Help me "shine" this puppy up!

[dealmaker]

Well, good things come to those who wait! I've been fence sitting for the past 2 1/2 years (too many "wannabe" investors bidding prices up) but I've put 4 SFHs under contract in the last week! The first 3 belong to an acquaintance who's getting tired of landlording and wants to raise some cash and reduce his workload. 2 of the three I'm getting under contract to the tenants, the third probably won't so I'll flip it when the lease is up in '08.

On Saturday a guy he works with called me and asked if I would be interested in a house "under similar conditions to John's (not his real name) and I said I might be. It turns out that in anticipation of selling it he repainted the interior and put new floors in (kind of cheapo-1 foot stick down tiles). The odd thing is he NEVER TOUCHED THE EXTERIOR, so it's got ZERO curb appeal, in fact it's probably negative curb appeal, and he wasn't advertising it.

Anyway I got it under contract @ $50K and I've got pretty solid numbers of about $3K to make it a showhorse. It needs a roof ($500 plus my labor) and some exterior decor, and of course I'm going to bump up the insulation and put a small storage shed in back.

There are two minor problems:

It's on an unpaved street, with open ditch. I can't do anything about the paving but I'm thinking of adding another 20" X 20' (or whatever is standard) piece of culvert and filling. This would not only dress it up, it would allow some more access for parking as there's only one driveway slab now. I'm going to the city hall (city of about 1500 souls) and see if they might have some program where they'll split the cost of the culvert and filling. If they do I'll do the whole (50' total width) lot.

Which brings up the second problem, it's a a row of three IDENTICAL houses. We're all familiar with subdivisions where a builder does 5 or 6 basic floorplans and then offers 3 "elevations" of each to change the streetside appearance. These 3 are IDENTICAL, 37' wide on 50' wide lots. Same window pattern, same dormer, same driveway slab, same door position.

I'd really like to change the look but there's not a lot of options. One consideration is on the right side to put a 10' wide fence (the posts are there) that would extend the front side of the house over to the property line. Instead of fence pickets I would put a piece of Hardie panel in the 8" on center pattern of T-111. The house is sided with T-111 so it would give the house a somewhat wider appearance from the street.

BTW, I'll probably offer this place up for about $80K.

dealmaker

[brianb_cobbres]

Well, good things come to those who wait! I've been fence sitting for the past 2 1/2 years (too many "wannabe" investors bidding prices up) but I've put 4 SFHs under contract in the last week! The first 3 belong to an acquaintance who's getting tired of landlording and wants to raise some cash and reduce his workload. 2 of the three I'm getting under contract to the tenants, the third probably won't so I'll flip it when the lease is up in '08.

On Saturday a guy he works with called me and asked if I would be interested in a house "under similar conditions to John's (not his real name) and I said I might be. It turns out that in anticipation of selling it he repainted the interior and put new floors in (kind of cheapo-1 foot stick down tiles). The odd thing is he NEVER TOUCHED THE EXTERIOR, so it's got ZERO curb appeal, in fact it's probably negative curb appeal, and he wasn't advertising it.

Anyway I got it under contract @ $50K and I've got pretty solid numbers of about $3K to make it a showhorse. It needs a roof ($500 plus my labor) and some exterior decor, and of course I'm going to bump up the insulation and put a small storage shed in back.

There are two minor problems:

It's on an unpaved street, with open ditch. I can't do anything about the paving but I'm thinking of adding another 20" X 20' (or whatever is standard) piece of culvert and filling. This would not only dress it up, it would allow some more access for parking as there's only one driveway slab now. I'm going to the city hall (city of about 1500 souls) and see if they might have some program where they'll split the cost of the culvert and filling. If they do I'll do the whole (50' total width) lot.

Which brings up the second problem, it's a a row of three IDENTICAL houses. We're all familiar with subdivisions where a builder does 5 or 6 basic floorplans and then offers 3 "elevations" of each to change the streetside appearance. These 3 are IDENTICAL, 37' wide on 50' wide lots. Same window pattern, same dormer, same driveway slab, same door position.

