Order of The Rehab

Rehabbing & House Flipping
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Order of The Rehab

Wayne Woodson
Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2009 · 483 posts · 228 votes

As a wholesaler transitioning to rehabber there is something I have always wanted to know. Is there a certain order you follow through the rehab process? For example do you do demo on day 1 then day 2 is cleanup, day 3 is drywall etc, etc. I know the 1st thing would be demo and the last thing would be landscaping but what order do you follow?

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J ScottPro Member
Moderator
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Brandon Turner:
...you should definitely check out the new BP book, "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" (which comes along with The Book on Flipping Houses." They'll help with a lot of those questions too. You can check those out here - they are both excellent.

The Book on Flipping Houses actually has 25 pages devoted to rehab scheduling, including discussions of dependencies, time frames, rules of thumb for scheduling, etc.

For those who aren't interested in getting the book, here's the gist:

Podcast Guest on Show The Truth About Real Estate Investing in 2024 (What Investors NEED to Know)
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  • Ryan R.
    Real Estate Investor · Central, TX · Member since 2012 · 479 posts · 165 votes
    13y

    Basically,

    1. Plumbing
    2. HVAC if necessary
    3. Electrical/wiring
    4. Windows
    5. Insulation.
    6. Drywall
    From here out some people like to different things, floors then trim, some like trim then floors.

    Of course before all of this you address any roofing and or foundation issues.

    4Reply
  • Wayne Woodson
    OP
    Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2009 · 483 posts · 228 votes
    13y

    So it's...

    1. Demo/ Cleanup
    2. Roofing/ Foundation
    3. Plumbing
    4. HVAC if necessary
    5. Electrical/wiring
    6. Windows
    7. Insulation.
    8. Drywall
    9. Landscaping
    10. Profit $$$

    Also I just realized I made the title of this thread sound like a cult for real estate investors.

    9Reply
  • Michael Quarles
    Flipper/Rehabber · Bakersfield, CA · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y

    We would always tape this to the inside front door with a clear plastic cover.

    Here is a link to the form

    http://michaelquarles.homestead.com/repair_process.doc

    5Reply
  • Wayne Woodson
    OP
    Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2009 · 483 posts · 228 votes
    13y

    Thanks Michael and Ryan. Any tips as far as how to schedule certain trades so you don't have people working on top of each other?

    0Reply
  • Brandon TurnerPro Member
    Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y

    Hey Wayne Woodson looks like you've been given some awesome info already, but I'll add to it that you should definitely check out the new BP book, "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" (which comes along with The Book on Flipping Houses." They'll help with a lot of those questions too. You can check those out here - they are both excellent.

    Podcast Guest on Show #92
    7Reply
  • J ScottPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Brandon Turner:
    ...you should definitely check out the new BP book, "The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs" (which comes along with The Book on Flipping Houses." They'll help with a lot of those questions too. You can check those out here - they are both excellent.

    The Book on Flipping Houses actually has 25 pages devoted to rehab scheduling, including discussions of dependencies, time frames, rules of thumb for scheduling, etc.

    For those who aren't interested in getting the book, here's the gist:

    Podcast Guest on Show The Truth About Real Estate Investing in 2024 (What Investors NEED to Know)
    21Reply
  • Glenn Espinosa
    Rehabber · Alexandria, VA · Member since 2011 · 446 posts · 171 votes
    13y

    Michael Quarles - Very nice checklist. It looks like the ideal process for a lipstick flip.

    One thing that we like to do is to finish the front facade/landscaping somewhere in the middle of the project as opposed to the very end. That way if a potential buyer happens to drive by they can get an idea for the finished project and add it to their list of homes to see.

    2Reply
  • Bill Gulley
    Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    13y

    Nice punch list Michael, as to what might be done, outside it's start form the bottom up, inside start from the top to bottom. Much can be accomplished at the same time. :)

    0Reply
  • Randy F.
    Contractor · Anchorage, AK · Member since 2012 · 351 posts · 196 votes
    13y

    On larger rehabs, it is sometimes better to loose some time by NOT sticking to a common sense production approach. While its nice to do all interior demo at the same time, on a larger job where tight margins exist, I will demo the areas with the greatest potential for unforseen problems... Such as the main bath and any areas where there are known deficiencies but depth of problem is unknown.

