I gave you all the numbers last time. Not exactly a home-run but pretty good. It would be much better if the financing was different but I’m getting close to having it paid off. At that point I’ll decide whether to refinance or not. I like having the line of credit on it.
I don’t really hate those flip shows on TV, I just wish they would show you realistic numbers and rehab time. They have big budgets and lots of help so they can get the show finished and in your tubes fast. We don’t have that in real life. And those shows would be so much better to me if they just cut out the middle 80% of people arguing and yelling at each other and give you only the purchase and the Big Reveal.
Enough talk, show the pics!
You see that duct tape is really the theme of the house. It seems that someone really loved that place at one time and then moved on. The next owner let it decay. I wonder what the person who stenciled in the kitchen would say after seeing these pictures.
Notice the hole in the soffit at the top of the picture. I noticed water damage to the surrounding drywall and some water stains (from minerals as the water evaporates) on some pipes up there. This bathroom is directly under the upper bathroom and at first I suspected that the bathtub drain was leaking. I filled it up to full and even to overflowing to see, but no leak. It took until Springtime to find the problem. The left wall on this picture is shared with the utility room (the right wall that you can’t really see on the picture below).
See that orange board on the floor? It covers the sump. Inside is a pump. In the Spring in this area, these pumps work diligently. This pump pushes water up the white PVC pipe, turns 45 degrees twice to go over the bathroom soffit, and then takes a 45 degree turn to go outside. Every time the pump would turn on, the 45 degree elbow would leak. Half the problem is in making the correct diagnosis! It took a few hours and a trip to the hardware store, but I was able to cut out the leak and splice in new PVC. I also put in the old water heater from the house I demoed and got rid of the abomination you see in the picture.
I won’t bore you with all the bedroom photos. They are essentially the same: bad carpet, walls needing paint, everything needing cleaning.
Cue the big truck parked out in front, moving away suddenly as the owners gasp…
The kitchen had no dish washer! No dish washer! Can you believe it? How could they live like that? We removed the counter tops, took out the strange counter in the corner. Took out the uppers from the peninsula, then moved the lowers toward the wall and out farther away from the sink. This left a space for a dishwasher, and opened up the entire room. The trade-off was less storage space. I think it was worth it. All the hard floors are sticky vinyl I put on myself.
Not sure why I don’t have a picture of the utility room for you. We moved the washer/dryer, put in the water heater, and epoxied the floor.
I’m very pleased with the results. We got lucky with our first tenants. We did do background checks but you can never be certain. We do raise the rent modestly each year and the tenants have not complained. At one time we discussed the possibility of an option to purchase but they didn’t pursue it. Some people are happy renting.
And I am happy with that.
