All Forum Posts by: Wayne V.

Karen,

Thanks for the link to "Mid Century Modern Images". Very helpful,  and as a builder, its nice to see interesting yet seldom presented architectural styles. 

Douglas,

Stick to what you know works until you see your sell rate decline. Follow the data not the trend as delivered by the media. Among other things, it's locale and demographic driven. You seem to know your market so follow your gut and continued good luck. 

Also to be considered is that the plywood fasteners, nails or screws,  will have left lots of holes in the wood flooring which may have been covered up for a reason other than aesthetics.  I agree that the added time and expense aren't a wise move from an investment standpoint. 

Wholesaling is safer but if you want to get your feet wet on rehabbing,  I would try to find a good GC / investor to partner with for a project or two. You will learn a lot and benefit from someone else's experience. Second (third) on J Scott's books on flipping houses and repair costs. 

Hi Joe,

Some of the things on your list are easy and straight forward,  others not so much.  In the order of your list. 

GFCIs measure the balance between power supplies and power consumed. You may be required by the prevalent electrical choose to ground the outlets and they may not work properly if you don't. This is a serious safety issue so you should have a licensed electrician do this work. 

Safety cables are easy and the parts are inexpensive from the big box stores. There's probably a YouTube video explaining how to install them. Watch it before you buy the parts. 

The stair railing should be easy on a straight set of stairs and the railings and hardware are also available in the big box stores. My Faroe is the orange one. 

Faucet - Kitchen or bath? Neither is impossible but there are a few tools that will make it easier such as faucet offset wrenches. Usually is easier to replace it.  Stick to name brands.

Exterior paint would be expensive to have a pro do it  to a pro but you can do it yourself. Definitely bombe up on the methodology. 

These are good things to know how to do if your going to have a relationship with houses, especially ones that need TLC.

Good luck and don't feel intimidated. It's just a repair job !!

Thanks, and I agree with you on all points, especially the risk in family ventures, a key reason I'm seeking advice and moving cautiously. in thinking that it's important to set a current value for comparison to the ARV, most likely through appraisal. Does that make sense as a starting point?

I'm looking for advice on how we should structure a partnership on a property that I already own. It's a mixed use building, 8,000 SF with a 2 bedroom, 1-1/2 bath apartment. I've owned it for a number of years and have used it as a shop / artist space, secondary residence, but not as a primary residence for a number of years as it's located about five hours from where I presently live. My son and I would like to finish it out a bit, preparing it for sale sometime in the next year or two. During that process, he and his family would be living in the apartment. The plan is to cash out with each of us using our proportionate share of the after repair proceeds for our next individual investments. What is the best way to structure this so that there will be a fair and equitable distribution, considering that from this point on we would both be investing in the property, although I am the sole owner and that from this point on, he would be doing most of the work with periodic help from me on the major renovation projects? We also need advice on how we can both have the tax advantages of a real estate investment of this sort. At present, I write it off through my contracting LLC.

Thanks for any advice you may have to offer,

Wayne

I agree with Anish, long distance management seldom works well with all but mid-high to high end rentals. If the tenant skips out, you won't be holding enough of a deposit to cover your clean up and rehab costs. My last long distance rental was four and a half hours away resulting in infrequent inspections (my fault) and a less than ideal ending. It's a cute place and the numbers work for a little cash flow but I agree that you could do better. 

Good Luck,

Wayne

Hi Mark, 

I lean  more toward risk and can do the rehab myself so if it were me I would go for the duplex and scramble

Hi Folks from a GC speaking on behalf of the "Good Guy GC Fellowship". This thread really pains me because it implies that GCs aren't to be trusted in the normal course of business. I'm not doubting for a second that you got tangled up with a bad one but for the most part there are lots of good ones to choose from. This rehab sounds challenging and I would have done some serious vetting for a contractor with an extensive resume of structural work. Not all GCs have the same skill sets. I'm tossing this out there for the general readership. As J suggests, develop an explicit SOW and if there's anything unusual in it, such as an engineering requirement, double down of finding the required qualified experts, vet them carefully, get written recommendations, and then follow their advice. I live eight blocks from the gas explosion in the west village of NYC that just took down three buildings. It's sounding like there was some questionable gas line work being done to cut corners, maybe to avoid inspections, and definitely to save some money. My advice is always to hire competent professionals, pay them fairly, and build a solid working relationship with them.  

Sorry it got so ugly.

I agree with Mike. It would be great however if there were a relatively easy way to add a powder room to the first floor, assuming that's what we're talking about. I've seen them squeezed in to some pretty tiny spaces. It would increase comfort and livability, and would probably help the selling price a bit. Good even if it's a wash.