All Forum Posts by: Olivier Mader

Plumbing work like the one involved in Bathroom remodels is quite simple. Doing bathrooms including the plumbing part yourself saves tons of money. Contractors charge $7k to well over $10k for a bathroom remodel. I can do a small bathroom with a nice all wood vanity with granite or marble top for $1500 to $2000.. $7k or more for a bathroom remodel of a small bathroom is a ripoff..$5k for 3 days of work for 1 person? That's over $200 per hour. That's a nice payday..

I was very happy with the price and install.. Bought the AC from http://www.budgetairsupply.com/ which is in Davenport/Haines City..

They have 3 ton units from $1300 for the complete system plus install

http://www.budgetairsupply.com/goodman-3-0-ton-13-...

 Are you planning on doing the work yourself or are you hiring someone?

 I'm going to do 2 bathrooms in the house I'm buying very soon.. I still have to decide on if I will use that type of tile again or if I'll go back to stone.. I do a lot of bathrooms in Travertine. Looks classy but only costs about 50 cents more per square foot. I usually use stone on Flip homes and tile on Rentals as renters usually tend to not take care of the stone.. Stone requires more upkeep than tile..

 I think that it was a "risky" choice as I usually use lighter, neutral colors.. It turned out really nice and everyone loves it..

Very hard to find good deals right now.. I didn't buy anything since 2013.. I bid on several properties since but got outbid. I don't touch anything that won't produce at least $50k profit or a 20% ROI as a rental.

Finally, I got a contract on the house across from the one in this thread. $45k for a 1610 sq/ft block home on great 3/4 acre of land, currently 3/2 but there is a permitted addition that is 23 x 12 feet and I will convert it into 2 additional bedrooms. Home has a 2 car carport 22 x 23 which I will convert into a 2 car garage. I estimate to invest $20k to $25k for a complete rehab. With a investment of a total of 65k to $70k, I will have a $150k home. However, it will be a rental and not a flip home. As a 5 bedroom, it should bring $1400 rent, right at my 20% ROI goal.. Expect to take 5 months for the rehab as I only work evenings and weekends. I have a high paying full time job that I'm not willing to quit. I would be doing home flipping full time if I was single. However, stay home wife and 2 kids, I need the insurance benefits that my employer provides. Would cost me $2500 per month to get decent private health insurance for my family..

 I try to use good quality finishes in all my rehabs. The difference in investment is less than $2k for using good materials instead of standard grade materials but it raises the value a lot more than those $3k. Used Travertine in the bathrooms in the 2nd home that I posted about..Still cost me less than $2k per bathroom for the remodelm

Thanks! Here is another one of my better documented homes.. This was a flip.. Sold this one in 2013 when the market was still a buyers market.. Made good money on it..

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/819-Osceola-Ave-...

Don't have the "before" pictures on this one online but I do have them.. It was a total gut just like the one in the OP. This was a nice home in a great neighborhood with lake view of Lake Wales.. House was on a hill looking down at the lake.. Stunning view..

In 2012, on the bottom of the housing crisis, I bought several properties. One of my best deals to date was a super cheap house in Davenport/FL, near Orlando and Disney.. It's a popular commuter area for Orlando. The house was in a rural area, just outside of city limits. Half acre lot, just over 1300 sq/ft living area. There was also a 440 sq/ft addition. Home needed a total overhaul but that's my specialty as I do 95 - 100% of my own work.. The only things that I don't do is Drywall Finishing and Stucco and anything that requires heavy machinery or a special license (A/C). I use existing layouts to avoid pulling permits. In my county, as long as you don't relocate plumbing or electrical, you don't need a lot of permits, even on a total rehab..

The house was $24k, the cheapest that I ever bought a house for. I recently had it appraised as I'm considering pulling out a loan on it, and it just appraised for $125k. My total investment is about $43k. The $19k for the rehab included a new 3 Ton AC system ($3500 installed). The kitchen was the cheapest kitchen that I ever did.. It ended up costing me just over $2k. Got the cabinets on sale at Home Depot (I usually use Kitchen Cabinet Kings but I couldn't pass on the 30% off on the cheapest Home Depot cabinets). Got the pre-fab granite slabs for $150 each at Floor&Decor, $300 total for the kitchen. Bought almost new used appliances for $600. This was going to be a rental, so I didn't want to spend $$$ on appliances as renters usually break and damage them. Bathrooms cost me about $1800 each, including the vanities.. $1000 or so on flooring (most of the tile I buy is well under $1 per sq/ft but despite the low price it's really nice tile. Roof was done in 2006, so it was in good shape. The addition was the most work but didn't cost me too much. I did hire a drywall contractor to finish the drywall (I hung it). Bought a used filtration system (House is on a shared well) for $300. That system was $5000 new and I got a great deal on it at $300 on Craigslist). Adding up all my expenses, I invested as I said earlier, $19k in rehab cost. House is currently rented for $1095 per month.. I'm actually closing on the house across from it in a couple of days..

BEFORE:

AFTER PICTURES:

Back in 1999, I found 2 Porn VHS tapes in a condo that I bought.

In 2008, I found a few rounds of .45 ACP in the pool.. I had to drain it to have a new liner installed and there were a few rounds of .45 ACP.. I do have guns of that caliber but decided not to use that ammo ;-)

In 2010, I bought a foreclosure... There was a Ford Windstar Minivan in the garage.. Junk car.. didn't run.. I ended up getting $100 for it from the "We Buy Junk Cars" people... They came and hauled it away.. 

Most of the other homes that I bought were cleaned out pretty good by the banks that were selling them.