I'd really like to change the look but there's not a lot of options. One consideration is on the right side to put a 10' wide fence (the posts are there) that would extend the front side of the house over to the property line. Instead of fence pickets I would put a piece of Hardie panel in the 8" on center pattern of T-111. The house is sided with T-111 so it would give the house a somewhat wider appearance from the street.

BTW, I'll probably offer this place up for about $80K.

dealmaker



First, pictures would make this much easier. That said, how much of this is actually necessary to sell an 80k house? Better yet, how about not spending the money and reducing the ask price by what you would have spent? Its a wash for you and the buyer attract more buyers and hopefully sell quicker.

It don't see the houses being similar, or the same, as being much of a problem. Just make sure your looks better with fresh paint, clean yard, fresh shutters, appealing front door. As for fencing, just go buy premade panels at your local home improvement store and call it a day.

Learn from my mistakes, dont over rehab or overthink the project. Do only what is necessary without getting creative. There is an ebook called how to rehab a house in 10 days. Get is, read it, live it.

[Debbie]

Pictures! I need pictures! :biggrin:

You mentioned about the ditch and filling it up....There is a strong possibility that you'd not be allowed to do that for two reasons. One is it's owned by the county, not the homeowner and two is for drainage purposes.

Take some pictures! We gals (& guys) can help give advice!

[Dan Auito]

Landscaping and paint in addition Frank. Pics would be nice.

[dealmaker]

Well this is my 50th plus rehab so I do know how to do it, but thanks for the reminder Brian. Definitely going to paint and spruce the front door and some simple landscaping because there is ZERO (in fact probably negative) curb appeal now.

Got to do a fence anyway, total length about 18'. And my lovely bride came up with the "make it look different" idea of putting one of those "bird house" looking soffit vents and putting it in that "false gable".

Debbie, I didn't mean "fill in" the ditch, just add another couple of lengths of 10" corrugated culvert and gravel over it. In fact I went to the city this AM and they are going to spruce me up on both sides since another neighbor had asked as well. Total cost to me, nothing but labor.

Actually $80K is a popular price around here, central TX, small town. The median price in this zip code is $300K, but those are usually bought as second or third homes, or just for retirees.

I always sell my properties on a "owner will finance with $2K down" program and get lots of buyers, I just want to make it look a bit more appealing. I finished my budget this morning, less than $2200, all in.

I'm going to try to put the picture up, I got some better ones this AM.

Sorry I can't figure out how to put the picture in here, you know I'm "techno-challenged".

Frank

[brianb_cobbres]

Heh, I did not even pay attention to who was posting. I will just shut up now.....

[brianb_cobbres]

Here is a picture of the house.

[Dan Auito]

Porch rails, some shutters, maybe new windows, shrubs, seal the drive and maybe a new front door! By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY Frank. We luv ya man!

[dealmaker]

Thanks for reminding me about the B'day, I'm trying to forget being 59!

Porch rails, sweet!

I'm considering some (have to be pretty narrow) shutters, as those windows are (I think) about 2' and another 2' between them. The total width is 34', total square footage about 960. So putting too much among those 3 windows might look stranger than doing nothing. Neither of the other two have shutters, nor porch rails so that might look pretty good, and distinctive.

I'm definitely going to do something about the front door, solid steel just looks more "back door" to me. I'm hoping someone has a "retro-fit" kit, or some way to add one of those "fanlight" patterns. I'd hate to have to spend $150 on a door if I can get a retro-fit for less!

One of the others has stone covering the porch post, and the one next door has all stone under the cover of the porch. Limestone is pretty popular up here, usually more than 60% of the new construction has it for exterior.

I need one piece of T-111 around the front door, a piece of 1X4 X 24' to cover where I have to cut off a couple of inches of siding, at the bottom to the right of the door.

The new roof, 16 squares, will be "aged gray" and I'll probably do the fascia in a darker, (mauve, dark gray/green) tone and a lighter, cream to tan on the siding. A lot of that will depend on what I can find on "whoops" paint at HD, LOL.

Thanks for the suggestions and please keep em coming.

