All Forum Posts by: Aaron McGinnis

The size of the house doesn't really mean anything. The cost of the roof will depend on such issues as -

How big is the surface area
What is the slope
How many layers of shingles need to be torn off
How many hips, gables, and valleys are there
Is the roof cut up and going to otherwise be a total pain in the ***, requiring a lot of cutting of shingles and piecing together flashing?

Get quotes. Nobody on the internet can even give you a reasonable guesstimate with only the knowledge that the house is 1700sqft of living space.

I use all kinds of techniques... one of my favorite, candidly, is using a credit card that gives me cash back on everything. 1% cash back doesn't seem like a lot, but if you're spending $100k+ on it every year it's a nice little Christmas bonus.

As mentioned, Lowes is good if you can get contractor pricing. Typically it's about 10% off. If you've got military ID, you can get discounts that way too.
(You don't always have to go through the bid room to get it. If they know you well, you can really just walk in and ask for it.)

Sherwin Williams is good. Sweet talk them and you can get 10% off just for being a contractor. If you really buy a lot of paint, you can get some serious discounts. (Good reason to let your painter buy paint)

Build.com is great for higher-end fixtures, and they have GREAT service and a bit of a discount if you sign up for a contractor account.

For lumber, get to know a lumber yard. Things like trim and LVL beams are much better from a lumber yard! Ironically, Lowes can typically beat a lumber yard with a "First blush" quote on commodity items like 2x4s. Stretched lumber goes to the lumber yard.

Lowes can also match and beat pricing from a lumber yard, but it's a really good way to piss off your rep at the lumber yard so I try not to do that unless I'm in trouble.

Doors, windows, and flooring should all come from supply houses... not Lowes or HD. Find someone who deals directly with Masonite to buy from. (Lowes deals with several in-betweeners, so you don't get the best prices from them)

Special interior & exterior doors I try to get from a variety of surplus places locally. I also like to walk into these places so they see me between jobs... shoot the breeze, insult the owner's mother, and tell him what a ripoff his prices are. Good times. I've gotten some SCREAMING deals on odds and ends this way. (Most of the guys running the surplus places are delighted to talk shop and won't miss the chance to provide you with a cup of joe and some conversation)

Appliances I shop a variety of places. For low-end stuff, Brandsmart isn't a bad way to go... Sears used to be good, but their discounts just aren't there anymore.
For better stuff, I use a variety of outlets and surplus places and just shop it until I get what I need.

Things like insulation and fire caulk I try not to buy at all. I get an insulation company to do it... they can often insulate the house for only a bit more than I could go buy material at Lowes or HD.

Small electrical and plumbing parts I let my electrician and plumber buy. They get better deals at a supply house than I can get from big-box. I like to get my toilets and water heaters this way.

I wish there was some secret handshake or password at Lowes that would magically get you some kind of ridiculous discount, but sadly I just don't think there is. That's really across the board... getting good deals is largely just a matter of time vs. cost. You're going to spend time shopping around and hunting for the deals.

So since we've got a very interesting thread going on wall color, I thought I'd ask -

What color is everyone using for hardwoods and carpet? We try and go as light as possible with the hardwoods while still covering stains.

To wit, the project we're on right now has some saved-wood floors that are more than 60 years old, so we're having to use something like special walnut or dark walnut (Minwax), but normally we try and go lighter like, say, cherry.

No. Our bathrooms get greenrock around wet areas and the kitchens are typically on an open floor plan. Also... With superpaint or duron, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more durable paint.

My painter uses DUron masterpiece and superpaint. I believe he pays about $18/gal.

And yes... I let my painter get the paint. He gets a much better discount at SW than I do.

I've used (All Sherwin Williams) -

Softer tan (Bright white trim)
Macadamia (Off-white trim)
Biscuit (Bright white trim)

All ceilings are plain, boring white.

I personally would only do multiple colors if I was trying to do a mid-century modern house. And even then, I'd tread carefully.

Part of the reason for this is that painters will want to charge more for additional wall colors. They basically have to retool every time they switch colors, and it's a pain in the butt.

Also, tan is a safe color that is sure to offend nobody... if someone really wants a wall to be more colorful, they can paint it themselves. As it is, no-one will be un-sold by a basic, un-provocative tan wall.

I'm late to the party, but I'd like to chime in here.

My approach sort of splits the difference between J. Scott and what Financeautomaton (Just breaking your nuts a bit there) suggest...

I also come at this from a slightly different perspective, having done BPOs for awhile back when the money for BPOs was still good. It's not appraisal experience, but the process of doing a good BPO is a lot like doing an appraisal.

