes I need...and now I know the costs. 

I think my only question is for @PeteCrutchfield as a contractor. Could I have gotten the above job for $4800?

Thanks for all your help!

I remember now...it was an internet video by a "guru".

Jerry Norton on Properly Estimating Rehab Costs in 15 Minutes

Hi @AndrewCordle. That quote included the bathroom fan/light combo, smoke detectors, outlets & switches, as well as the can lights.

We had to provide the ceiling fans, bathroom light fixtures, dining room light, and counter pendant lights.

Good Morning Bigger Pockets!

I have made it my goal to get better at quickly estimating rehab costs. I have gotten pretty good at identifying and estimating almost everything in the house...however, I am still struggling in two very important areas...Electrical and Plumbing costs.

I have read that some investors calculate their cost to re-wire a home at $1.75-2.00/sq ft of the home. However, this is significantly less than what I experienced in my recent rehab.

So, I guess my question is...did I get ripped off? Did I over invest in my property with can lights and other things? This was my first project, and I acted as my own GC. So, I fully expected to pay a little more for some of my contractors. I didn't know what I didn't know yet. I would assume that most of these guys have "contractor rates" and "retail rates".

This is a 1400 sq ft 1950's brick ranch with 1.5 baths. It was clear that it needed major electrical work. We were replacing almost everything in the house, and had to bring the electric up to code. The home still had the original wiring, and most of the outlets were stretched out so that plugs would just fall out of them. 

We ended up putting in a new breaker box, re-wired the entire house, installed modern recessed lights, as well as a few other more modern elements such as outlets for TVs. 

One of the quotes is pictured below. It is detailed, and the total amount due is $5354. Which if I was to use the $2/sq ft cost estimate...I would have overshot my budget by a mile. This is not the electrician that did our project, however the price is in the ballpark of what we ended up paying. 

I would love to hear from other rehabbers on how they determine their electrical costs. I would greatly appreciate any insight that helps me get better at this.

Thanks in advance!

Hey David,

How is the flip going? Give us some updates...

Thanks Troy! I will give you a call later today, or in the morning if that works for you.

Hello Charlotte Brokers,

I received my NC Provisional Broker License last week, and I am eager to put it to work. I am seeking an investor-minded firm at which I can hang my license. 

I have extensive industry experience from my "day job" running NOWclosings.com for the last 8 years. We provide a nationwide network of notary signing agents to conduct courtesy closings for our title company customers. We have managed over 60,000 purchase and refinance transactions. I am very fortunate that my work schedule most weeks is only a part-time responsibility. The rest of the time, I am on Zillow.com, Charmeck.org, and driving neighborhoods exploring Real Estate opportunities. 

Does anyone have suggestions for a local Brokerage firm that would be a good place for an investor broker like myself? While I am sure that I will occasionally do referral business; I am more interested in representing myself in transactions than securing other people's listings. I would love to work in a place with like-minded individuals.

Thanks again Bigger Pockets community for all the knowledge you have doled out in the last couple months. 

This isn't the biggest success story in the world, but feels good to have this class over and done with. 

A helpful tip to anyone looking to get their license. Check to see if your local Community College offers the class. I took the Pre-Licensing class at CPCC in Charlotte. The cost of the class was $180 and the course materials were $150 ($40 of that is a CD-Rom that didn't work on my Mac, and thus is now a $40 paperweight.) I had called the big private school in town and the cost of the class was around $600, and that was not including the book.

I really liked this class because it was offered during the summer term. This meant a shorter semester that met Mon-Thurs 9:00AM-1:00PM for 20 classes. Which I preferred over other classes that met less days per week, but stretched for 7-9 weeks in duration.

This class was perfect for me. The teacher was interesting, and had a history in the business that provided for good story here and there. Also, since he's in the business, we took 10-15 minute breaks every hour for him to work on his own deals. 

I'm not sure how they teach at the other schools, but this class was taught strictly to the test. This was great for me, and exactly what I was looking for in the class. I didn't want any class instructions for traditional new Real Estate agent getting started in the business. 

There were however, a couple people in my class that had no prior Real Estate knowledge. One girl "had to get out of Papa Johns." I'm afraid after this class she wouldn't be much more prepared to earn a living as an active agent...BUT would know the difference between Tenants in Common and Joint Tenants, so at least she has that to fall back on.

Anyway, I know that a lot of you are like me and they have put off getting that license for too long. Don't put it off any longer. Check today to see if your local community college offers the required training class, and sign up for fall semester. I found going to campus every morning to be a nice break from my normal routine, and even inspired me to start a new routine of getting up at 5:30am to go to the gym. So, in one month I lost a few pounds, and got that much closer to saving 3% listing my own properties in the future. Which in a world of thin profit margins, and expanding waste lines, is something that makes me happy.