All Forum Posts by: Jen R.

And here is a rough breakdown of the repairs (I noted the items where we supplied the labor):

Demo: $500
Attic finishing (rough carpentry, insulation, drywall, trim): $4,500
Plumbing (move bath vanity; new fixtures in bath & kitchen): $1,050
Electric (move range outlet; remove old fuses; replace all switches, outlets & fixtures): $750
Wallpaper removal & paint throughout (material cost only - our labor): $600
Kitchen cabinetry & countertops (replaced w/ used cabs from Craigslist & reclaimed soapstone counters; material cost only - our labor): $850
Appliances (new refrigerator; used range): $500
Interior doors & hardware: $500
Flooring (vinyl floors in attic & kitchen; material cost only - our labor): $1,500
Windows: $1,600
Asbestos duct removal: $500
Misc. carpentry (trim repair; closet shelving, etc; material cost only - our labor): $300
Exterior work (gravel; landscaping; paint; material cost only - our labor): $350
Utilities: $200
Misc: $500

TOTAL: $14,200

Here are a few before and after pics of the property:

Thought I'd post the numbers and pics from our most recent rehab project in Tallmadge, Ohio (a suburb of Akron). We bought the property in July 2016 off the MLS using our own cash and private funds; after owning the property for a little over a month and completing the majority of the rehab, we used delayed financing, cashed out the initial purchase price, and paid back the private loans. The rehab took about 8 weeks, and we have tenants moving in this week.

Purchase price: $81,500
Closing costs (associated w/ purchase): $700
Repairs: $14,000
Total initial investment: $96,200

Delayed financing mortgage: $80,500
Closing costs (includes loan costs & escrow): $3,800
Total cash invested: $19,500

Monthly rent: $1270
Monthly PITI payment: $597.32
Monthly maintenance & capex: $225
Vacancy: $63.50
Management allowance (we are currently managing ourselves): $63.50
Monthly Net Income: $321

Cash on cash return: 19.75%

@Percy N. - he will lend 100% of the purchase price + closing costs, up to 70% appraised value.

We use a mortgage broker in Fairlawn. We're actually in the process right now of doing delayed financing on a property we bought 3 weeks ago. If you're interested in his info, shoot me a private message and I'd be happy to share (I don't think I'm allowed to post his name & number publicly). 

We are definitely still learning, ourselves, as well. We have flipped a few homes a while back in the Mansfield area (where we lived at the time). Currently we're rehabbing a property here in Tallmadge and hope to have it rent ready in a couple of weeks. 

Welcome to the site! My husband and I also live in Tallmadge, and are starting to build a SFR portfolio in the area. Let us know if you'd ever like to connect locally. Best of luck!

I've been running a completely unscientific poll on our website,where we post info about homes as they're available for rent, for about a year now. It's a survey asking prospective tenants the feature for which they would be most willing to pay a higher rent. Options are: granite counters; washer & dryer; central air; dishwasher; none of the above. The overwhelming result has been the dishwasher (even over central air, which surprised me). For our rentals in B+ neighborhoods, we provide both a dishwasher and disposal. We also provide a manual for proper use of the appliances, and go over everything in depth at move in. 

I vote island: it provides a better separation of the kitchen from the living room, and also gives more base cabinet space by the D/W.

@Kyle H. - Yes, we really wanted, initially, to either take that wall out or at least expand the existing doorway. We knew it was load-bearing and would need a beam installed, but when we tore apart the basement we saw that the wall was filled with ductwork in each stud cavity (4 runs total). So, we ultimately decided begrudgingly that it would add too much time/money (for little to no ability to increase rent), and left the wall in place. I think we were also exhausted from demo at that point, which had taken much longer than expected, and were ready to start putting things back together. 

Thank you for mentioning that, though, because the wall was probably the most-debated decision we had to make as far as finding that line of over-improvement (right next to choosing the flooring material). This was difficult for me on this project as our first rehab-to-rent. Had we been flipping the house, that wall would be gone for sure! But interestingly, no one to whom we showed the house mentioned that as a negative, whereas everyone raved about the kitchen and baths.