All Forum Posts by: Wendy Vaidic

Referrals from individuals with similar needs to yours are best, but a lot of rehabbers don't want to share contractors.  J Scott recommends going to Home Depot or Lowes at 6AM because the serious contractors will be there getting ready for their day.  

I have heard a lot of MHP owners suggest going to the best kept MH in the park and seeing if they are interested.  They already have pride in the community and are often motivated to ensure others take pride in it too.  I have seen this model in action and it worked very well.  Usually they get free lot rent and a small salary.

My strategy is always the same. I look at comps to see what improvement they made & how fast they sold.  If the Days on Market is good and the level of rehab needed to sell quickly fits in the budget I make an offer. Otherwise, I move onto the next deal regardless of the area.  I haven't found a house that will work in a D area as of now, but you never know.  

I like the seamless look of having the same flooring in the bedrooms & living area.  It will probably be more costly than carpe though, so it depends on the comps and budget. 

I wouldn't do the cleaning first.  I would start with demo & trashout.  I like to make a list of all the tasks that need done & put them in order.  You don't want to go through and paint then patch because then you'll need to paint again.  By having the list it helps you look ahead too so you ca schedule your trades with enough warning that you aren't waiting between trades (usually).  Of coarse there will be surprises & unexpected things that you can't plan for.

@Jon Graham the money is important!  Otherwise, we can't keep doing what we're doing.  Your project is stunning, by the way.  

For me, doing a full rehab is where the joy comes from.  Knowing I'm providing a quality product to a home buyer is the  only way I can do flips in good conscience.  Now, there have been occasions where I have bought properties that were newer, and therefore needed less of a renovation.  In the end though, the purchaser ended up with a great product and that's what matters to me.

Nice!

Great tips to help others learn.  Glad you will still make some $ in the end.

I don't know the specifics, but I do know in Florida it is legal to piggy-back copper wire to the aluminum instead of replacing all of the wire.  You'll have to look into it in your area.  It costs about 1/2 as much as a re-wire.  I would just call a couple of local electricians and ask them what your options are to legally fix it.