All Forum Posts by: Valerie Hiscoe

Have you thought of doing a BRRRR instead of selling it?

Hi @Brendan Griffin

First of all I have to tell you what a great job you've done of the kitchen so far - it really looks great! Although the colors are a little bit unclear on my screen, it looks like you've really pulled together everything with your floor and countertop choices.

As noted above, most people are doing tile these days on the back splash, one of the most popular being white subway tile because of its price. it's not clear whether the trim in the rest of the house is white, but, if it is, the easiest solution is to paint the window frame white too and white subway tile would be your least expensive option. It wouldn't necessarily be my first choice for your kitchen because your cabinetry looks more warm and rich vs. modern and sleek.

What might be more functional is a tile that brings together the colors of the cupboards, counters, and appliances. The more things blend together, the more spacious they seem, whereas contrast that makes things stand out will make the kitchen appear smaller.  I'd take your existing colors to the tile department and see if they have have any sales on something that would work.

If the moldings and doors etc in the rest of the house are wood like in the kitchen, then painting the kitchen frame white won't work. You'd need to either keep it as is or paint it to match the cupboards.

I've seen a variety of things used successfully as a backsplash - tin ceiling tiles, laminate flooring, even sheet metal - my best advice would be to just take your colors to the store and see what you can find that will pull everything together. You've been doing a great job of it so far!

If you don't have The book on Flipping or The book on Estimating, then ordering that today (from the menu above or Amazon) is the best place to start. The article by @Ken Corsini, The step-by-step guide for rehabbing your first rental, is a nice overview. My personal experience would have me advise you to get the 'end product' and time line in writing and do NOT give the purse strings to anyone else. Pay as little as you can up front and buy your own materials if your contractor puts up a fuss about his out-of-pocket expenses. Do YOU get paid for work you'll do in the future? It's good to learn about the cost of materials anyway because it also makes you more aware of what goes into a project and you might as well start learning now.

Number 1 thing is either check on the progress of work being done regularly, daily if possible, or have someone you trust do it. Be available for questions 24/7 because you will need to constantly be making decisions. Or rather, you'll WANT to be the ones making those decisions because,  believe me, everyone else will make the wrong ones. Which is another reason you need to check the work constantly. Things will need to be taken apart and done again. "There's only supposed to be ONE stripe of glass tile in the shower, not two, because then there won't be enough for around the sink" for example. All day, every day. Until you've worked with your rehab team a little longer and you've all learned to communicate with each other efficiently.

But don't let any of that discourage you - it's pretty fun if you like that kind of thing. Just never forget it's your project, no one else's, and the buck will definitely stop there.

Buy a little confidence and get those books.

Hi Jen

High-end wood can be very nice. But really only the higher end. A big concern seems to be suitability for shipping so one place I'd look into is Ikea. Everything is packed for shipping and ordering online is a breeze. They have a kitchen-layout area on the site too that is convenient for sizing and 3D. It's a little awkward to use and you need to know where to use cover panels (for visible cabinet exteriors), etc, but they also have a design service. The design comes complete with appliances, sinks, countertops - which, by the way, their butcher-block counter and island tops are a steal. Even the flooring if you so wish. All with decent warranties. I've done two of their kitchens and all I really needed help with is hanging the uppers and installing the countertops (my carpentry skills are pretty non-existent). I needed help with the base corner cabinet turntable/lazy Susan too but I wouldn't buy that again. The half-moon one that spins right out would be OK though if you wanted to go with more than plain shelving. Pull out pantries make a big impression and are comparatively reasonable from them. Cabinet doors come in quite a wide selection - there are a few different whites - just dont go with the cheapest one. Its not nice. They also have grey ones, which @Robert Steele above mentioned is very popular now, definitely as a wall color if not cabinet color - and they have a stainless steel look too. You could mix and match if you're having an island which is quite trendy to do now too. An interesting option if you're planning on ss appliances (which I'll assume you are). I do not, however, know if they deliver to Alaska so I hope I haven't misled you.

