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Some of my Experiences with Fixer Uppers (Part I)
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Jun 16, 2005, 07:33
Let's say you have found a house that needs fixing up.
You can send the owners a letter offering to buy their house. Now for the out of state owners, I'm obviously not going to leave a note on their step. The tenant will look at this and just laugh. They¡¯re not going to pass it on to the owner.
No way. They like their trash and they¡¯re getting a pretty good deal. Free rent.
I briefly mentioned data companies, with data companies you can sift and sort the data just about any way you want. Some are great for listing out of state owners.
Most are also good for building comps - or comparables. Its the value of the houses in the general area.
Don¡¯t forget about family and friends when it comes to fixers. Let them know what you are looking for.
There are some really big pit falls to fixing houses. If you¡¯re in construction then it¡¯s a big bonus. Probably nothing will scare you too bad - and you will probably notice what the rest of us might miss.
If you¡¯re not in construction and you don¡¯t know any thing about fixing houses, then you need to be particularly on your guard. That doesn¡¯t mean that if you buy a fixer you have to do the work yourself.
In fact, I don¡¯t do much, if any of the work myself. I¡¯ve done some painting, sheet rocking, carpeting, pretty minor stuff. I¡¯ve never done wiring, roofing, and the like.
But it is good to be aware - have a general idea what it¡¯s going to cost. If you have to replace a kitchen you should know how much the material is going to cost and how long it will take a contractor to fix. Some of it just comes with practice.
But you can also go to Lowe¡¯s or Home Depot and check out prices. Pretty soon you will get more adjusted and be able to get to the point where you can look at a bathroom and kitchen and go " this is going to take me x amount of dollars".
To read Part II of this article, Click Here
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