A warning to wannabe rehabbers
I know a lot of you think rehabs are a great source and IMO they are. But, be careful you don't bite off more than you can chew, and make sure you doublecheck your numbers, then doublecheck them about 6 more times.
I've been doing this for almost 30 years so I'm not a virgin. I still like doing it but I don't need the money, or the hassles. I bought a little pier and beam frame house back in April that was a real wreck! I knew it would be a moneymaker since I was buying it for $24K and I looked at it six ways from Sunday before making an offer.
Some things I knew it needed.
Roof and some of the roof decking
Some interior doors and replace a crappy sliding door.
Siding, part was Masonite, part was T-111, lots was termite and water damaged
Some structural. I knew that at least 8 feet of studs were termite eaten away.
A fair amount of plumbing
Pretty much all new baths, and kitchn.
Anyway every time I looked at it I added another $500-$750 to my last estimate, I'm not quite done with the living room-dining room ceiling, still have to texture and paint the walls in those rooms as well. Haven't done a thing to the kitchen.
I had figured my total MATERIALS at $9K, I'm at $8K now and still need some tile and kitchen cabinets, countertops etc. Luckily it's a small kitchen!
I knew some roof decking was bad, turned out about 40% was!
I figured about $300 for electrican, it was $600, but he did some extras though.
Replacing the AC was about $700 more, all the flex duct was bad and the registers were pretty rusty.
Ended up with more termite eaten studs than I had anticipated.
On the plus side some friends GAVE ME 5 gallons of high dollar exterior paint that was extra when their place was repaintd. They also GAVE ME 7 really expensive interior doorknobs (4 privacy, 3 passage) that they didn't like once they got them. These things are more expensive than any doorknob I've ever bought and they wouldn't accept a nickel for them. Another plus is yard sale light fixtures and kitchen sink!
I've already had an offer of $75K from a couple that saw it when it was a WRECK. Even if I go nuts on the kichen and second bath I won't have a total of $40K in it (I had hoped for $35K max), so I know I'm going to
make out fine on it. But this should be a warning to those of you who take on the real thin deals.
all cash