Wednesday, January 20, 2010

I Lied.

I said I would post yesterday. I didn't. I wrote it, but did not publish it. I stink. Here's what I wrote:

So on Sunday, after the run in with the potential drug addict/definite crazy person, we went and saw a second property. It was the place that had no key.

Overall, it was pretty decent. A few semi-major problems, but mostly cosmetic things. Outlined below:

Exterior:




If you look closely, you can see some paintball shots all over the house. This is terrible. I will have to repaint the entire gigantic structure.

Also, note the need to completely rebuild the front deck/steps. Two very big expenses.

Generally crappy floors:




Including a dance floor?



Obviously, we'll need to get new carpets installed everywhere.

Terrible kitchens:



This kitchen is made from stained plywood. I'll probably have to replace it. That said, it's tiny, so it might not be too pricey.

Terrible stoves:



These stupid things are in two of the three units. Not only would we have to replace them with new ranges, but we'd also have to patch up the stupid exhaust hole in the wall.

Bathmats go here:



Peaceful bedroom:



If you look closely, you can see the blue painters tape still adhered to the trim around the room. I feel kind of bad for whoever started this project and didn't get to see their vision completed...

Missing copper:



Another expense: re-piping the water heaters. It shouldn't be too pricey, but it adds up. Also, if I'm a thieving copper burglar, why don't I take my time and get as much copper as possible? There are still inches of copper sticking out of each water heater, not to mention entire pipes still in tact. What this done by a novice copper bugler? A nervous one? A moral one? Was he or she trying to teach their kids not to be greedy and 'burgle only what is needed'? I need to get in touch with these people...

Overall, this house is in pretty decent shape. A few major expenses to be accounted for (house paint, deck rebuilt, kitchen remodels), but again, not much else. There are a lot of little things, but those will be anywhere we look at.

Cost-to-rehab-wise, this place is the front runner. The only thing keeping me from making an offer?



If you look at the sign fastened to the property, you will see that it is being sold by Westcott Properties. They are the worst. Specifically, Joy Riley, who is listing the house, is the worst. She works about as hard as the novice copper piping thieves mentioned above. That is: not hard at all.

I bought the first property we flipped through Westcott and Joy Riley. It took about four months to finally close and I had to jump through seventy three hoops to do it. She is unresponsive, unreliable and generally apathetic. She just lists foreclosures, waits for them to get an offer, does nothing while the buyer does everything for three months, then collects her check at closing.

That is the downside to this property. It is priced very well, needs a relatively small amount of work and will get decent rents when fixed up. It will also take four months to acquire. That is no good.

As I said in a previous post, I need to get my general contractor into each place to get a solid idea of how much each will cost to rehab. Once I have that, I will either make an offer on one, or keep looking.

Stay tuned...

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