Investor · McKinney, TX · Member since 2012 · 588 posts · 224 votes
I finally finished my 2nd rehab. I started it on 7/2. It took WAY too long! I learned a lot as it basically needed a little bit of everything.... foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC. I ended up being in it too deep so I won't go into the numbers ;)
The major things I learned:
The most expensive thing is cheap labor
A strong contract is your best friend
Sticking to a contract and payment schedule is important. Don't get caught up in contractor's drama.
Don't take on a major project like this until I get better at estimating
Add a big Misc category. Cost of door knobs, new locks etc etc etc can add up quick!
Here are some pics. Some before and after towards the end.
Wholesaler · Katy, TX · Member since 2013 · 213 posts · 109 votes
12y
Looks great @Shawn Thom . So the main issue was the contractor not doing what was contracted? Did you have to look for a new contractor in the middle of the work or were you able to get him to finish?
It would be great if you can share a little more detail of what went wrong with us "newbies" :)
Investor · McKinney, TX · Member since 2012 · 588 posts · 224 votes
12y
The guy I bought it from recommended a contractor. I did not have a good feeling about him, but my wife talked me into using him. He gave me a price that was cheap, then we removed some items and he went down...but he went down way too much. I gave him some $$ to pay for materials. He went out the same day and bought them but he didn't have enough $$ for the whole thing. He asked me for more money. In the contract it said he would pay for materials out of the total price I was paying. I gave him some more $$ and told him it was coming out of the final price. I also wrote up a quick and dirty addendum that stated that and had him sign on each additional pay out. He said OK but when it came close to the end, I guess he forgot. Somewhere in there he asked for a draw to pay his rent too.
He ended walking off the job. I was only a few $100 ahead of the work, so I wasn't off too badly. The guy that worked for him felt badly and said he would complete the work for the $$ that was left. We had almost enough material to finish. This guy did most of the work but he ended up bailing too.
In the middle of all this I end up fracturing my arm (not from the rehab). So I'm out there one armed trying to grout the floors and set doors etc with one good arm. The term one-armed paper hanger came to mind many times.
I see a guy working next door that I have been watching and he does really good work. I plead my case with him and he agrees to help me finish out the end pieces. he ended up being great! It was a little squirrely because he rode his bike to the house every day and wanted to quit by 3pm everyday......but he showed up everyday (except rain days). he did good work, and gave me some great tips. He works with a local landlord that has 20 houses in the area so he knows a lot of tips and tricks.
In the end, its done. There are quite a few quality items I'm not happy about but everyone that has come into the house says it really nice. Since its a rental, I'm sure this is the nicest it will ever look :)