All Forum Posts by: Hobart King

@JonathanGreer Thanks for the advice. Luckily, I think we are under contract so low that we should be able to handle all the issues (Foundation, Plumbing, Electrical, Plaster Walls) and still do ok. With you sentence here - Quick tip: get a big roll off dumpster from the least expensive source you can find. Like 22’, 7’ tall walk in, but take care of crazy code crap before red flagging yourself (foundation). Do you mean to do the demo prior to flagging ourselves with a Foundation Repair? Interesting perspective on repairing the plaster rather than demoing it. And yes - we will have to squeeze a laundry room in somewhere. Thanks for the advice.

@Justin Sullivan

Thanks man - will do!!

@Justin Sullivan

Thanks man for all the advice! Good luck to you! Since I’m this is my first rehab, I’m probably not going to swing for the fences and spend all my capital adding on to the house. just a want solid base hit!

@Sam Shueh

Awesome. That’s a little rich for me. Probably leave it as a 3/1 or try to squeeze a half bath somewhere.

@Marc Winter

Thanks man - this is a nice neighborhood as the typical 1200-1400 sq ft 3/2 sells for 300k at least. This one is a 1000 sq ft 3/1 with a pretty bad floor plan so that’s why I think the price we can command is lower (conservatively 150k but maybe low 200s if we add a half bath).

@Justin Sullivan

Thanks for the great advice!

Couple more questions for you

Okay so a few things. This house has a potential $120-$150K split between purchase and sale price. Your already going to be re-wiring and also doing some plumbing so in the case of the plaster, I would say demo it and insulate properly and do new drywall. I know for myself I would not buy a house with plaster as a homeowner. The entire job would probably be close to $10k while all the plaster repair from wire etc would be a couple thousands. I say its worth the extra for drywall. Its dated and causes the house to leak which causes utility bills to rise.

I think this is correct. It’s already going to be expensive better to just demo and put up drywall.

Second I would demo the non functional chimney as long as its cost effective. If the open space is worth the price then get rid of them.

There’s two chimneys and both are not in working condition. I think just get rid.

I'm not sure about your area but in my area I know 3/2 is like gold. If 2/2 are popular for your area then go for it but I would be sure to keep the bedrooms a decent size. You don't want a house with two small bedrooms. You can sacrifice the walk in closet and just do a smaller closet to keep the bedrooms a decent size. You could also just increase the one bathroom size and do it nice that way you don't have to sacrifice a bedrooms for bathroom and closet.

If we turned one bedroom into a bathroom/walk-in closet it would be one large bedroom and one small bedroom. Do you think it would be better to leave the bedroom and just make the one bathroom very nice?

@Sam Shueh

Thanks for the reply. Do you know the typical cost to add a outward facing bathroom? If it made financial sense that would definitely be ideal.

Hi - coming to the brain trust with a tricky situation where I am not sure how to proceed. I have a house under contract with partner @EmileHughes and I am trying to estimate all the repairs. The house has plaster and lathe walls that has significant cracking and some places with holes where the plaster has pulled away from the lathe.

Key facts:

1). We have this house under contract for 20k

2). The ARV is conservatively 150k for a flip.

3). The house has some foundation issues which will probably cost 8-10k fix.

Things to consider:

1). We are probably going to have to rewire the house and add distributed plumbing.

2). We are considering adding a second bath and walk in closet which would probably significantly increase what we can sell it for (probably add 20-30k to the purchase price).

3). We would like to seal off some doors and potentially open up/move some walls.

With respect to the plaster would you:

1). Attempt to patch it or skim coat it?

2). Hang drywall over it

3). Demolish plaster and put up drywall? Would you check for lead paint?

One more question - there are two non-functional chimneys that take up a lot of space. Would you remove these and potentially leave the mantle?

Lastly, the house is a 1k sq ft 3/1 with a dinky bathroom. Would you convert one of the bedrooms into a bathroom/walk-in closet even if it meant that the second bedroom of a 2/2 would be fairly small?

Thanks in advance,

Hobie

I’ve read all the BP topics in the last few years i

Looking for HVAC and tree trimming services in Birmingham, AL. Any recommendations?

Just to close the loop on this - the Jefferson county tax sale list is published in the Birmingham news in the month leading up to the auction. You can pick up a hard copy from the courthouse for a modest fee.