Real Estate Investor · Tallahassee, FL · Member since 2012 · 105 posts · 19 votes
Hello, Board! I had made another leap of faith and bought Quad of 4 1/1 Apartments. I will use this thread to get some advises from the knowledgable public here.
This place is in pretty rough shape, but I am hoping to fit my repairs in my operating budget.
In each unit, I am planning on replacing carpet in the living room and adjacent kitchen with some decent looking tile. This will extend the life of the floor and will give an apartment a fresh look that will attract tenants. What does everyone think?
I am also looking for advice about how can I improve a curb appeal and facade of the building?
what's the average rent for a 1/1 in the area and what are you trying to rent these for? Obviously new paint throughout. If you're not going to paint the outside I would give the entire thing a good power washing. Clean out the gutters and the foliage on the roof. I can't tell if it's weeds or ivy all around the front but once all that is pulled out it will help clean it up a bit.
Personally I'd go with a locking laminate over carpet. It's easy to install yourself and the latest stuff is durable and elegant. Buy extra for repairs which are easy because you can just unlock, replace the damaged board, and relock. We put down a super dark laminate in a rental with white walls and it looked very high-end without costing much.
Personally I'd go with a locking laminate over carpet. It's easy to install yourself and the latest stuff is durable and elegant. Buy extra for repairs which are easy because you can just unlock, replace the damaged board, and relock. We put down a super dark laminate in a rental with white walls and it looked very high-end without costing much.
Agreed.
For curb appeal, I think cleaning and possibly painting will go a long way.
I think removing the vines/bushes and putting some mulch down and some new bushes/flowers should help. Thicker grass would be nice, but I am not sure it is worth doing sod.
Personally I'd go with a locking laminate over carpet. It's easy to install yourself and the latest stuff is durable and elegant. Buy extra for repairs which are easy because you can just unlock, replace the damaged board, and relock. We put down a super dark laminate in a rental with white walls and it looked very high-end without costing much.
Becky, I like that look of contrast of black laminate and cool white walls. I actually already did one of my other properties in this style. However, my problem was the lack of spill tolerance from laminate. About a year ago, my AC drain clogged and overspill water on laminate - which warped and swollen in the end. Otherwise, I like the look of your setup
What are your actual numbers (Purchase, Rehab, Holding, PITI, etc... etc...)
Trying to help ya not break the bank, but we have to break you for information!!! lol
Thank you, Steve!
Purchase price: 62.9K paid cash
Rehab: estimating 30K(doing most of work myself)
Holding and PITI - what is this?
That helps a bit! Roughly $93k all in grossing $2000/month sounds GREAT!
Nice job!
Holding - If you went the HM (Hard Money) route
PITI - Principle/Interest/Taxes/Insurance
Gives us a better idea on exactly what your NOI would be :)
Either which way, it looks like a great deal on the surface! Don't get too burnt out by doing too much work yourself. I did on our first go around and learned real quick that contractors are much faster, I don't wake up sore, and I can get the same satisfaction by watching the rehab come to life standing on the side lines!
Principle/Interest - I bought this house cash, so there isn't any. Within a year I would like to establish HELOC and pull the cash out of this house - then I will have principle/interest.
As far as Taxes, I am ESTIMATING about 2K in taxes a year. I need to call the county and get true estimate of taxes for this year.
Insurance. While I see this item to be a biggest scam in America, I will have to have insurance when I will try to pull the HELOC(bank requirement).
I have a contract buddy of mine who will be helping me out with everything. Its our fifth project together.
One thing that I am missing is putting a plan together to make a curb and inside appeal. I especially don't like the setup of the kitchen. I will post couple of photos to see if I can get couple of ideas.
Thank you for all the help thus far, guys and gals.
@Yuriy Tymoshenko you mentioned not liking the set up of the kitchen but it's hard to see how it might be reconfigured from the one photo. For $500 a month it doesn't look like that bad of a set up. Updating the tile and adding an inexpensive backsplash that adds a pop of color might go a long way. Also, new light fixtures would update it.
To add to the curb appeal, after pressure washing the outside I would paint the shutters and doors a brighter more inviting color maybe in the red or blue family.
The front gate at the top of the porch looks rough. Are you keeping that? I can't exactly tell what it is in the pic.
Hey Yuriy, I replaced the carpet and water swollen laminate in a new quad of mine recently with Allure Vinyl plank flooring from HD. I went with the locking kind. Less than $2 a foot, and if you don't put it down yourself, I had quotes from $0.80 to $2.00 to install it.
@Yuriy Tymoshenko you mentioned not liking the set up of the kitchen but it's hard to see how it might be reconfigured from the one photo. For $500 a month it doesn't look like that bad of a set up. Updating the tile and adding an inexpensive backsplash that adds a pop of color might go a long way. Also, new light fixtures would update it.
To add to the curb appeal, after pressure washing the outside I would paint the shutters and doors a brighter more inviting color maybe in the red or blue family.
The front gate at the top of the porch looks rough. Are you keeping that? I can't exactly tell what it is in the pic.
Carrie, I will take couple of pictures once I get back there.
I love your idea about the kitchen. I REALLY love the idea of using bright paint on doors and windows!
Front gate? If you are talking about small brick laid rails? They are kind of solid structure. Are you thinking about opening up a space at the top of stairs?
Hey Yuriy, I replaced the carpet and water swollen laminate in a new quad of mine recently with Allure Vinyl plank flooring from HD. I went with the locking kind. Less than $2 a foot, and if you don't put it down yourself, I had quotes from $0.80 to $2.00 to install it.
And the best part about Vinyl planks is they are waterproof. Just make sure the subfloor is in good shape because the planks are thinner and more flexible than laminate floors. That was my first project with those floors but used them from others recommendations that they last longer than carpet, and are cheaper than tile, about the same as laminate but waterproof. (The planks themselves are but water can still get around the outside edge).
@Yuriy Tymoshenko We used the vinyl locking laminate, it's waterproof. We put lining underneath them to prevent any moisture getting into the subfloor.
@Yuriy Tymoshenko We used the vinyl locking laminate, it's waterproof. We put lining underneath them to prevent any moisture getting into the subfloor.
Thank you, Becky! I guess it a good thing that both floors are concrete
Hey, guys and gals, here are some photos of the kitchen. I'm planing on replacing countertops with new laminate countertops. I will do a backsplash with modern glass tile(once I find it on sale, $6 a square is ouch). I will spray paint the fridge. I wonder what I should do with cabinets? I am thinking about replacing knobs. But I'm not sure what to do with actual cabinets. For flooring, I'm thinking about using vinyl laminate planks in the whole house.
@Yuriy Tymoshenko, this was a great deal. I like the building and your plans for it. I agree with the others that the outside definitely requires some attention.
I am a little curious about your budget. $30K seems like a little much for what you have planned. Is that simply your max and you're not sure you'll actually spend that much, or are you sure you'll spend that much?
@Yuriy Tymoshenko, this was a great deal. I like the building and your plans for it. I agree with the others that the outside definitely requires some attention.
I am a little curious about your budget. $30K seems like a little much for what you have planned. Is that simply your max and you're not sure you'll actually spend that much, or are you sure you'll spend that much?
Randy, thank you for the kind words. 30k is my worst case of scenario right now. I am definitely looking to retain as much my cash as possible))