All Forum Posts by: Ronald Starusnak

We're charging $50-$80k for 1,500-1,800 sq/ft full remodel. Kitchen, flooring, windows, doors, roof, siding, some exterior clean up, new bathrooms, paint, light fixtures, trim work. All flipper grade, mid range. You'll probably be around the same number. $35-$65 a sq/ft for mid-grade stuff. Nothing fancy. 

 This is all required by code. You remove the tile and you HAVE To upgrade to Green board drywall, you remove the plaster and you HAVE to upgrade you electrical. You can put tile down on an un-level floor and it's going to crack and look like crap. You don't have to go crazy on your budget but no one on this forum should be condoning things be done not to code. You will end up spending 10x more if the code office finds out you did this all without a permit. They will make you rip everything right back out. My last post was about the time, not the cost. 

 Look at the tiles, they're all buckled. There is concrete board back there, there is plaster and lathe that is ugly looking and needs to be re-done with drywall. The framing is most likely rough cut so the drywall will need to be floated, when the walls come down you need to upgrade the electrical since I can also bet the electrical is not properly insulated, you need GFCI by sink, you have to have an arc fault breaker on the bathroom outlets and switches and those need to be on their own breaker by code. 

There is a massive gob of caulk at the base of the tile and the wall, which most likely means that the floor has sunk by the toilet. You'll need to replace probably some of the toilet drain and replace the rotted lumber under the toilet, re-level the floor, etc. Or you can do it slumlord style and just put lipstick on a pig and let it be someone else's problem in the future. There are two kinds of flippers, the ones that want it done the right way and the ones that just slap it all together and have Crackhead Larry do the work for $300 and hope you don't get sued from the new property owner. 

All of this stuff needs to be done in addition to replacement of the tub & shower surround which also by code must be set in concrete (no one ever does this) or it'll squeek, crack, and end up leaking. Each of these steps are limited by cure times, drywall mud prevents you from moving forward until it's sanded and dried at least 2 coats, the mortar for your tile & concrete for your tube need to cure, then you have to grout and let that dry before you can even do anything else. 

No licensed contractor is going to remodel a bathroom for $2,000.. they have labor to pay, workers comp, taxes. You're talking a weeks worth of work. My labor is more than $2,000 a week on 2-3  man crew. If someone told me they'd give me a new bathroom for $2,000 in labor, I'd run the other direction as fast as possible. Code in just about every jurisdiction requires a licensed GC or plumber to set your surround, toilets, and vanity. My rundown on your situation here is that you should be doing the work yourself if possible to keep your budget within reach. 

You're going to end up with poor workmanship and it's going to cost you more in the end. There's a difference between how much something is and what something costs. I do flips where the end goal is $120k but we're also getting these properties under $20k all in. Your main selling points will be the kitchen and the bathroom, don't skimp there. Badly cut trim, bad paint, etc will not be as noticeable but those two areas will sell a house by themselves. Don't get yourself into the habit of hiring beer money contractors, it will burn you in the end. 

You don't need the most expensive guy but just get someone reputable and someone that is charging enough to be proud of their work and charging enough to make a living at the very least. 

You'll want to figure out the cap rate. So you need to take the net operating income (noi) and divide that by your purchase price. In this case, figure out your mortgage payment first, a simple mortgage calculator says your monthly payment will be $1,450 which will put you at an instant loss of $50 a month, not to mention taxes, utilities, maintenance, management fees, repairs, vacancy, etc. 

You get what you pay for. Make sure the scope is clear. I did a remodel for a friend recently. I quoted $40k to do the whole house, new kitchen cabinets, floor, trim repair, paint, 25 new windows, new bathroom flooring, etc. $40k is on our lower end and he wasn't happy with some things throughout. $13k in my opinion would constitute tiles, bath tub with surround, new vanity, mirrors, new toilet, paint, trim, and light fixture. 

I try to give bracketed prices, we've done bathroom remodels over $40k and we've done them for $8k for the same sq/ft. Let him know your end goal and your desires. Skilled trades are hard to come by.  Don't try to see how much their profit is, maybe you can get a line by line total to see what's costing you the most and see if you can get that price down but the best bet would be to just let them know you have $7,500 or w/e your number is and ask them what kind of finish that could get you. It might not get you anything, most skilled guys are very busy. You have to know what you're expecting and work with your contractor on the pricing. 

Hey Mike, you have some rentals up here? 

Hey Alex, I sent you a message. I might be able to help you here. I have a guy in Buffalo who can do a walk-through for you and I can use my experience to give you a price. We operate in Syracuse ourselves but occasionally venture outwards. 

LoanFund1 is a smaller lender but they're very hands on and they're also investors themselves. They own a few properties in the area. Brett & Paul are great to work with but I'm not sure if they do long term loans. 

Hey Chris, I think you can build for that price. A cabin is not usually up to the same building regulations as a new construction home would be. I can help walk you through the process. We are custom home builders but I operate more in the Syracuse area. We build houses for $75-$85 per square foot which is our cost to build and we sell that for $150-$200 per square foot, sometimes our margins are much slimmer depending on the finishes of course. You should be able to get a cabin built around $90k in my opinion. Let me know if you had any plans in mind on the build, did you want to have drywall, wood stove, pellet stove, furnace? Well drilled & septic?