    Ive just seen too many times when mold and rot and shoddy practices have blown up a budget and if everything is demo'd theres no going back and makes revising the plan near impossible. You know what they say about "best laid plans"! Once the big stuff is opened up and no major setbacks found, all else can procede as planned.

    6Reply
  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    13y

    I like the idea with Michael Quarles checklist. I think that there might be some things that could be done in a better sequence though, or maybe that list isn't intended to be totally sequential. For example, "Remove Carpet" appears before "Trash Out" - but the carpet could be tough to get at if lots of bulky stuff needs to go into a dumpster. Another example would be that "Roof Repair" seems to come after the sheetrock work - I would get the roof done before doing any drywall.

    There could be some regional variations on this, as well as seasonal variations.

    Sometimes up north , in the fall, it makes sense to do landscaping before other things, so that the landscaping has a chance to "take" before it gets too cold. Another seasonal thing would be mudding drywall and interior painting; if the heat isn't on in winter, you won't get things to dry - but in summer you could do those with or without HVAC (at least up north).

    0Reply
  • Bill Gulley
    Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    13y

    Good points Steve, if the roof really leaks that can be an asap issue and seasons and weatehr are always an issue.

    J. Scott has a good simplified punch list approach too.

    While saying outside work from the bottom up, that sounds pretty simplified, it depends on any pressing issues. If you need a house jacked up at a corner, that's a first thing to do issue as it plays on the inside work with floors, trim and walls and flows through to celings and roof. If you have a corner heading down hill you aren't going to get things plub, level and square until that is fixed.

    New flooring is usually a last item with me , tear out is just before installation. The old carpet makes a good drop cloth, kneeling pad and protects the hardwood from dropping a hammer until you get ready to refinish it if that's in the cards and reduces construction traffic on new carpet.

    Lots of considerations to each job, common sence should prevail and some backward planning needs to be done so you don't put some aspect of the job in front of another making it more difficult. :)

    2Reply
  • Pat L.
    Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    13y
    Originally posted by Bill Gulley:

    New flooring is usually a last item with me , tear out is just before installation. The old carpet makes a good drop cloth, kneeling pad and protects the hardwood from dropping a hammer until you get ready to refinish it if that's in the cards and reduces construction traffic .

    We do the same but for my last rehab my guys tore out the 23 yr old carpet first with the padding only to install it (after vacuuming) in one of their Sect8 duplexes.
    One man's trash etc etc.

    0Reply
  • David NilesBusiness Member
    Property Manager · DeLand FL · Member since 2012 · 860 posts · 243 votes
    13y

    Make sure your weather tight and secure, then work your way out the door.

    1Reply
  • Zach Whitt
    Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 2 votes
    13y

    Incredibly helpful thread. I'm knee deep into my first rehab and I'm realizing every day that I wish my list was more comprehensive!

    0Reply
  • Rick L.
    Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2013 · 198 posts · 25 votes
    13y

    Mark, for later reading.

    1Reply
  • Steve Babiak
    Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    13y

    Rick L. - you don't have to "mark" a thread by posting in it; you can check the box near the top of the page that says "Monitoring Topic", and then you can find them on the "My Watched Topics" tab on the main forums page.

    2Reply
  • Vincent Crane
    Realtor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 693 posts · 357 votes
    11y

    This is a really great post that could save a lot of people a lot of time and money, thanks for posting and everyone's responses

    0Reply
  • Lucia Matos
    Mount Prospect, IL · Member since 2017 · 16 posts · 4 votes
    8y

    Hi

    @Michael Quarles ,

    Do you still have the page with the order of remodeling? 

    Thanks!!

    Lucia

    0Reply
  • Kuba F.Pro Member
    Real Estate Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 694 votes
    8y

    Hey @Lucia Matos

    I revisited the subject on a bigger pockets blog post several months ago:

    https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/63630-how-to-order-the-schedule-of-your-house-flip-construction-tasks

    Hope that helps!

    Kuba

    2Reply
  • Lucia Matos
    Mount Prospect, IL · Member since 2017 · 16 posts · 4 votes
    8y

    Dear @Kuba F. ,

    That's amazing! It will be so helpful!!

    Thank you very much!!

    Lucia

    0Reply
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