TheScottPad.com is Now Live!

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Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes

Interested in following along with our most ambitious project ever (both online and in the real world)?

My wife and I are getting ready to tear-down and rebuild our personal residence, and we're documenting the entire process online. This includes live video streaming, time-lapse videos, detailed plans/specs, pictures, daily blog updates, budgets, schedules, contractor bids/invoices, and a whole lot more!

Check out the site here: TheScottPad.com

Please like our Facebook page: TheScottPad FB Page

Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to see or if you have any questions!

By the way, we're planning on Demo to start next week...watch it live on the site!

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Cary Trusty

Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 27 posts · 5 votes

12y

This is pretty awesome!. I just checked out the cam and within a few seconds, saw a call drive-by and the cam quality was incredible. The frame rate had the car going by at real time speed. Therefore the demo should look pretty awesome! I'm going to mark my calendar (while on vacation @ Hilton Head Island) to make sure I catch the demo!

Although my start in REI is slow (still scaling back my lifestyle to get in a better position to invest), there is no doubt the generosity of your time spent sharing and documenting your experiences will help save me money hand over fist. A serious thank you from a small time newbie.

Good luck J and Carol -- Absolutely love TheScottPad!

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Jimmy MoncriefPro Member
Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2010 · 319 posts · 100 votes
12y
AWESOME!

Great idea!
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Sean Moen
Investor · Sacramento County, CA · Member since 2013 · 104 posts · 20 votes
12y
Oh this is going to be fantastic! Great work!
1 Reply
Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
12y
@J Scott - Awesome! I am so excited to follow this project!
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Chadi D.
Real Estate Investor · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2013 · 74 posts · 14 votes
12y
Thanks for always sharing all what you do and know :)
1 Reply
Karen MargraveBusiness Member
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Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
What a great idea @J Scott
@J Scott
1 Reply
J ScottPro Member
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OP
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Looks like the front page (main page) was down much of the day. Given that's the most important page (it describes the project), that's a little embarrassing... :-)
Anyway, for anyone who wants to check it out, the main page is up again...
Podcast Guest on Show The Truth About Real Estate Investing in 2024 (What Investors NEED to Know)
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Cal C.
Investor · Peachtree Corners, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
You're not really going to destroy your basement gun range are you?
1 Reply
Johnny Aloha
Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2013 · 106 posts · 18 votes
12y
All the traffic from your post must have crashed the site!

Excited to follow along!
1 Reply
J ScottPro Member
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OP
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Originally posted by @Cal C.:

You're not really going to destroy your basement gun range are you?
Yes!
For those wondering (not sure if I mentioned it on the site), the existing house belonged to a gunsmith/metalsmith who used the concrete foundation walls for target practice for 30 years. When we cleaned out the basement, we found large pieces of pure lead (he made his own bullets) and bottles of chemicals I was scared to get too close to... :-)
Podcast Guest on Show The Truth About Real Estate Investing in 2024 (What Investors NEED to Know)
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Michael Lemieux
Investor · Deerfield Beach Florida and Tupper Lake, N.Y. · Member since 2013 · 307 posts · 118 votes
12y
Very cool @J Scott , thanks for sharing with us.
1 Reply
Matt C.
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 101 posts · 23 votes
12y
@J Scott Excellent idea! I read your last new build start to finish and will be following this one very closely as well.
Thank you!
0 Reply
Cal C.
Investor · Peachtree Corners, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
J,
in all seriousness I look forward to following your journey. I definitely appreciate all of the time you spend sharing your experience. I can't wait to see the finished results.
1 Reply
Cary Trusty
Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2013 · 27 posts · 5 votes
12y
This is pretty awesome!. I just checked out the cam and within a few seconds, saw a call drive-by and the cam quality was incredible. The frame rate had the car going by at real time speed. Therefore the demo should look pretty awesome! I'm going to mark my calendar (while on vacation @ Hilton Head Island) to make sure I catch the demo!
Although my start in REI is slow (still scaling back my lifestyle to get in a better position to invest), there is no doubt the generosity of your time spent sharing and documenting your experiences will help save me money hand over fist. A serious thank you from a small time newbie.
Good luck J and Carol -- Absolutely love TheScottPad!
2 Reply
Carolyn L.
Home Stager · Sussex, WI · Member since 2012 · 170 posts · 64 votes
12y
This is going to be so fun to watch! All the best to you and Carol and the kids! Thanksgiving will be awesome this year!
0 Reply
J ScottPro Member
Moderator
OP
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Didn't have much time for setup, so the angle isn't any good, but this is a first test video for our new time-lapse camera (nothing exciting...just capping off the sewer line)...
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Cal C.
Investor · Peachtree Corners, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
It looks like the boys are enjoying watching the hole being dug. I'm sure they'll love watching the house come down too.
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J ScottPro Member
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Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Originally posted by @Cal C.:

