All Forum Posts by: Chris Brown

@Laith Ali, all your answers as far as finishes should be found in your neighborhood comps. It wont matter what level of trim you use if the area is all low end, you will never get a return. Look at your comps, see what sold fastest and highest and replicate. 

I would not use granite tiles. No one likes them and like you said, they have grout lines to keep clean.

Kitchens and baths, that is where alot of attention needs to go. If you can get more counter space, great, everyone will love that. Islands can be great if they fit with the overall scheme and comps. Nowadays, people want an area to eat at the bar in the kitchen, especially family type homes. 

I don't see the value of adding a bathroom to a basement if you are not doing anything else to the basement. Who is going to go down to the basement to use it? It is not functional. If you were to add some bedrooms in the basement, then yes, buy all means. Converting a 2/1 to a 3/2 can add value. Again, verify that the comps support it. 

I get my cabinets from an RTA vendor. They come with soft close hinges and drawers, I can have the vendor assemble and deliver, they come in 15 different styles, doors made of solid maple, sides 3/4 inch maple plywood, cheaper than Ikea and Home Depot. 

Best of luck!

Chris

Hi @Julian Addy, once you define the areas you want to invest in, get some contractor referrals in that area and speak with them over the phone. If you get a good feeling with them, speak with some of their references. If you still feel positive, then plan to meet them in person, preferably at a site where they are working or have recently finished so you can get a feel for their work in person.  

I would speak with several lenders who work in the area you want to invest in. HML are easy to find and generally easy to work with as long as the numbers make sense and a lot lend out of state. Conventional lenders may be a little tougher for an out of state borrower.

I am sure you can find plenty of references here on BP for property managers in your preferred area. Again, give a few a call and get a feel for them. 

I don't have any rentals so have not had to find any tenants, but I hear places like Craigslist, FB marketplace, etc work well. A good property manager should help find and vet the prospective tenants as well. 

Best of luck!

Chris

Hi @Jon Passow, since you'll be out of state, I would look for a good General Contractor. It could be" John Smith's" contracting or a company like "ABC Renovations". Both would be a general contractor that has a staff and/or subcontractors and they would manage the entire project for you including budgeting, scheduling, permits, materials, etc. 

So I would advise finding some GC's and renovation/remodeling companies and speak with them, get a feel for how they are, speak to some references and go see some of their work. 

You will probably find that an independent GC will provide better pricing than a remodeling company because they do no have as much overhead, but a company with full time workers may be able to get the work done faster. Its a balance. 

I would also advise the taking multi family units down to the studs and rebuilding will take longer then 4-6 weeks. A cosmetic rehab (Paint, floors, cabinets, lights, switches and outlets, etc) would be more like 4-6 weeks. I would expect a multifamily, down to the stud rehab, to be more of a 8-12 week job. 

Best of luck!

Chris

@Stephen Herbert, I use granite in all my flips, mainly because it is more cost effective. If the price point is above $400k, then I would consider quartz. I don't think either one would sway a buyer, so I would suggest using whatever you can get that looks good and saves the most on the budget. 

Hmmm, $20k in profit without lifting a finger or spending any money or time or $35k in profit after spending months dealing with contractors, holding costs, unexpected hits to the original, underestimated budget, selling time, etc, etc. Look at it this way, you are increasing your expenses by 75% ($50k) to increase your profit (possibly) by 30%. ($15k). Not a good ROI.

Side by side. The only reason to stack, in my book, is if that is the only way they can fit. Stackables are almost always seen as a compromise. 

Like Curt said, the REIA is a great place to start. Honestly, just getting on the phone and contacting contractors from Craigslist and Facebook can work. As with anything, they will need to be vetted but I have found some good workers that way. Some people say "early morning at home depot", while I don't usually bother guys that are hustling to get supplies for the job they are working on, I will get numbers of trucks and call and talk to them and see how I feel about them and go from there.

I guess what I am trying to say is there are no easy answers or shortcuts. It takes time and effort to call and meet with contractors and build those relationship. We'd all like to raise our hand and have the best priced, best quality, most reliable contractor rush over to you, but that is not going to happen. Their all busy anyway. It's taken me years to get my full time employees and subcontractors. You can do it, it will just take time and patience to build a team up.

In the meantime, let me know if I can help in any capacity. 

Best of luck!

Chris

Hi @Ryan Randalls, although I cannot speak to your specific area, but in Atlanta I pay around $125 per sq ft for an addition. If the numbers make sense, considering the extra time, loan interest if applicable, permits, etc, then I think it is worth it. If I can make the same ROI on not doing an addition, then I will. If I can increase my ROI by adding, if the area shows comps to support it, I will. And is this market, you kind of need to add value in my opinion.

There are a lot more twists and turns with an addition and I would not advise it for someone who is new, gets stressed easily, has low patience or a lack of capital. 

Start small and work up. 

Replace it. So many buyers will look at an old roof and bypass the house. The inside could be spectacular, but the roof could be a deterrent. I have had 2 with old, but solid roofs, sit on the market for a month with plenty of lookers but no offers. I replaced the roof and had offers within a week. Coincidence? Possibly, but I don't believe so. 

If you're house is up against new builds or other houses in the area have new roofs, then I think it is a detriment to not replace the roof. 

To echo what Thomas said, with a new contractor, I am there daily until I gain the trust in him that he is doing things correctly and on time. Once I trust him, and his guys, then I still visit 1-3 times a week. Especially during larger aspects of the renovation to make sure the work is proper and to my specs.

As for what Adam said, if I had a contractor that had issue with me being there every day, I would not work with again him either, or release him.

Every project is different. Starting out, I would be on site as much as possible. What better way to learn about the process? Even if you want to be a completely hands off investor, you have to know the process to be successful.