Anyway, to get back on point - I don't like to meet the appraiser in person. I know when I did interior BPOs it made me very uncomfortable when someone was following me around, trying to talk the subject up. I also know that most people in this business are either very talky or very shy... and that an appraisal needs to be data-driven.
Either way, I never have felt like an appraiser needed to be chit-chatted with while I pointed out how tremendously awesome my trim carpenter is. "Check out the way he coped that joint. That's worth at LEAST another 5 grand!"

What I do, however, do is this -

Prior to the appraisal even being ordered, I put a CBS code on the supra box and keep it a closely-guarded secret. Not even the buyer agent is going to weasel it out of me. I also put out a contractor box and change the code every time I give it out. I ALSO tell the lender directly that the appraiser must call me for access... in other words, until he talks to me, Jesus himself ain't getting entrance unless he brought along a master key.

When I talk to the appraiser, I ask him some very carefully-worded, very on-point questions -
"How are we looking for comps?" (The answer varies, but most of the time they haven't even started on data-discovery)
"Have you been given the contract price?" (the answer is always "no")
"I have information regarding the renovation and some possible comps. Would you like me to send it to you?" (The answer is ALWAYS yes. Half the time the appraiser thanks me for getting half his work done for him)

And then it's very mundane - I get his e-mail address, the best phone number to call if I need to get in touch with him, and then... ONLY THEN... does he get the CBS/Lockbox code.

My data package is a lot shorter than J Scott's. I give the highlights of the rehab (Rewired, replumbed, new HVAC, etc.) and a short summary of the major expenses involved. I don't get nearly as detailed as J does.

I do, however, state that receipts and a ledger are available if the appraiser would like to see them to verify numbers.
(Side note... I once had an appraiser call me and say, "You didn't REALLLY spend that much, right? This house wasn't in that bad of shape. You're just puffing."... I very quickly, without hesitation, told him that YES I DAMN WELL DID and that I was ready to show him receipts. He then laughed and I asked if he was just trying to see if I'd blink... he said, "Yeah, I was. You'll get your value"
Appraisers can be real jackasses.)

I also provide a copy of the certificate of occupancy and a short-form BPO showing up to 5-7 sale comps and 3-4 active listings.

I also take the time to pull permit records on the sale comps... in lower-end markets, most of them have no permit record and I can therefore make the argument that they have not been rewired, replumbed, or even had a new HVAC installed (Government evidence to that point being missing. If they had that stuff, they'd have had permits... right? right? wink wink nudge nudge)

While I haven't had an appraiser directly confirm if the permit/no permit thing influences them, I will say that since I started using that tactic I haven't missed an appraisal yet and I've had to spend a lot less time haggling with the appraiser.

Maybe our appraiser friend here can lend some insight on that issue?

The times when I have had an appraisal come in low (It happens), I've had good success pushing back on it and having the appraiser redo his comps. Typically the lender is on my side in the matter, so that helps.

Bridget,

Realtor.com and Trulia will be worthless. Inventory like that, in those areas, moves in a matter of days... if not hours. By the time it gets to Trulia or Realtor.com, the data is beyond worthless.

You need to hook up with someone who can pull info straight off the MLS for you.

With 20k to spend you might be able to pick up a 10k house in Decatur, get it marginally rent-ready for the other 10k, and rent it for maybe $600/mo.

Bridget,

The area that house is in is called Pittsburgh. Not too many years ago, it was named the most dangerous subdivision in the country. Cops avoid it. When I get a call from a person who wants to see a house in there, I either tell them "Flat out no" or I bring both the pistol and the shotgun.

The high sale in the past 6 months in that neighborhood was $53,000 for a 2004 built house. Like any other house that is left un-attended for more than 5 minutes in that SD, I'm sure the new owner had to replace everything that was made of metal and most likely had to replace the carpet to get rid of the meth-burns.

If you choose to buy this house, you need to renovate it to section 8 standards only... and no more. Get an asset manager who is tough as nails and hangs out in biker bars and has no problem tossing out clients who brew meth in the bath-tub and who think that turning tricks on the weekend is a good occupation.

Listing agents who are experienced know better than to put "Pittsburgh" as the subdivision in the listing... it's too easy to google and thus an easy way to lose prospective buyers.

There are houses on the market for over $100k, but they aren't moving and have probably been relieved of anything made of metal since 5 minutes after the renovation crew left. They're probably now inhabited by a meth brewer who thinks that turning tricks is good weekend entertainment.

Now, if you really enjoy headaches and like replacing windows and HVAC line-sets every week, please... buy this house and rent it out.

Otherwise, drop the contract like a load of flaming napalm bricks and find yourself someplace that will attract a tenant that won't brew meth in the bath tubs.

Example: There's some flaming hot deals in 30032 and 30034 zip codes right now for landlords who are going to hang on to the property for a few years.