Rental Property Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2016 · 161 posts · 221 votes
My wife and I had been interested in purchasing a rental property for about a year with the intent of making this a business. She's a teacher, I'm an engineer and we have little faith in the future of Social Security / 401k stability. So bring on the house viewings! After many viewings we decided to look at a 'slightly' downtrodden 1954 ranch with the right square footage.
Notice the fancy red-white-blue spray painted garage windows! Seems like we may have an artist on the premises (more on that). After viewing the place twice, researching the rent comps and recently sold comp values for the area we decided to purchase it. Here is my wife after closing...inspecting her snazzy new $60,000 purchase (so much better than an escalade).
Your wife and I are kindred spirits. If things don't work out between the two of you, please give her my number. She and I would be a match made in heaven because clearly she knows what hell looks like.
Trying to figure the proper layout for the basement; I've basically gutted it to the bare walls. Egress windows are on the layout below and we are debating turning it into a 1 bedroom for a better layout. I'm against this as I think it's a bad idea for the value of the property and possible rent return.
By the way, BP fans, I had the pleasure of meeting up with @Lee Fahy in Denver this week to chat about REI. I wanted to buy a beer for the man that bought the brothel and saved the neighborhood, put alas, it was only 7am and he bought the coffee.
Impressive young man, I think we'll see him and his wife in the BP hall of fame some day....he still looks a little tired from that rehab. He assures me that he's not an active pimp today, but in person he wears a purple leisure suit and sports 5 or 6 heavy gold chains.....so, you be your own judge. As he walked away, I think I saw mouse droppings still embedded in the treads of his tennis shoes.
Steve K. Well I did say it was ready to rent...... I just meant it was ready to rent by the hour. Haha. If you need me I'll be shopping for my new gold chain and velour tracksuit...
I feel like my renovation niche is probably going to be Cat slash drug den slash brothels.
"Final" mouse count was 25 in the basement demo, one penthouse from September 1988 and a thing of KY jelly in the shower. I cannot make this up.
Your going to learn a lot through this. While it is an ongoing headache for now, ultimately the education you and your wife will get is priceless. Best of luck!
@Steve Kontos ; Truer words have never been spoken, I'm a fairly handy person when it comes to mechanical things (painting cars, welding panels, fabrication) but had never done construction work. What an education this has been.... AND I'm still married through this! Can't wait to finish the basement and get another.
@John Nachtigall ; Imagine what a $115,000 car from 1988 is worth today? Ha.
Basement demo work continues, knocking out the blocking from the shower. Shower walls only went up about 6 feet and had no connections to support the floor joists. Good times.
Well I wish I had taken a "full" picture. My final count was 77 five gallon buckets full of concrete (7 complete trips with 11 leftover mud buckets). Basement is empty now, my legs and forearms are shaky but all in all a good days work.
Another beautiful Minnesota weekend and here I am securing my financial future by pulling about 6000 nails out of the floor joist overhead. Morning coffee should be interesting to see if I can get the cup to my face. Haha.
Notice the snappy design the prior tenants left on the floor, Magenta, well don't mind if I do.
I found a piece of mail addressed to the prior 'artist in residence' and it appears she is currently enjoying a 19 month ALLLL INCLUSIVE STAY at Minnesota's finest mid level prison. Ran a quick inmate search and there she was. Turns out she liked drugs and the sale of them as well (entrepreneur of sorts I guess).
Loving the thread. You guys are awesome. Keep it up!
I purchased an estate sale home last year, and after closing one of the neighbors informed me that while cleaning out the disaster inside the house, the brothers found two separate $10,000 stacks of hidden cash. You can bet I made a thorough investigation of the attic, vents, etc. but haven't struck gold yet.
James Marshall haha, I'm actually glad I didn't hear a story like that. The reason being is I'd be paranoid about missing a hiding spot. "Wait..... did I look behind ALL the outlet covers?"
John Nachtigall the odyssey continues! I'm waiting on a $1000 worth of materials nobody will ever see (xps foam insulation and wall framing for the basement).
I'll update as soon as I have it installed on the walls.
Update: 11-3-2017 - We put our primary residence for sale on a Friday and I it's under a purchase agreement on Monday.
Investa-Brothel is getting the xps foam board glued up as fast as I can (about 80% finished now)
Renters are placed in the upstairs unit and I'm cash flowing $450 a month (after PITI) but WAIT.......there is of course.....MORE. Two weeks into their lease the furnace goes out and it's snowing (at 8pm on a Friday).
Unexpected $2400 but hey, chin up, now I can sleep knowing one major 'what if' is off my list. Never mind that 80 gallon electric water heater from 1988...its fiiiiine.
I had them install the A-coil on the furnace and plumb the lines for future central air in the event I decide to go that direction. Better to do it now without sheetrock on the ceiling.