All Forum Posts by: Matt Groth

If you are doing it to get a bigger heloc, probably not a wise move. You almost certainly won't increase the value of the house but the amount you pay for the addition, and can only borrow 80 percent of the total.  If your plan is to pay cash for the rehab, use your cash on another downpayment where you get 100 percent of its value. The other side with a heloc on your primary,  us if things go bad, you lose your primary, as well as the rental. Use caution!

I'm with Jay. I don't do overlay. 1 in my career, on a garage, because the owner insisted. There is nothing I hate in construction more than roofing, so the faster I get on to something else, the better, but I still tear off. I've seen too many issues. Always replace all boots. They dont last shingle life x2. I can't even buy 3 tabs any more in my area. Haven't put one on in 20 years. My advice, tear off, replace all boots, even for the electrical mast, and use architectural shingles. 

I would be concerned about the value you place on them. If the lenders that are your refi option don't like the deal, that is a problem. If your 80 percent of market value is their 100 percent of market value, refi is no longer an option. 

Relationship, as said above. Then, value my time, pay promptly,  make decisions quickly, realize your emergency and my emergency are not the same. I am booked to middle or end of next summer. I will make space for you if you have worked with me in the past. Most are not seeing the major labor shortage that is coming. I work 60 to 70 hour weeks on average, and am not keeping up with demand.  I charge a premium, because my work is quality. Employees are very difficult, if not impossible to come by. Your best bet is to offer a quality, savvy, contractor something original. Equity? Bookkeeping? Advertising? Hard money for one of their projects? Be creative,  and ask about our needs, rather than focusing entirely on your own. The market for labor is only going to get worse. The youngest plumber in my town is 52. Work hard at a relationship,  rather than focusing on the price. 

Good luck. I'm a contractor in a small town. No one I know is hurting for work. Actually the opposite. If you find someone that needs work, can get there soon, at a good price, it will likely be the most expensive contractor you could hire. There WILL be problems. People do not see the incredible worker shortage in the trades that is starting to happen, and it is only going to get worse. Housing workers from out of the area is probably your best bet, but that won't be cheap, either. 

I assume it is for a rental. What will it rent for?

The numbers I see don't appear out of line. Full guts are expensive! You will almost certainly spend all of that, and more. At that point, getting in at fair value, you may as well buy one that is already renovated. Keep looking.  I have worked on a lot of houses, and very seldom do they look better after they are demo'd.  I love the idea of low price houses, I just can't make the math work in my head. A bundle of shingles, and the labor to put them down, is the same on a 250k house, and a 50k house. The difference is one is a whole lot more likely to appreciate.   

Shortages for everyone I talk to. I really feel this is going to be a major issue in the next decade. The youngest plumber in my area, is in their 50s.  20 years ago, I was one of the youngest guys in my area, at 26. 20 years later, there are only a couple that are younger. I like to assume governments track the demographics, and encourage kids into fields where there are needed, but that isn't what I am seeing.