My First Investment
So, I finally found a home to invest in. A little 2/2 Craftsman Bungalow in a great area in St. Pete, FL. So far, the workers have been demoing and buying supplies.
Home cost is $177,000 via a successful foreclosure auction. Sf is 800 on paper, but really 1040 when you add the illegal addition that was put on the backside. This addition has code violations of course, and I have already communicated with the code compliance person with the city. In addition there is another 300 sf to add when we Sheetrock the garage,add a window unit, and create a studio.
House is in relatively good shape. No new HVAC or roof needed even. Plumbing is fine. Flooring is existing oak hardwood and is in great shape. Only needs refinishing with a few spots to repair. Beautiful tile mosaic on the porch.
Renovations include tearing down a wall to open up the dining room to the living room. Also building a new wall in front that divides the main living area in two, this creates a spare bedroom/office. New kitchen of course as well as new bathrooms.
The biggest ordeal is the Windows as well as the exterior paint. The Windows are double hung and I am taking it upon myself to restore each window to working condition which basically just entails removing a lot of paint and cleaning all the hardware. Glass is largely intact although several cracks need to be repaired. It's a monumental task since there are 15 Windows. But they are all in rough shape in terms of paint buildup. Some wood damage but nothing too crazy.
And then we have the exterior paint which when you see the pics you will see that the paint is in very rough shape. To me, it has to be removed so the resulting painted finish can be smooth. So we have approx 1000 sf of paint to remove not counting the garage. I can't just paint over whats there now because the final product will look crappy, just like it looks now.
So, the question became 'how to remove all that paint in the fastest time'?
So I purchased something called the Silent Paint remover. Here is a pic. This is still labor intensive but I think this device offers the potential for my workers to remove that paint in a speedy manner. I'm also likely to use this device on the Window refinishing too although stripping seems to be working rather well.
So my two biggest concerns are the time it will take to refinish the Windows as well as remove the exterior paint. I'm thinking of hiring two laborers to assist in this. Maybe give each of them one of these silent paint removers and watch them go at it.
Considering this neighborhood being a growing area and the comps that support this investment, my ARV is $319,000. I only anticipate $30,000 in renovation expenses. So, if I were to achieve this investment result, profit would be $112,000. It's more likely that the size of this place comes back to haunt us and I only make $60,000 or $80,000. Who knows?
Anyhoo, an interesting investment all the way around!