All Forum Posts by: Sebastian Hernandez

Fully remodeling a kitchen may not be feasible or even necessary sometimes. Here a few things you can do to freshen up your kitchen:

1. Replace cabinet hardware

2. Replace faucet 

3. Replace light fixture

4. Replace back-splash (or add)

5. Paint kitchen walls, ceilings, trims, moldings

If the budget allows, you can go the extra mile and also do the following:

6. Paint kitchen cabinets

7. Replace counter top
 

@Darryl Bull Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

Love all those goals!

Definitely make sure to start preparing for the purchase by having a lender and getting pre-approved, finding a realtor and seeing homes so you understand what homes are worth in the areas you want to live in, what they look and feel like. 

@Bill Goodland There are a ton of very skilled contractors that are amazing at doing/building but not great at running their business unfortunately. This is business and if you feel this guy is not giving you the right level of service, find someone else, you won't be burning bridges necessarily. Now, when paying lower prices, you will typically sacrifice either service, quality or timeline. A and B players will cost more in the short term, but less in the long run.

Just my two cents, best of luck!

@Leandro Bongiovanni Welcome to BiggerPockets!

I would recommend you look into house-hacking to start your investing journey.

I would also suggest that you reach out to a couple of lenders, explain your situation and see the solutions and feedback they provide you. You have the down payment which is usually the hardest portion, now start working with a lender and planning what needs to be done in order to get approved. 

Best of luck!

I did mine online and it was great. I was able to do it from the comfort of my home. 

Couldn't agree more with @jeffcopeland

 If he’s not licensed and insured, I would highly discourage you to work with him. Specially on a $70k project 

 that's just nonsense... such an ignorant comment.

Putting together very detailed estimates takes time and as you know time is precious. Most savvy contractors require a fee in order to put together the estimate and once you move forward the fee will be credited towards the projects. This helps make sure that the people who get detailed estimates are those who are truly interested in moving forward with the project. 

What happened to the original contractor? 

I suggest you use google and Houzz to find a couple of contractors in the area, do your research, get an estimate and choose one. Going for the cheapest price is usually not a good move because A players in the contracting space want to be properly compensated for their craft.