Apart from all that stuff, the best thing you can pull from up your sleeve is lighting. Overhead lighting, spot lighting, under cabinet lighting, drop lights above an island if there is one. (Try to fit one in if it's feasible. People really like them). Light makes people happy and the extra cost will be worthwhile. 

See if Ikea will send you a catalog - a general one and a kitchen specific one. It's definitely an option I'd consider.

Hope everything is falling into place nicely for you. Good luck.

@Ehab Tadrous 

I see you were trying to send a question to Mindy. If you put a @ symbol before her name, like @Mindy Jensen, she will get your message.

Your note to Carla about learning whether an area is more rental or owner-occupped is definitely an important thing to know.

If I were you I'd be suffering from performance anxiety as well. You undoubtedly have quite high standards of excellence in your expectations of yourself. In order to mitigate some of your perfectionism, why don't you start by 'flipping' property to yourself (BRRRR) in order to focus on getting comfortable with the process instead of the demands on yourself to measure success in short-term profit. Buy, renovate, refinance, rent, repeat. The buying and renovating will give you the confidence to act independently of your team without the pressure of deciding whether you've made enough money for it to be a 'profitable flip'. Telling yourself you'll be keeping the property as a rental anyway moves it into the realm you're already comfortable with. You might find the BRRRR strategy works for you anyway.

Perfectionism can be such a double edged sword.

But you'll probably enjoy working on your own properties more rather than less once you get started. You would never have been attracted to your line of work if you didn't feel it was intrinsically fun.

Hi Travis

Why not look for a multiplex - duplex, triplex, whatever. It might be tough being under construction with little ones, and the additional time necessary would add to your 'holding costs'. But you'd have the best of both worlds with a multiplex. Renovate one suite and move into it then renovate another etc

@Matt Gray - nice work. Washington will probably be too expensive for me to invest in but your photos look so good, I'll figure out where Copalis Beach is just to make sure.

But back to the original question - I'm unclear what the definition of 'flip' is in this scenario. Is it to redesign and renovate the house in order to sell shortly thereafter for a profit? Or is it to make the property into the 'dream home' for the family? It seems like the latter, especially with the reference to 'years', and that definition will be misconstrued on BP I think. Financing options would most likely be affected so it would help to specify I think.

Hi Saar

Just coincidentally, I saw your other post so knew you were just at the point of exploring different strategies. As others mentioned, this one would be a great, albeit rare one. What surprised me however is that you mentioned buying in cash. Although on the outside that seems like a very responsible and risk free decision, you may also be missing the point of one of the most imporant parts of real estate investing which is leveraging. For example, if you buy a property with $100,000 of your own money and sell it for $120,000, you've made a 20% profit. However if you had purchased it with a $20,000 down payment instead, selling it for $120,000 would be 100% profit -$20,000 profit for your $20,000 investment. So theoretically, you should have purchased FIVE properties with that $100,000 using "other people's money" (as they say) instead of one. The exception to that I'd say would be your principal residence. Although there you could also use a HELOC (home owners line of credit). The true beauty of real estate is in the ability to leverage. With what other kind of investment can you spend $20,000 (or less) to invest $100,000. Rich dad, poor dad's number one recommendation for making your money work for you.

If you want to create a business strategy, I highly recommend you speak to a lender for more info. And not just any lender - make sure it's one who specializes in dealing with real estate investors. That's one of your most important reasons for finding a club or "meet-up" in your area (check menu above) - to network and make the connections that will form your investment team - your bankers, lenders, lawyers,etc.

So welcome to BP and I compliment you on taking the time to understand yourself, your time constraints, your risk tolerance and everything else that will help you choose your strategy/niche. Good luck with it all and have fun.

Congrats on your first deal! Hope it goes really well. If the deal looks really promising as a flip - consider flipping it to yourself first. The increased value will give you equity to refinance, take all your money back out (maybe even more), but still own a property that someone else is paying the mortgage for you. Brandon Turner's BRRRR tactic. Buy Renovate Rent Refinance Repeat.