Frank/Dealmaker

[Debbie]

Um....I wouldn't use shutters (windows too close). Instead, use white trims after exterior (warm color) paint.

I wouldn't use porch rails unless you plan on building a deck in front of whole house (that would look really nice!).

I noticed there's no gutters????

It appears that windows need to be replaced?

I've a couple of questions:

1) Is it possible to close up the front door and put in a window?
2) Is it possible to take the left window, putting a nice looking front door?

[Dan Auito]

I've done fieldstone half way up block walls to give them some character as well. A little mesh hilteid up then some mud then slap up the rocks, let set and fill in the cracks and brush out the mortor to give them a nice clean tight fitting look!

[brianb_cobbres]

Those windows do need something but they may be too close together. You could replace the molding with some 6" boards and paint a contrasting color. That will make the windows pop and is cheap and easy.

Railings as Dan said

Gutter over porch area

Are you planning on painting the body of the house. That one would look good in a nice colonial yellow with white trim and deep green accents.

[Dan Auito]

Yes trimming out the windows indeed would be a better choice!

[dealmaker]

Windows are now trimmed with 1 X 4 but it's painted the same, flat white as the rest of the house.

There's no "brick ledge" to rest any stone work on, and I wouldn't do it anyway on a narrow house like this, I don't think the payback is there in this neighborhood.

Debbie, if you mean the door to the "left" window that's on the porch, no can do. That window is over the sink in the master bath, weird looking in from the front porch, so we may put glass block in there. If you mean moving it over to the left hand of the three windows I think it makes the porch look like something different.

BTW, I hate gutters, more trouble than they're worth IMO. Although I sometimes will put them on over a doorway. Moving the door to the right puts it right under that valley on the roof, so more runoff.

There is a big overhang so the water doesn't drop near the slab.

Yeah, the main part of the house will be some sort of "cream, tan, yellowish" with dark fascia.

Keep em coming.

dealmaker

[brianb_cobbres]

Windows are now trimmed with 1 X 4 but it's painted the same, flat white as the rest of the house.


Then painting them a darker color may help they stand out more. If not then do consider moving up to 6 or even 8 inches to get more contrast.

Maybe a flower box under each window. Would break up the wall and add a splash of color. Also very cheap to do.

[brianb_cobbres]

I see what Debbie is getting at about the front door. You really cannot tell where the entrance is and it looks more like the back of a house than the front. Railings and contrasting paint colors plus a more inviting door will help that area stand out.

[Dan Auito]

Don't need a ledge for fieldstone Frank. It comes right up the wall from the ground up, like a wainscott. I do understand your reservations on not doing it on a smaller home. Hedges will make a big impact.

[Burke]

My initial thoughts were also that the front door is in sort of a weird place. I have some ideas but they may be cost prohibitive.

I would *consider* moving the front door to where the left most window of the three in the front currently is. Extend the front area of the roof out about 4 feet as well as pour an additional 4 foot slab in the front of the house the width of the roof extension and then create a full porch with rails and support posts. I would then extend the master bath out to cover the slab that is currently the front porch. This would change the look of the front of the house without having the front door in an odd place in relation to the current front porch plus give extra room in the master bath and a full front porch or deck. Of course, this is all assuming that the left most window is in the same room as the front door (hopefully a living room or something). If that is not the case, this may not work.

Again, this may be cost prohibitive for this neighborhood and your ARV but that is what came to mind when I first looked at the pictures and then you indicated the window on the front porch is to the master bath.

[Debbie]

Debbie, if you mean the door to the "left" window that's on the porch, no can do. That window is over the sink in the master bath, weird looking in from the front porch, so we may put glass block in there. If you mean moving it over to the left hand of the three windows I think it makes the porch look like something different.

dealmaker

Nope, I was not referring to the Bath window.

I was referring to the left hand of the 3 windows.

[dealmaker]

I thought that's the window you meant, just wasn't sure. My wife suggested that too, the only thing is it doesn't give me a chance to enlarge the bath, the toilet is below that window, and enlarging the living room on a 3' X 8' section wouldn't gain anything either. Then the door just opens into the middle of the room.

