All Forum Posts by: Valerie Hiscoe

There was a blog post yesterday I think about just this subject.  One thing that was mentioned, a cautionary tidbit that stuck although it may not apply to your  circumstances, is that if the bed or bath is added to a BASEMENT, it may not be appraised as an additional bed/bath - even if it's walk out - and may be ticked off as "finished basement" instead.  Even if that might not affect the listing price, it might affect financing - for the buyer or for refinancing - so that was something I'd never heard of but would totally be a drag so I thought I'd pass on.

The post was called '7 creative ways to bedrooms, bathrooms.....' by Andrew Syrios, just FYI.

@Mary Lou Moffat

Hi Mary Lou

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

I have no idea what you are talking about, sorry to say.

What phone number?  Do you need help with something?

Deciding what kind of investor you are is probably one of the most important things you can do as a real estate investor.  In one way, you can compare it to being the choice between buying blue bonds or penny stock on the exchange.  One is for long-term steady growth (via rental properties), and the other is a faster, albeit riskier, short turnover for quick cash where you can 'win' or lose a little or a lot.

You'll need to ask yourself about your risk tolerance, your knowledge base, your present situation, and your future plans.

Building wealth through rental properties is a systematic way to create passive income, making your money work for you while you're not lifting a finger.  You buy a property, ensure enough cash flow that you have all the bills covered, and the tenants slowly but surely pay off the mortgage for you.  If you have arranged it so there is surplus cash flow, you can funnel that surplus into savings to purchase your next rental property - and then your next - all with the aim of having your tenants pay off the mortgage and leaving you with that equivalent income when the mortgages are all paid off.  If you prefer, you can choose to use the surplus cash flow as income now but, for this longer term strategy, you usually set a goal of how much income you would like to be earning passively in the future and just keep buying properties until that monthly target has been attained or surpassed.  One rental is unlikely to support you in the manner you'd prefer to become accustomed.  That's why this strategy is so much the better started as early as possible.  It's also a reason that most flippers will eventually or simultaneously purchase rental properties.  Other than purchasing instruments that earn interest or dividends or what have you, it's the most straight-forward source of 'passive income' that you'll find - your money earning you money without anything further that you have to do (well, other than keeping up with your property manager, etc).

Flipping, on the other hand, is a job, even if you're just the general manager.  It's not passive, it's not slow and steady, and it's definitely riskier.  It's a means to make quick cash.  It's very important to know before you purchase a property, what you want to do with it because the calculations which will render it profitable or not-so-much rely on much different calculations.  Finding a property that will be profitable according to the Bigger Pockets flipping calculator in the education tab above is much more difficult than finding a rental investment property.

As mentioned above, you'll need to look to yourself to decide on your risk tolerance, your patience and motivation to look for that 1:100 property that will work for flipping, your present situation and whether you have the time and money necessary, etc. etc.  It's a decision that's impossible to make without insight into yourself.

Best of luck! 

This is a pretty specialized question and I think you might get more qualified responses if you rewrite your thread under a title more specific than 'Potential flip'.  I think you'll get more input that way and you could probably start up a really informative discussion.  It's a really interesting topic to get advice on.  If you decide to start a new discussion, let me know the title so I can follow it.  Thanks Creig

It looks to me like Sioux Falls is 66th for flipping.  Probably best to go back and look at the criteria they used in their rankings.

And as J Scott says, it's historical data and a lot of those places will now have maxed up.

That being said, it never hurts to start looking in your own backyard if you can afford it.

I like the stain but think the columns should be the same as the balustrades.

I think you could make it much more functional with a larger mirror and some shelves or cabinetry. The room is lacking in storage, so adding shelves/cabinets would supply that, as well as breaking up the large expanse of tile.  It doesn't look like there's enough space for a shower door but a semi-circular curtain rod mighthe help.

@John Quiles

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!  You have just taken the first step in increasing your success hundred-fold.  You have been working very hard and have gained a lot of hard-won experience and you're about to have those experiences pay off.  The feedback and tools available on this site are invaluable.  It seems like you may be considering a new direction for your flipping business and I think you'll find one of the resources available from this site most helpful in that respect - 'The book on flipping houses' from the menu above.  You've been working at a disadvantage and it's time to turn that around.

To your future!

Cheers!

Hi Chris

Although the flips and makeovers on TV seem to center around design, for a large part, that's probably not what will drive most of your decisions in real life.  Just from what you've written here, you've shown that you have a basic of understanding of your renovation design goals: to do what you can to open up living spaces, and to choose materials that pull together your chosen color palette.  When it comes to taking out or moving walls, most of those decisions are going to be based more on budget and practicality than specifically on design.  For example, if you know you need to open the kitchen up to modernize the floor plan, you'll most likely make the decision of which wall to take out or modify based on which ones are weight bearing, where are there the least amount of gas pipes, plumbing, venting, and/or electrical, etc.  These are things your contractor is best equipped to advise you on, and basing these decisions largely on budget and practicality will be pivotal to your success.  Your floor plans will most likely be driven by the placement of your utilities, etc. (you do NOT want to move a toilet if you can possibly help it) and if you can put the kitchen sink back into roughly the same position, so much the better.  From there, to help with your floor plans, you can ask for specifics here if you include some drawings and photos, and, most places that sell kitchen cabinets, for example, offer design layouts (although keep in mind they're trying to sell cabinets with as many bells and whistles as possible).  Looking at the competition for ideas on materials, as mentioned above, is very, very helpful, but I'd spend some time going to the open houses on new-builds for your design inspiration - you need to offer as good as, or just slightly better than what's available in the target market you're aiming for when it comes to choice of materials, but, for design direction, look at new.  And then what you need to do, and start doing it now before you buy is highly recommended, is get out into the big box stores or the places your contractor might recommend as his/her favorite places to find flooring, lighting, fixtures, etc. and start familiarizing yourself with the price of things.

So, to sum up, before looking at and deciding what to do with specific properties, you 'should': 1) start doing your homework now by getting your realtor to show you the standards of materials expected in the price point of your expected target market, 2) start looking at open houses (not necessarily at that price point) on new-builds for inspiration on how to put those materials together, and 3) start familiarizing yourself on the cost and choices of materials so you'll have a better understanding when you communicate with, and get estimates from, your contractor.

For more assistance on floor plans, design choices, etc., you can turn to the forums here as I said, but I also read a rather intriguing idea from another post a while back - approach a local interior design school and ask if their students would like to put together some ideas, or, if not, just post it on their bulletin board.  Starbucks gift card for reward.  Most stagers will also offer color consultations with a pulled together design vision for an affordable flat rate.

BUT, more than anything, what will truly be the most helpful to you and give you the confidence in your own decisions is to get 'The book on flipping....' and 'The book on estimating.....' from the menu above, so you can focus on the things you need to, and do those things well.

To keep costs down, you might get a color consult from a home stager. They can do your wall and floor colors now and your kitchen and bathroom later. The big box stores can create kitchen cabinet plans too but they will not be design-based - it would just be what would fit.  Most of the time a stager can give you a flat rate in advance.