All Forum Posts by: Steve Wilcox

I own in newark and irvingon, and I have solid cashflow but do deal with some additional challenges. We have to pay people to house sit when vacant, there are some rough areas, but I believe the proximity to NYC, major court systems, universities, ect parts of Newark have possibility for significant appreciation, and even if they never go up I still have great cashflow. 

I am interested in hearing about Trenton from anyone who might invest there as it appears to be CHEAP . 

Fannie Mae doe not repair properties. I have bought a fair number of Fannie properties and you take what you get. 

With a portfolio loan this may be difficult, you can try to get them to lower the contract price by 700 or establish a repair escrow at the time of closing to ease your portfolio lenders nerves. 

I would have your attorney try and push on the sell side and see if something can be worked out.

Any chance this program was recorded? Highly interesting and would love to have been able to see it live but would still love to hear or watch it in the office

We use Baher Raffia Cream on all rentals for walls, semi gloss for trim, and primer just primer for ceilings. 

On higher end properties that actually require some design, I dont think you cant get away with doing builder beige on the entire interior. 

I did create a construction estimating document and I am always trying to improve upon it. I am working on actually having it turned into a program which would be useful for anyone buying distressed properties, and contractors. 

If you can find an experienced rehabber who is looking for an intern and you have the ability to spend time working with that person that would be a tremendous experience for you, however that may be tough to find. When I started I looked but the guys I could find were not as interested in training the competition as I had hopped. 

Rehabbing is a construction based business and I believe it is very difficult for someone with no construction knowledge to be successful. If you have no experience try to find a trusted contractor from your personal network and see if you could help him go on estimates to understand his pricing. 

 Also I highly recomend reading the book FLIP http://www.amazon.com/FLIP-Find-Sell-Houses-Profit/dp/0071486100  for anyone looking to rehab as well as @jscott books 

Good suggestion

On one of my first rehabs I had an issue relating to major unexpected deficiencies in electric and plumbing systems that were exposed in demo and not in the budget. I delayed telling the lender because I thought it would hurt my credibility on future deals.I never asked for extra money and never was late with a payment but I was not as quick as I should have been in completing the project.

Long story short, I got all the work done but it took way longer then it needed too, but I got it done. I am sure my lender was not unhappy because he got a couple of months extra interest payments out of it, but we probably could have finished 2 months earlier and with a TON less stress. Saving time and major up at night type of stress might have let us get another deal done that year that we didnt. 

Odds are if you see mold growing on the surface of the walls that were painted its deffinatly behind the walls. 

Proper mold remediation is expensive as you are going to basically gut all affected areas to the studs, spray to kill the mold then install new insulation,  sheetrock, molding, trim, flooring, ect. If its the entire house then it will be expensive.

The Scope Of Work is determined based on what is needed to do to bring the house up the standard used to establish your ARV.

All items are broken down based on categories, and priced accordingly. 

So we outline all major systems (plumbing, electric, hvac), roofing, siding, windows, flooring, ect. Total up all the columns, don't forget trash removal, as well as a 10% buffer on whatever the total amount is or $5k (whichever is greater)

We rehab a fair number of our own projects and I also own a construction co so pricing is a bit easier as I know what all my vendors charge and what things should cost. When starting out this may not be as easy but J-Scott wrote a great book on pricing. Also if you call in a few contractors to give itemized bids you will start to get an idea of what things cost and at least have ballparks for items like a kitchen, bathroom, a roof. 

So first step is to create a very detailed scope of work, then itemize everything that needs to be done in that scope by trade or category, and tally it all up. 

This becomes easier the more practice you have at it. 

As a rehabber, and the owner of a GC company that works with lots of investors as well as high end homes. I can tell you it depends on the situation, your goals and knowledge, and most of all the quality of the GC you are dealing with. 

First and foremost there are TONS of crappy unreliable contractors out there, and generally as investors we might get suckered in as they often are also the cheapest. 

I would say give the GC the budget if  he has good references, you have prior working relationship, and he knows what hes doing. Generally this person is not the cheapest but with some investors we work with it helps them plan the most effective ways to spend their money.  We have helped clients see that if they didnt do X then we could instead do Y which might add more value or be more desirable. 

If you are confident in your scope of work and feel you have identified the improvements needed to bring the home up to required level of finish then getting an estimate for those items is most effective. When working for a new GC or if you are unsure of the rough cost of things an itemized estimate will help you compare different guys rates. Keep in mind cheapest is not necessarily best (but not necessarily worst either).

It sounds like you have a detailed SOW already with skews for finishes then let guys bid it out and see where their prices come in. 

The kitchen looks more like a before then an after. 

I would recommend the following; install tile back splash, install a dishwasher if you have space, put up some cabinet crown, and put a small table in the room to fill the empty space in the room

You did a great job on the bathroom

Also the carpet looks like a before picture as well, next time refinish the hardwood. 

Final idea is to send an email blast out to all the realtors who you know and offer a cash bonus if they get a contract in the next 2 weeks. 

What is the commission split for the buyers agent?