All Forum Posts by: Jessica Hood

Here are some more pictures of the process.  

Sanding:

It's funny, you can see a big difference between our first setup and second setup. Trial and error!

First setup:  Plastic everywhere and a table for the supplies.

Second setup, less plastic to get stuck to and no table!  Trust me, if you can avoid anything that you could get stuck to, do it!  I would be nervous working over good flooring.

Lumps in the first attempt:

Thanks, everyone!  I actually did not have any trouble with brush strokes!  I only used a brush for the tight corners.  I used a cabinet roller which is a smooth sponge type of roller for 98% of the painting.  The cabinet enamel is actually pretty thin and levels out quite well.  There were a couple of drips off the sides that dried, but a little sanding and a light touch up and it looks perfect.  On my first coat, I had the cabinet doors laying on plastic.  I learned the hard way that it is best to have them "floating" on something.  I used paint cans and buckets.  That way, any excess on the edges does not pool, but rather drips off.  I also painted the doors laying flat, not vertical.  I think that is important to avoid runs.  With the cabinet enamel, do not apply it too thick.  Think thin, multiple layers.  Especially on vertical surfaces, or you will have problems with runs/drips.

In other words, do not lay them down like this...

Elevate them on something like this...

I learned the hard way!

@Austin Steed  Thank you for the information!  Any recommendations as to how to find legitimate private money lenders?  

My credit scores are not horrible. Just not in the 700s yet. I qualify for FHA mortgages, but not personal lines of credit. I am definitely working on it! My problem is my student loan balances are high and debt to credit ratios are not good. I am working it down. It just takes forever. Must be creative and think outside the box!

@Jay Hinrichs  It is funny that you said that.  I just commented on his blog about this same topic.  This is what I said...

"I have had my eye on an area in Columbus, Ohio that has an interesting intermingling of $10k houses and $180k houses. It is really quite interesting to me. The area is on the outskirts of another area that has already been redeveloped, brought back to life, and is booming. I can see that other investors are buying and renovating in the area. I am noticing the number of low end prices dropping off gradually. So it seems to me like there is something to it. I can see that buying a house for $10k that might owe $20k in taxes could turn out to be profitable once renovated. I foresee that area being the next fully revitalized neighborhood. If every couple of houses are $150k and then $20k, and houses two streets over are $180k, and houses four blocks over are $300k… wouldn’t you think there could be some potential there?"

I have pondered on the pros and cons for a long time and the experience of others.  I have heard of failures and I have heard of successes.  I know of the dangers.  It just seems to me that if they were all complete failures, no one would be doing it.  There would not be any low end rentals.  Who would want to do it?

Believe me, I would much rather start out with something better.  But it will probably be a long time before I can do that unless I sell my current home that I made an excellent deal on and do another owner occupant renovation.  That is just a bit stressful when you are living in your renovation project.  So I am trying to figure out how to work within my means.

I have always been very optimistic though.  :)

Thank you, Tyrell!

I do have to agree with Rick though... the house looks to be in rough shape structuraly, but that is what you are addressing.  I am no expert, but the one thing I have learned is to be careful with structural problems.  Some are ok and some are just not worth it.  The renovation I am in now required 15 steel I-beams inserted into the basement.  We had hydrostatic pressure pushing the foundation walls inward.  But that was a pretty simple fix.  Scared all the other buyers away though, so it worked out for me!  Shopping around did save me some money on my foundation work!

What i have learned about contractors is that they make up their own pricing.  It is much like my job as a web developer.  We know the ballpark for our region and price however we see fit.  For them, it is how long they think it will take based on their guy's history, difficulty, their experience, materials, etc.  What takes one team a week might take another team 3 days.  Point is, you should get multiple estimates.  I look at dealing with contractors like buying a car.  Negotiate negotiate negotiate.  Let them know you are getting other estimates and don't be afraid to share estimates with contractors.  If they want your business, they will wheel and deal.  Some may be uber confident and not need the work, so they won't budge.  But it is always worth a shot.  You also won't know who is price gouging until you shop around.  Just don't pick the super cheap guy with the bad reputation!

I am currently living in a home I purchased at auction July 2015 as a foreclosure.  We have renovated nearly the whole thing with a 203k, plus our own sweat and tears, and are wrapping up now.  I am projected to have somewhere between $50k and $70k equity when all is said and done.

I want to invest in more properties for rental purposes, but am running into problems accessing my equity. My DTI is just barely over the max set by the banks and credit unions around here for a HELOC. I could do a cash-out refi, but it may not be worth it if the interest rate is not any better than 4.75%. I am not sure I want to do a refi anyway.

Since I cannot access that equity at the moment and I do not have a lot of savings, I was thinking about starting at the bottom of the barrel by purchasing one of these super cheap houses that is in need of a lot of work.  There are a LOT of them in Columbus, Ohio that are under $20k!  But even then, the issue is still financing.  Most mortgage lenders have property condition requirements that force you to account for the repairs with them and have it all done by contractors.  I want to be able to do it ourselves for the most part.  Or, the loan is so small that they won't touch it.  I was told that I cannot get any sort of personal loan to buy real estate either.  That is has to be a mortgage?  Not to mention, the credit score requirements for the personal loans are pretty strict.  At least 700 and I am not there yet.

I have heard of private money lenders, but that is new territory and I am nervous about scammers.  I don't know a lot about it.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how I could possibly move forward with my goals?

@Shellie S.  It was definitely an adventure!  But I love those and trying creative ideas.  Thank you for the compliments!  The flooring is laminate and turned out beautiful.  We installed it ourselves.  You can see it here...

https://www.flooranddecor.com/laminate-laminate/ba...

@Steven Payne  Thanks!  I would definitely do it again if it was appropriate for the neighborhood.  In other words, not in an upscale house.  It isn't that it looks low class.  But more that it is a cheap alternative and not something higher class would expect in an upscale home.  Also, it would not hold up to the high expectations of durability because it scratches so easy.  It truly is beautiful though!