All Forum Posts by: Michael Woodward

@Cyndy Rupe , I've been searching for houses online for several years and have found that Zillow is the best non-MLS source on the Internet (in my area anyway). I used to use Realtor.com almost exclusively but a few years ago it changed (a lot). It used to be intuitive and easy to use but I became less and less happy with it. I think the thing that finally pulled me completely away from Realtor.com was that Zillow offers so much more supporting information like tax values and sales history. Realtor.com might offer that now but, honestly, I haven't been on that site for a long time so I'm not sure. Zillow isn't perfect but it seems to work better than any of the other similar sites.

It's also really important that you have a local Realtor that can send you reports of local listings. I had my agent set up a report that will send me an email every day of anything that hits the MLS under $55/sq.ft. That's the price point I'm looking for with my flips so these auto-reports save me the time and trouble of searching for them manually. I always use a combination of Zillow and MLS reports because not all listings will show up in both places.

Good luck!

@Brian Mergen , I made plans to move to SW Florida to build new houses in the summer of 2004. Right before I was scheduled to make the move, the state was hammered by hurricane Charlie and several others that destroyed MANY homes all over the state. I was worried about what that was going to do to my plans to build new houses.

It's a long story but the net effect was that construction went CRAZY all over the state for a couple of years. Storm chasers (not the ones making storm videos but the ones that chase these storms to do construction work) poured into the area. That was both good and bad. The area needed lots of help to rebuild but a lot of the "contractors" that showed up where less than ethical.

You are right to think that it will probably be difficult to find a good contractor to do the work. The really good ones will likely be instantly booked for a year or more. If I were you, I would spend a LOT of time on the phone over the next few days talking to contractors/subcontractors to get a feel for their availability. It usually takes the insurance companies several weeks or months to approve major repairs like these so a lot of the contractors will be waiting around for the insurance to give the go-ahead. You might be able to get in the front of the line but even if you do get someone one the hook, it's still pretty risky.

Keep in mind that most contractors are notorious for starting many projects at once and keeping them all in play so they will have a guaranteed workflow for many months. You could end up waiting a VERY long time to get your project completed.

I really can't recommend whether you move forward.....or not move forward..... There are a lot of unknowns that come with this kind of scenario. I would definitely test the waters BUT...I would do it VERY carefully. If you feel the risk is too high, just put it off for a few months until the dust clears a little.

My two cents..... Good luck!

@Stephen Camardo , You're on the right track with your suggestion to strip the walls. Most block walls have imperfections and chunks of mortar that will make it difficult or impossible to attach directly to the wall. The typical methods I've seen (and used myself) on both interior and exterior block walls is to anchor vertical strips along the wall with Tapcon screws or masonry nails. Then you can use the "standard" nails or screws to attach your siding or drywall.

If the wall is uneven, the wood strips give you the opportunity to add shims under the strips to make the wall nice and flat. The wood strips also give you the opportunity to add foam insulation (between the strips) if you want.

This makes the installation of siding or drywall much quicker and leaves a better finish. Good luck!

@Yee Yonfai , I agree completely with @Brandon Turner and @Chris Winterhalter . The "perfect" checklist in my opinion is one that calculates everything that you KNOW needs replaced/repaired but also includes a cushion for the things you DON'T know about. I always plan for a 10% over-run on my budget. If the numbers still look good, I make an offer. If they don't look good, I either pass on the project or put more time into the estimates to make sure my numbers are realistic.

Be cautious!! It's better to walk away than risk losing money. Good luck!!

@Mike Gallagher , Thanks! I appreciate that. I hope the information will be useful for you! Good luck!

@Steve Foth , That's a tough call to make. There are a lot personal factors that you will have to work through that makes it difficult to give advice from the outside. My gut reaction is that this sounds like a project that would be best suited for an owner/occupant/handyman. In other words, the person living there needs to also be the person fixing the house. You might be able to find an ambitious construction worker that would be willing to trade repairs for part of the rent. If you can collect enough in rent to just cover the major debt service and accept the rest in the form of appreciation that your renter is adding by fixing it up for you....you both win.

Just a thought. Hope it works out well for you!

@Dave Daggett , I always install a free-standing range because of the enormous difference in price. I had a house earlier this year that had a drop-in stove top and wall mount range. The cabinets were decent so I decided not to replace them and opted to just replace the stove top and range. STICKER SHOCK!! The standard (black, glass top), new range that I install in all my houses costs me $425. The drop-in stove top and wall mount range that I put in this house cost over $1500!

I've never heard any preference from anyone for either type so I don't plan to EVER use the drop-in style again. I think the only exception would be if you had some kind of strange circumstance with the kitchen layout that made it absolutely necessary.....or just personal preference. Good luck!

@Glenn Gray , All very good points. Thanks for contributing to the subject. Welcome to the OBW club (older but wiser). Best to you and your rebuilding!

@Justin Escajeda , I've had multiple projects with the same problem. The research I did pointed heavily toward enzymes and shellac as the best solutions for penetrated odors like this. When I have to do this kind of treatment, I do multiple doses of enzymes over several days to let the enzymes penetrate the wood and eat the bad bacteria. After that I let it dry for a few days and follow it up with a heavy coat of shellac. The reason for using shellac over other chemicals (paint, polyurethane, etc) is because the pores are small enough in shellac to prevent the odor molecules from finding their way through.

Although this has always worked on my projects, it's possible that yours is bad enough that this won't get rid of all of the smell. The ultimate repair is replacing all of the subfloors. If you price that into your estimate you'll be covered either way. Keep in mind that cats like to do their business under the house as well (if there's a crawl space). That's a whole different problem that could be very expensive to fix. Hope it goes well for you. Good luck!

@Chukwudi Motanya , In my opinion, the very best way to start your education about construction and remodeling is to do a "virtual" remodel on your own house. In other words, pretend that you are about to gut your entire house and remodel it from top to bottom. Spend several days visualizing the entire process and writing out a complete list of tasks. When you feel that you have a good handle on it, take your list down to your local Lowes or Home Depot. These stores have installation crews for all of the major items they sell so they will be able to give you lots of information about how it will be done as well as pricing for each (roofing, flooring, cabinets, etc). Ask lots of questions from each department. Keep in mind that you're going to get lots of opinions and different viewpoints depending on the experience of the person you're talking to so it might be a good idea to do the same thing at multiple locations.

It will take some time to educate yourself but it will be very valuable. Resist the urge to take short cuts. Good luck!