Been wanting to write this for a while, but got distracted with my buy and hold houses. I've learned so much from Bigger pockets that I wanted to share my Rookie mistakes and hopefully help others.

Overview- Bought this house cash for $35,000, in a D area. Believed we could put about $22,000 in it and then sell the house by owner financing it. The house had just flooded and the seller was very motivated to get rid of it. Its a 3bd, 1bath about 1,050sft.

Before Pictures..

One of the bedrooms couldn't be counted a bedroom because it opened right into the kitchen next to the stove.

Plan- We had some contractors come out and say they could complete the house for about $35,000. Me being the genius I am on my first house, thought no way! I can subcontract it out and hit my budget no problem! We decided to knock down a wall in the kitchen and use some of the garage space added kitchen and eating area, plus close off the 3rd bedroom from the kitchen.

Problem #1- After the demo, we realize that all of the Electrical is a fire hazard and there are no lights in any of the bedrooms or living room... They actually ran a extension cord around the house through the living room window to plug in a lamp. Luckily I had this in the budget! All the subs quoted me 7,000-9,000, but my uncle was able to do if for $5,000.

Problem #2- Homes in low income areas are a target for bad things to happen... Halfway through the electrical job, someone broke in and stole the electrical wiring and the copper in the Air conditioner. After a lot of curse words and a extra $2500 the AC is fixed and the electrical is done.

At this point things are now moving smoothly, Electrical is done, AC, plumbing is looked at, concrete poured for the kitchen addition, roof done and were ready for Sheetrock!

Problem #3 Sheetrock or drywall... You are the bane of my existence. After having 3 people come out and quote me anywhere from 9,000-16,000 for putting up drywall, float and tape for only about 130 sheets. I realized that's way way more then what I should be paying according to people on the site. They Estimate $28-33 a sheet.

So me being the well educated genius that I am Allowed one of my co-workers to convince me to do it with his help.. He recommended 5/8th drywall since it will help the structure... So i buy the material needed and they get delivered to the front yard. That is when I find out, that Sheetrock is incredibly heavy to lift. 130 Sheets later I am exhausted beyond belief and have hurt my wrist and all we managed to do was get it in the house!! It took me and him one whole day to do 1 room...

Realizing that i'm not handy half way through the project and this was taking way to long, I decided to find someone cheap to help. I found a handyman on craigslist that said they could do it in 3-4 days and it would cost for him and his helper about 350 a day. I jump at this as I am overwhelmed and exhausted. He arrives 1 hour late to meet me the first day but I let it slide. His helper is a guy that can barely walk and is hunched over. BUT he promises it will be done over the weekend... I come back on Monday and not one room is done and the crippled guy is sleeping on my Sheetrock. I should of fired them then and there but I let myself believe all the excuses the handyman was giving me. He was a nice guy and I wanted to believe the best in him. HUGE MISTAKE, If someone doesn't do what they say they will do, fire them and get someone else!!

One month later, the job is still not finished and his guys steal $1,000 worth of my tools. I finally come to my senses and fire him. I then by the grace of God find someone good who can finish the job! But wait...

Problem #4 THE GREAT FLOOD OF 2015..

The house floods from rain as it is lower then all the other houses around it. We get about 11 inches of rain in about 24 hours. We try'd to just air it out, but that was not going to be possible...

We now have to remove all of the wood subfloor, and about 6-8 inches of sheetrock.. But we have a problem as to what to do about the house flooding again. The people I went into with this are now as frustrated and worried as I am. We realize we will never make money flipping the house and now see if we can make it a buy and hold and fix the flooding issue. We install a french drainage system all around the house and get talked into raising the concrete in the house by about 5 inches. Total cost around $18,000...

Problem #5- When good contractors go bad... The contractor that had come in and saved me was now not showing up to work or communicating properly. Come to find out she had a blood clot and a stroke.. This puts a huge delay on the project.

After 8 months of Delays, stress, cost run ups, theft, etc.. The house was finished in July of 2015. We tiled the whole house in case it floods again, and installed a extra half bathroom.

Lessons I learned

1. Never buy low income properties unless you have just tons of experience.

2. Never buy a house that you know has flooded or is lower then all the houses around it.. Even if you think you'll be done in time to flip it and get out...

3. Hire a crew that only does Sheetrock work. I hear there amazing! ;-))

4. Don't mistake decision under the gun, ask first on Bigger pockets and it will help a lot!

5. Don't be afraid to fire someone. They won't die and you'll sleep so much better at night.

6. Never pay a contractor a large sum of money up front... Your just asking to get bent over..

All in all, I now own a house a I can't sell for what I put into it. But does earn me about 10% cash on cash returns. Please comment and critic my stupid decisions and don't let them be yours!! I leave you with the final pictures!

Let me know what you think guys.

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