Real Estate Broker · Jacksonville FL & Middletown, CT · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 633 votes
See anything out of order? Makes sense right? Start out, work in?
Roof
Yard cleanup, landscaping
powerwash house
Gut kitchen, baths
Paint Interior
redo kitchen and baths
refinish wood floors last
Random small jobs as they fit in.
3-4 weeks max!!! I'd like to have the house on the market for sometime in March. My first payment is due 4/1.
Sound in order? Also when should I post a for sale sign and start advertising? I intend to try to FSBO at first, before throwing $14k down the drain for realtors. Any insight here?
My wife and I are in the first week of a rehab. We are doing a lot of the work ourselves. This week we have removed all trim, paneling, carpet, pad, old wood flooring, and are working on removing the blue tile from two bathrooms. We will finish removing the cabinets and toilets from the bathrooms this week. The paneling, floor molding and crown molding in this house was put up with large nails so removing it was very slow. Our schedule for the remaining of the work is:
sheetrock crew to repair and install sheetrock where needed;
install all trim work and paint all interior rooms;
tile bathrooms, install cabinets and new toilets and fixtures;
install new kitchen cabinets;
install new appliances;
carpet crew to install carpet;
clean yard of debris, trim shrubs and trees;
paint exterior trim of house;
new front door and light fixtures.
Working at night after work and on weekends for our part we expect to be finished by late March. The contractors will be done with their part before the end of February. Should be on the market in the prime time of spring. Keep us posted on your progress. Best of luck to you.
I can't comment on your list, because I am compiling a list very much like it for my first rehab right now. I close on 2/28.
As for the FSBO vs. realtor... I plan to stick a nice FSBO sign in the yard the day I close and leave it there until the rehab is complete. If someone comes along and gives me the right number before I am finished, then it's theirs. As soon as it's done, I plan to list with a realtor. My limited experience in the past has been that the commission was well worth the money. My realtor is a better negotiator than I am and the MLS will be seen by way more prospects than my FSBO sign or ad in the paper.
That sounds like a great idea with the sign actually. But I really hate the thought of handing realtors 14k for what? an MLS listing pretty much? Sellers agents don't do much. Now if one of the agents I work with had gone through hell and high water to find me this house, I would probably let her list it, but fact is I found this house on my own means with no agent at all. Why should they get a piece - Plus I do believe I'm a better negotiator than any realtor I've met, but I guess I am biased..lol. Can you tell I'm not too impressed with re agents?
Can you tell I'm not too impressed with re agents?
I can ;).
You sound just like my lawyer. :mrgreen:
My agent has been reasonably helpful over the past several months, so right now I'm feeling like I need to get him paid. Will I feel as obligated next time around, no. If rehabbing turns into something I continue to do, I'll list only what I think I need to to keep him in my court or to get a house sold.
An acquaintance of mine became an agent for this reason. He pays something like $1000/year for access to the MLS and lists his own properties.
Of course, that only saves half of the commission, he still has to pay the 3% or so if the buyer has an agent. (Then again, a lot of people I know who do FSBOs offer 3% to buyers' agents anyway.) Another problem is that, at least here, you really have to be a broker, not just an agent, to be out listing your own stuff. Agents can only act if they are working under a broker, and then of course, the broker will want his/her cut...