It looks like the boys are enjoying watching the hole being dug. I'm sure they'll love watching the house come down too.
Demo party on Wednesday morning! Any BP folks in the area are welcome to come hang out, watch and chat...
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J ScottPro Member
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OP
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
We had a great demo day yesterday (including a couple BP folks who showed up). Here are a couple time-lapse videos we did:
http://www.thescottpad.com/demo-videos/
Also, if anyone wants to check out the live video on the site, they're doing the excavation today which is pretty cool to watch.
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Joel OwensBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
12y
You must be saving on construction costs with how fast those cats are moving in the video ! lol

Back when I was doing commercial land development I would see some set up a whole website for the project. Example they were tearing down a 40 year old shopping center and building a new Publix. You could watch the whole thing everyday on their website with a live webcam feed. It's amazing how much work is involved.

They just built a new Wal-mart here where I live. Had the whole Wal-mart complete from dirt to finished and open in 6 months. Also had the strip center built. Most use prefab internal structures that require minimal education from workers to do. The developers hire local work alongside with their own guys to say they are helping the community etc.

J what size house are you building?? How much more expensive is stuff up in Maryland?? I saw on flip show California a 2,000 sq ft 4 bed 2 bath house was selling for 750,000 ( craziness! ).

My brother in law here in GA just bought a 5,000 sq ft plus brick house. 5 bed and 2 bath up and full in law suite down in basement with kitchen for 265,000 in a good area. Bells Ferry next to Shiloh rd. House is built in late 1990's but in excellent shape as an engineer owned it.
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J ScottPro Member
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Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Originally posted by @Joel Owens:
J what size house are you building?? How much more expensive is stuff up in Maryland?? I saw on flip show California a 2,000 sq ft 4 bed 2 bath house was selling for 750,000 ( craziness! ).
My brother in law here in GA just bought a 5,000 sq ft plus brick house. 5 bed and 2 bath up and full in law suite down in basement with kitchen for 265,000 in a good area. Bells Ferry next to Shiloh rd. House is built in late 1990's but in excellent shape as an engineer owned it.

Atlanta real estate is still ridiculously cheap compared to much of the country...
We're building a 2-story with a basement (5 bed/3 bath) -- all three levels are 1333 sf, so the total square footage of finished+unfinished living space is 4000 sf, with the basement about half unfinished for storage and mechanicals. So, about 3400 sf finished, with an oversized two-car garage.
Here are building plans if you're interested:
http://www.thescottpad.com/plans-specs/
We'll be spending about $350K on the build (not including land), so that's about $90/sf, depending on how you define square footage (finished? unfinished? include garage?). In Atlanta, we are building for about $60/sf. There are several difference in construction though:
- We have a basement in this one, but haven't put basements in our Atlanta spec houses. That adds tremendous cost per sf.
- We are using some contractors who are a bit more turn-key, which results in higher prices
- Some of our finishes will be a bit nicer than what we have put in our spec houses
Overall, if you do an apples-to-apples comparison, I'd say that building costs up here are about 30% higher than Georgia.
Here's the detailed budget on this one:
http://www.thescottpad.com/budget/
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Chad Heard
Virtual Assistant · Augusta, GA · Member since 2013 · 29 posts · 7 votes
12y
Cool beans!
0 Reply
Christina R.
Investor · DMV Maryland · Member since 2013 · 867 posts · 370 votes
12y
Originally posted by @Joel Owens:

My brother in law here in GA just bought a 5,000 sq ft plus brick house. 5 bed and 2 bath up and full in law suite down in basement with kitchen for 265,000 in a good area. Bells Ferry next to Shiloh rd. House is built in late 1990's but in excellent shape as an engineer owned it.
OMG something like this actually exists under $270K?? Around here you're talking 700k to $1 million, easy . . . sigh.
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J ScottPro Member
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Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Week #1 shaping up to be a success:
http://www.thescottpad.com/fab-friday-photos-week-...
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J ScottPro Member
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Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
12y
Week #2 is complete, and we have foundation walls (poured but forms are still on)...
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Ronnie Boyd
Fix & Flip, Wholetailing, · West Columbia, SC · Member since 2013 · 215 posts · 60 votes
12y
Nice way to capture this and to document it! I just followed you on twitter as well, really cool.
Big fan of 123flip as well !!!
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