Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 11 posts · 0 votes
I will soon be inspecting a gutted SFR in Pittsburgh that's an off-market property owned by local investors with many other properties. They said the reason they stopped working on the property for the time being is that their other projects are clustered elsewhere in the city and taking up their resources at the moment. They weren't looking to sell, as far as I know, but responded to my letter. I'm a former painting contractor and don't mind fix-up projects but of course would choose a property with LESS work rather than a full make-over. But the house and neighborhood are my target area. The deal looks good according to the BP calculators. What should I beware of ?
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
6y
Where is this place, Christopher? If you'd like to do this privately, connect and we'll talk. Always interested in meeting people who are willing to do the work.
Rental Property Investor · Springfield, MO · Member since 2019 · 462 posts · 365 votes
6y
Gutted (as in to the studs) are the best houses to inspect and buy! You can see every run of wiring and plumbing to know exactly what you have to work with. Some of the the things I would look for:
Are the floors level
Cracks in foundation
Roof quality
Cracked roof joist or wall studs
Weird electrical junction boxes
Funky plumbing... pvc pushed into cast iron pipes... cracks in piping
Rental Property Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 24 posts · 8 votes
6y
@Christopher Berggren I would suggests you are very certain about the numbers and assume that everything needs replaced if its gutted. Outside of that the major hangups would be the main utilitie lines that you can see and a deep dive into your foundation.
Everything else should be pretty easy to see and account for!
Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2015 · 11 posts · 0 votes
6y
Thanks to Zach, Jon, Parker, Brent, and Jim for your replies to my post. Jim - my property is in the Dormont area. If any of you Pittsburgh locals know an inspector or experienced G.C. please let me know....that's a good person to help look over the house.
Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
So you may need permits, plumbing, electrical, insulation, sheetrock and painting to get the place to the usual "empty house" status. Everything would be newish so cap ex costs should be lower than average but this would be expensive to do. Make sure you have enough upside. The demo has been done though. That's a plus. I'd want to know why they gutted it in the first place?