All Forum Posts by: Shaun C.

Thank you Tyler. The first modeling software I ever used was Sketchup. It's super easy to use, and while I utilize other platforms now that are more 'professional', I still get excited to go back and use it for really basic uses or prelim space planning. 

It's VERY easy to use, and it's free. For someone not versed in architecture software; this would be my go to. It's a little bit more complicated to get scaled drawings out of, but it's not impossible.

Originally posted by @Natalie Schanne:

Shaun C. - Beautiful work. It's a bummer your zestimate is $500k. (People gravitate to those numbers regardless of how correct they are.)

In the future I wouldn't recommend posting your Profit/COST figures next to the address on a public forum before the house had sold and settled. Now I know I can bid $475 or $500 for your house because you'll still make money. I don't know the area. Zillow comps looked $500-600.

Good luck.

Thank you Natalie. I'm not really worried about the Zestimate. Everyone can see that we just purchased the home for almost $400k less than what we are asking just 8 months ago. The only thing I care about is what the house is worth today. It's in a busy area where people are driving by all the time and asking us about the project. It was actually really cool to see how interested people got as the project progressed. They know how much work went into the renovation. I'm also not worried about anyone finding this post, as I can't even Google the street address of the property followed by 'Bigger Pockets' with any hits. People can offer what they want, doesn't mean that we're going to accept.

Thank you for your virtual appraisal from 800 miles away, but we've had over 20 agents through the home, probably 14 of which were from the local Keller Williams brokerage, who all said we were priced appropriately. The area is weird. I can buy a tear down for $200-250k, or a brand new 3,400 sf home down the street for $1.3m. We are at the top in terms of $/sf, but I don't know why I would start anywhere else. 

Time will tell. Thank you for the feedback.

Thanks John. We didn't end up doing very much in the basement at all--drywall included. The space is quite small, roughly 600 sf and half of that is the mechanical room. I don't anticipate this area will be used for much other than storage and a tool room in the mechanical area, and the rest of the basement where we painted the wood paneling on the walls, shot the ceiling black, and put in carpet for anything more than a kids play area or chill space. Had we seen the benefit of having a finished ceiling we would have gone for it, but I don't really see the increased value and return on something down there. $2k spent on ceilings down there take away from the premium finishes elsewhere, which do get us returns.

Thank you for the kind words. I got into Architecture to help solve the problems of inefficient buildings and if I can use my skills to do that and make a profit as well, all the more reason to do it. I only wish more people would hold this mindset as well; homeowners, builders, real estate agents, and real estate investors included.

3 years into my first duplex, I would say the most important thing is the same as any other lease. SFH, MFH, it doesn't matter. It always comes down to screening and expectations. I'm on my third tenant now and she's great. But it took a lot to get here. I had to evict people because they didn't quite grasp the fact that living in a duplex means you can't come home from the bar at 3 am and blast music. I had to evict my second tenant because she thought her boyfriend could move in without me adding him to the lease on our shared utilities duplex.

Now I don't settle for anything but GREAT tenants. It's not worth the trouble just to get the unit filled. I lay out all of my expectations in my lease that we go over in detail at lease signing so we are on the same page from day one. This has alleviated a lot of problems. I also maintain my property very well, and charge a premium rent amount per sf compared to my competition, so that weeds out a lot of people not up to my standards.

Not sure what you'd be buying that's going to be 3x the price because you're buying it in Austin, unless you're just referring to the differing level of finishes you would be putting in.

It just comes in time. Being able to estimate (or better yet actually determine) square footages, experience in knowing how much it really costs to remove drywall, put in a beam, replace cabinets, run plumbing and electrical; it all comes with walking with contractors/your subs to guess better and better. You'll never know until you do.

I like Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Google Docs for all this stuff. I set up a spreadsheet that I can send to others for review, editing, or commenting.

Thank you. Every time I swing a hammer I save a dollar, and to be honest I like it. I still have a 9-5, but I'm young and went to a private college for school, so Sallie Mae is my master. One day I'll be able to but until she's paid off in the next year or so; I've got to put in my time. I enjoy learning how trades work because it allows me to better understand things moving forward so everyone is on the same page. I hope to spur this into a Design+Build firm so everything I can learn from doing the work myself will be invaluable.

Thanks. I will be starting a design build firm next spring, so I've been working towards getting my builders license and setting everything into place to make that happen. I would love to be Metro Detroit's first sustainable home builder. With all the new money and development pouring into the city, I have to think that in time there will be enough of a market for it.

$483.60 savings per month x 12 months = $5803.20 per year saved

$5803.20 per year divided by $32k = 18% without interest factored in. 

Looks good to me AND you get feel good about yourself. 

Originally posted by @Seth Borman:

@Thomas S. 5.5 years is in no way a long period for a project like this. I know you seem to think everything you put into a property should raise the rent so the ROI is positive after two years, but let's face it; that's a joke. Especially when people are more and more migrating to being energy conscious. Honestly I haven't figured you out. Most of the time I think you give great information, and other times I find myself almost asking to see what kind of rentals you provide because I couldn't see myself ever doing the same thing.

There is a value that goes beyond money that some people (mostly older) won't see. I do, and I think it was a great move. Not to mention it will be appreciated by your tenants come time to lease again at hopefully a higher rate.