All Forum Posts by: Valerie Hiscoe

Hi Greg

If you don't have them already, I'd recommend getting J. Scott's books from this website 'The book on flipping.....' and 'The book on estimating costs'. If the house you purchased requires anything other than a lipstick makeover, you'd do well to have a really good overview.  You can hire people to do everything from plumbing to paint but you can not hire someone to decide on your scope of work, your budget,  your time frame, who you hire, or how you contract it out.  Not to mention all the decisions you'll need to make along the way because stuff WILL go wrong and WILL end up being more complicated than planned AND will have that domino effect on everything else.  In my experience (although it's still limited) the physical labour is the least of the challenges looming - I'd focus most of your energy right now on the planning and management of your project.  The books above will be a good start. Finding quality, dependable workers has always been my most difficult task.

If it were just about the work, every contractor and handyman would be doing it.

@Manolo D. I'm doing this from my phone so I don't think it will message you but thanks for the book advice above.

@Christopher Brainard has given you good advice regarding doing your first flip remotely no matter how much you know and trust the people you hire.  Even if things went perfectly, you wouldn't learn much. And until then, you have no idea how imperfectly things can go. I like the suggestions for other options if you do end up being successful tying up the property. 

I couldn't agree more with your choices.  Changing the cupboards and countertops as well as adding an island will pay off in a big way for you.  Having access to the subfloor to repair damage is a great call and, although I don't think you need or are planning to move any of the plumbing, replacing the shut-off valves is usually a good choice to make too.  I would not add a pantry by moving the fridge because then the distance between the fridge and stove is just too far.  A better way to add storage is by adding drawers - some big ones for pots and pans and the like - but that is very expensive and unlikely to get the return you need.  I would suggest however, keeping the drawers (preferably three or four 15-18 inch wide) beside the dishwasher, and at least one beside the stove.  Another idea is to follow Mindy's advice and add an over-the-stove microwave/fan.  The ideal kitchen has at least one foot of counter space on each side of the stove and sink so by getting that microwave off the counter you'd have a great layout.  Will you be building your island by using the same stock cabinets?  For a countertop for the island, I'd look at Ikea.  They sell a butcher-block type counter that works well in most kitchens and they sell it in different widths.

Wishing you guys luck !!

@Benjamin Leung

Just thought I'd check back and see how your improvements worked out or if they're still ongoing (I wasn't sure if you were already on the verge of starting or...?).  For me, everything always takes three times as long as I could possibly imagine.  Lol.  Hope everything went or is going well and that you are happy with your decisions.  I'd love to see some photos and find out what you ended up doing if you still have access (and it's not yet rented) but if the property is already rented, then congratulations on that and I hope your tenants turn out to be great!

Season's greetings!

@Kate J.

Sounds great!  Isn't it awful how everything takes so much longer than you think.  And every time I try to cut a corner it just ends up costing me more time and money.  No wonder they say "estimate the time - and then double it".  It's sure not easy, is it.

For your railings I would say honestly to let your budget decide.  My guess is that it will be a pretty big chunk of change to replace them and whether the return on investment would be worthwhile - I don't know but I'd bet no.  I think if you sanded them and painted them and made them look fresh and new you'd be fine.  It sounds like you're going to have enough other 'wow' factors to distract anyone from looking too closely at the railings.  People might choose to do their choice of style for their own personal home but not for a flip in my opinion. 

And a third bedroom is AWESOME!  That's definitely an investment you'll see returns on.  Good thinking.

Hope you enjoy your vacation and that the wind up of your project goes smoothly (who are we kidding - it won't - but you'll get through it.  Lol.)  Looking forward to the video.

Almost forgot - although agents might not have time to show you the insides of lots of properties, they will HAPPILY put you on their email list for automatic updates on what's coming up for sale that meets your parameters in the area.  Decide on your target type and find that investor friendly realtor (ideally someone who invests themselves). If you know price range, beds and baths, square footage etc, they can automate it.  Zillow, Trulia, too.

Display homes and suites are where one unit of new construction is staged and decorated (usually) to show off the development.  It's a great place to get ideas about coveted looks and materials in the area.  If there's new construction in your preferred 'farm area', look for them.

Your job is to find out what sells for how much in how long. Keep your thumb on the pulse of everything for sale in the area, and everything sold, even if you don't get to actually go inside.

See if there's a real estate club nearby that you can join and hook up with an investment realtor or two that way.  You're right though in that they'd much rather you be prequalified to buy before they start setting up appointments for you.  Try to get those finances pulled together asap.  Until then, do your drive throughs, visit open houses, look at display suites, etc.

Hopefully an agent will weigh in with some solid advice.

You're right and they're right.

Many banks will only finance 4 mortgages.  You'll have to find the one that goes up to ten (the true maximum number for conventional loans).  And it's important to keep in mind that only a max of 75% of the rental income is usually taken into account to offset your income (to take things like vacancy rate, maintenance, etc into consideration).  It's wise for you to be thinking ahead like this and asking these questions.  It'll make you that much more careful to buy correctly and make sure that you follow the calculators for what you want to do.

You're not just dreaming about the future - seems to me that you're charting out it's course.  Good for you.  Excellent questions.

(Although I'm no expert - they're just the same questions I've seen asked and answered in other places.)

If you're inviting contractors to go out to bid on your property rehab and you will be giving them the address to do so, then that's one thing.  If you're just asking for a general idea - no such thing.  You're going to either have to hire someone to break it all down (ideally someone you know and trust to do so) or you're going to have to do it yourself.

To do it yourself, get the book from Bigger Pockets mentioned above (it's actually two books. "The book on flipping houses" and "The book on estimating costs".

Homewyse.com is super helpful too.

If you're actually just looking for a contractor, my apologies, it was confusing.