One consideration with moving the door is I could then make the current front porch into a storage room, although it might look a bit weird on the front of the house. But then there's a lot of weird things on houses down here.

Still, it might give the house a bit more definition and curb appeal, which is really what I'm looking for now. The white roof, although it's pretty old and the FLAT WHITE paint on the siding, and the trim just makes it look so dull.

Right now I've got a budget of $2K, plus another $300 if I decide to move upscale to "dimensional" shingles, which is always my preference.

$400 of that is landscaping and another $550 is for more insulation and replacing some bad HVAC ductwork, neither of which shouldn't be that much. But even if they're less, experience has taught me that the money will go for something.

It's odd that he already painted the interior and put new floors in. The only thing I "might" do is put recessed lights in the kitchen for a bit of an update. Cabinets and counters look good, smooth top stove and an OK fridge. Washer and dryer stay! Those I'll sell to the buyers for an extra couple of hundred $.

I'll keep you updated and doing a "still pictures" Flip This House except I won't have that blonde hottie Kristen giving me advice!

dealmaker

[thepower]

Dealmaker,
I was skimming through the thread & was wondering if the houses were 2 or 3 bedrooms..

Thanks

[dealmaker]

It's a 2/2. Oddly enough both are "full" baths, tubs in both instead of one just having a shower stall.

I had thought about window boxes, but my wife suggested we do the painting first and then see how it "pops". Definitely going to do some landscaping in the front anyway so the window boxes may be superfluous.

dealmaker

[dealmaker]

OK, I'm one week in (I left my camer at the house so I'll get pix tonite or tomorrow) and here's where I stand:

Roof is 99% done, I had to get off the roof as it was getting too hot, all that's left is about 20' of ridge cap.

Exterior paint is about 80% done. The south side still needs both coats and the north side a second coat, east and west have 2 coats.

I started puttting the extra insulation in.

If it sounds like I'm working on several things at once, I am! I try to use different muscle groups, I can't stand painting for more than a few hours each day. I like to work on the roof from about 7:30 AM until 11:00, and then from about 5:00-7:30 PM. It's too hot in the middle of the day, and at 59 I dont' need to kill myself at this!

Some things that went really well for me:

I found a guy with 4 squares of shingles for $50, cash. As opposed to $40/square plus tax, savings $120!

I found a gallonn of "oops" semi gloss for the fascia for $7.25 at Wal-Mart, bought my eggshell for the siding there too- $13.44/gallon instead of $23/gallon at HD, savings $40!

I took off Thursday to help finish the set building at our community theatre. Then I got to watch my wife in her first play that evening. She did a really good job and everyone congratulated her on being so good for a rookie!

I'm going to kick back, watch a Netflix movie and go finish the roof during this evening's performance.

dealmaker

[Dan Auito]

Very cool play by play Dealmaker, enjoying the commentary and look forward to seeing how you finish this off to the sale. TX

[SoldierInvestor]

dealmaker,


That is a good plan and man, it draws a tear to see things from start to finish. Its such a awesome feeling to finish a project and sit back and enjoy the fruits of success. And great
job on the savings!!!


SoldierInvestor

[Dan Auito]

Zach, the dealmaker could make Lincoln cry. He's the ideal do it yourself dealer in real estate, if your anywhere within driving distance you would do well to stop in and learn a few things from Frank. Beware though, He'll smack you down if you act the fool!:SM112: :whip:

[dealmaker]

Zach, I noticed your log in says Oklahoma/Texas and you're stationed at Ft. Sill. Are you a TX native by any chance? Or is it just that Lawton is so close to Wichita Falls?

dealmaker

[cristinaperkel]

lets network come rehab a house here in tampa, I LIVE TO REHAB! 24/7, I GET INTO IT! MO MONEY TOO! FAMILY MAN....THEY DESERVE ALOT! I WORK TO GIVE MY FAMILY ALL IT NEEDS! PAUL

[SoldierInvestor]

Deal maker,

I have a property in Ft worth and have my in law side of family in texas. I basically never really go to much south than that.