Eeked out a Success in the Desert
When my husband and I were living in Los Angeles I fell in love with Joshua Tree and the little homesteader cabins out there. We were finishing up DIY remodels of our duplex in LA and fourplex in Pasadena when I couldn't resist and decided to pull the trigger ad make it my personal project thinking I could AirBnB it until it became my luxury apocalypse shelter.
PURCHASE
I bought this beauty for $22k: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Twentynine-Palms/69901-Cielito-Dr-92277/home/112190221
I know the MLS says $25k but it was $22. The main draws for me were the location, 5 acres of uninterrupted views, and that it had municipal water.
If I were to do it again: Well, I love the property so much I'd buy the same but, if I didn't know how much I'd fall in love, I'd get something that was already tied into the electric grid or obviously had been in the past so that I could get permitted electric. Also, I unquestioningly would purchase at the San Bernardino County online auction as the seller did (for $6k). Tons of cabins are up every year for hundreds or small thousands.
REMODEL
My thinking was that it would be easy to find inexpensive contractors out in the desert right next to the Marine base. Boy was I wrong. I ended up doing most of the work myself - my muscles will never forget hammering the 8 feet of copper ground into the hard desert or shoveling gravel for the outdoor shower.
Contractors I worked with:
- The guy I originally hired to polish the concrete floors ended up being a junkie. That resulted in months of drama, more money and broken promises. Up against a deadline, behind on budget, I epoxied the floors myself with a Home Depot product. It was not good so I shelled out for a local pro to epoxy them for $2k. The quality still wasn't great and I'd blown my $800 floor budget to almost $3400.
- The guy who did the concrete, framing and roof was pretty decent but he made his own decisions about where walls would go that I had to work around. I would have kept working with him but he didn't want to travel so far. His sub for the roof apparently wasn't any good as parts would start flapping in the breeze every few months up until sale. He stood by his work and would make "repairs" for the first year then flaked. This was the biggest sticking point for the eventual buyer and resulted in a $1.5k credit during sale.
- The guy from the fence company I hired for the fence and awning was nice and I really wanted to develop a partner out there so I had him do the drywall and tile even though he didn't have references for that work. He ghosted me after he ****ed things up beyond belief. I fixed the mudding as best I could for about $300 in materials. Parts of the fence started blowing off a year later and cost $200 in repairs. Tile was the main cost.
- In addition to losing the deposit and the cost of materials for tile and stuff above, I had to hire someone to remove the tile and redo that job. That company was okay except they also ghosted me before the finish work that I had to do myself. Total cost of tile re-do was about $2k.
- Action Plumbing is fantastic, however! They are the one team I wholeheartedly recommend in the High Desert. They were a blessing that saved the project and they continue to be what I think about to cheer myself up when I'm blue.
My remodel investment was as follows:
Property: purchase price + interest, taxes, escrow, whatever = $25,910
Other Carrying costs: water = $241
Demo & Hauling: $580 (Craigslist Find)
Water Main and Hookup: $1,890
Septic and Leech field: $4,250
Concrete, Framing & Roof: $17,406
DIY Exterior Paint: $470
Plumbing: $5,953
DIY Solar System & Batteries: $14,181
Electric Wiring & Lighting: $880 (Husband is an electrician)
Mini-split Heat Pump $2,000
Insulation, Drywall, Primer: Plus "shiplap" style wall to cover fed up drywall - $4,489
Floors: $3,327
Interior Paint & Trim: $520
Tile: $5,129
Kitchen cabinets, shelves, countertop, sink, etc: $2,483
Appliances: (range, hood, fridge, dishwasher, washer & dryer) $1,679
Bathroom: (bath, shower, vanity, trim, etc) $1,448
Fence and Patio Cover: $3,900
"Landscaping": (gravel, shower, tiles, lights, etc) $1,048
Furnishing: $1,518
Housewares & Decorating: (many from my house as we were moving) $150
It took over a year to finish since I ignored it the first 6 months and could only do the occasional weekends once I got started. By the time it was almost ready to go we were in the final stages of moving to Hong Kong so I pushed hard to wrap it up and find someone who could manage it as a short term rental until we were back in the states.
AIRBNB/ STR
Just like my desert contractors, my AirBnB co-host was a disaster. He didn't even post it for the first 2 months insisting it needed things like deep cleaning (I'd just finished windexing every inch of the floor the previous week), that the stove didn't work (I paid $100 for the plumber to tell me his cleaner had unplugged it), and more supplies (in the end, I was charged for 3 bathmats). I lost my superhost status while he was co-host for my account. As it is, after 5 months of running a net monthly loss, I decided to sell.
SALE
I went to FSBO.com and listed it for $140k which I thought was a fair to low price. I had an all cash offer for $130k and accepted $134k the next day. I ended up having TONS of additional interest in the following days so may have left money on the table but, with other things going on, I was eager to sell and ultimately I think it's a fair price. Escrow was a little messy with my being in Hong Kong and doing my first FSBO but I disclosed everything to the seller and let her take possession a month before escrow closed.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Twentynine-Palms/69933-Cielito-Dr-92277/home/160529000
(note that those listing pictures are the same ones I took before my co-host charged me for a "deep-cleaning" - eye roll )
THE NUMBERS
I sold it for $134k
Total invested was $100,013 + ~$7000 (the only number I don't have in front of me) in closing costs, buyer credit, etc for a profit of $27,000 or 27% return on investment.
This also doesn't include hotel costs for the early days when the cabin was uninhabitable, the substantial gas and auto wear to travel out there, or all the nights I had to bribe my husband with a trip to Palm Springs.
It should have been better considering the sweat equity - mainly it should have been a profitable rental. In the end I'm lucky it turned a profit. It could have easily been a costly mistake.
Overall, those were really fun times for me and I'd do it again for much less. We've done 5 units to the studs or near studs before this project but this is the one that was most fulfilling for me.