All Forum Posts by: Debra R.

Hi Michael, 

1. Figure out what is the highest number at which you can make a reasonable profit. Don't go over that number!! It's so easy to let others talk us into believing that rehab won't cost that much, or that the ARV will be more -recent experience talking!

2.Once you have your highest number you can evaluate how true the claims of 5 other offers are and if you want to offer less than your highest number.  If it's been on the market for 45 days and hasn't changed price I can't imagine it has 5 offers.  And 1 possible offer from first time buyers who need financing and will move  right away into a house with no septic?  Sounds very doubtful.  

3.  Be 100% certain you can finance the house and reno budget.  If you can pay cash for the house and already have a loan for the rehab, great.  If not then keep the financing contingency.  Although, you could maybe skip the financing contingency and then if you can't get financing it sounds like the house is in bad enough condition that you could back out of the deal because something new came up during the inspections.  

4.  Don't give up your inspection contingency!  I would encourage you to do as many inspections as possible.  But even if you only do more inspections on your own it's good to have the opportunity to go thru the house with a fine tooth comb.  

5. Best of Luck!  Hope you get it for less than expected!  :)

Thank you everyone for your knowledge!  It sounds like 9K is reasonable (not including the repair work).  20K appears to be way out of line.  

We're rehabbing a trashed SFR. It needs everything, but we're starting with: roof, HVAC and windows. Does anyone have experience with the PACE program? I don't know much about it yet, but what I understand is that it's a "loan" to put in energy efficient systems. The loan is attached to the property taxes and is paid back over 20 yrs. It would seem to be an awesome opportunity for us. We would be able to do all the upgrades right away. The "loan" stays with the property so if we sell it in a couple of years the new owners will assume the payments.

We'd like input from others who've used this program. Are there any downsides (other than paperwork and slow bureaucracy) that we may not be seeing?

 Do you mind sharing who your roofer was?  Our property is also1600sf.  Your cost seems to indicate the 20K quote is way over the top.  

 yes, the 9K and 20K were just for roofing without sheeting, dry rot repair..... I'm still waiting to get the written estimate for the 20K to make sure they are apples to apples quotes.  

 Yes , it is a very broad question.  But if I was asking about a car cost, the answer would be around 25K-30K for a new, mid range car.  

I didn't want to go into all the details bc there are a lot- the construction is very unusual.  But, here's some more detail - 

. we're using a licensed roofer

. 1 story, ranch but with a steeper than usual  roof for a ranch.  

. removal of the existing shingles and torch on (improper use)

. not including the sheathing/fascia/dry rot cost bc it's unknown how much if any will need replacement

.  replace with mid range asphalt shingles

We're finding that everyone in Nor Cal is hiring roofers in anticipation of El Nino and therefore it's difficult to even get estimates.  

 yeah, roofers are very difficult to get ahold of right now.  In our other building we've signed a contract with a roofer to do some repair work and now he's not calling back.  2 of the roofers in Roseville said "no, we can't do it.  We're too busy and your project has too much dryrot repair."  :(

We're rehabbing a trashed SFR. It needs everything, but we're starting with: roof, HVAC and windows. Does anyone have experience with the PACE program? I don't know much about it yet, but what I understand is that it's a "loan" to put in energy efficient systems. The loan is attached to the property taxes and is paid back over 20 yrs. It would seem to be an awesome opportunity for us. We would be able to do all the upgrades right away. The "loan" stays with the property so if we sell it in a couple of years the new owners will assume the payments.

We'd like input from others who've used this program.  Are there any downsides (other than paperwork and slow bureaucracy) that we may not be seeing?  

We've received estimates on re-roofing a SFR near Sacramento. 1 at about 9K and another at about 20K. Of course pricing depends on the materials used, but still we'd like to have an idea about what is reasonable. Any ideas on the usual sf cost of a medium quality roof around Sac?

I'm looking for suggestions on flooring. This SFR was built about 1955, has a slab foundation and tile with asbestos (15%) on the slab. I understand that carpet is permitted over asb. tile. What about hardwood? vinyl planks? new tile?

With a slab foundation is there a worry about moisture wicking up? I haven't seen any evidence of that, but we have been having a drought the last few years.  

Estimates for removing the tile are about 10K, so I'd prefer not to remove it.  

We plan to sell the house in a couple of years.