The importance of time.....

[Bruce Woodruff]

The posts from new investors regarding renovations, flipping, remodeling seem to always leave out or gloss over what is the most important aspect of the whole project - Time.....

Everyone is penny pinching and trying to save a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars. To be honest, when I was doing Flips, I did too. Even though I knew better deep inside. We all run tight on Investor projects, right....? Buy low, sell high is the mantra, that puts the focus right on the almighty dollar right from the start.

But it is not the dollar that drives the project, it is time. Having done not only Investor remodels, but also million dollar remodels, I can say with certainty that Father Time and Mr Murphy are working hand-in-hand to screw you. It is virtually impossible, for even a veteran Contractor, to stay on schedule. We find problems that were not in the SOW. They appear in every single job, it is just a fact of life, so you had all be ready for it and have a plan...on every project. 

1) There are real-life 'people problems' - employees (or Subs) get sick, their trucks break down. 

2) Vendor/Supply Chain issues - a special-order Lami beam, or kitchen cabinets, show up 2 weeks late

3) And the big one - Change Orders have become not a rare occurrence but a given on every job. And yes, this includes you as an investor on your own investment property. Your or your partner's wife will change the kitchen layout every single time...and if they don't you will add a game room in the garage.

So my point is this - you most likely will not be able to get rid of schedule/time issues, so just be aware and ready...they could be the variable that decides whether you make or lose money on your project.

[Caleb Brown]

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

 Exactly, always budget extra hold time. Even if you go under contract on the sell side delays can happen