Just bought a foreclosure to 'flip".......{gulp}

MotorSeven · Sep 6, 2013

Well sports fans...I think I have lost my mind. Went to a foreclosure auction on Wed and bought a 2001 3br 2ba house on .44 ac for $22,500. It was the only house in a small nice subdivision that had been inhabited by rodent-like humans. I remember driving by it 3 years ago and shaking my head at the mounds of garbage in the yard.

The interior is a mess/needs a truckload of bleach & Kilz, all new flooring, roof leaked in 3 different spots & I doubt the central ac/heat works. Exterior is all vinyl and in good shape, bathrooms are all intact and undamaged, kitchen cabinets are oak and also in good shape. I mowed the lawn yesterday and hauled off a trailer load of lawn art, climbed up on the roof and found the roof in remarkable shape except for 3 small places where the shingles were GONE

I'll post up the pictures as I go. Right now my estimate is about two solid weeks of work & $10K to have it ready.

I tell y'all, sticking our necks out is very unsettling even if the potential pay off will be over $30K.

dave1949 · Sep 6, 2013

Sounds like a reasonable deal where the neighborhood will support the value. 2001 is not old, so that helps.

Good luck!

oldnslo · Sep 6, 2013

Best wishes and lets hope there aren't more surprises waiting..

EddieWalker · Sep 6, 2013

Congratulations. I used to flip houses for awhile in the 90's, but got out of it when the market collapsed and it got harder and harder to find buyers. One thing that I learned and lived by was to do everything with the goal of making it appeal to the largest number of potential buyers. Don't make anything trendy of fashionable. Think of what the buyers are wanting, keep in neutral and make it spotless clean. Curb appeal is everything, but once inside, they have to be thinking of making it their own and how it's going to be for them to live there. Pretty colors on the walls or cabinets is only going to limit your options. I have a client right now who I'm helping get their house ready to sell with bright red kitchen cabinets. I think they are ugly and a huge mistake. The wife loves them and thinks they are what will sell the house. Her husband wants them painted white, but she isn't allowing it. My guess is that it's going to sit on the market for a lot longer then it needs to because of that kitchen.

Eddie

MotorSeven · Sep 6, 2013

I forgot to add this. The bidding was between me and one other guy, a local I know. If one of us had no shown up, the other could have bought this house for $1 plus the auction company's fee of $2,500. First thing that came to my mind was Maxwell Smart's "Missed it by that much"........{sigh}:

Get Smart: Missed it by that much - YouTube

MotorSeven · Sep 6, 2013

I was waiting for you to chime in Eddie. Here is the attack plan:

-Thatch in new shingles today
-have water & power turned on then hope I don't hear hissing or smell anything burning
-tractor and bush hog the overgrown back yard that blocks a fantastic view down the valley
-haul off all the 'stuff" inside including the flooring and water damaged ceiling sheetrock insulation & flooring
-bleach all surfaces
-repair ceilings & either re-popcorn or scrap it all off, or use drywall mud and brush print ceilings
-tape off an spray kilz on all ceilings & walls(yes this is a must ...trust me)
-paint ceilings & walls with semi gloss white
-carpet the bedrooms, laminate the kitchen, living room & hallway
-repair/replace ac unit
-replace front and back door, both have been kicked in more then once
-repair existing covered deck, then build additional open deck(10x15ish) to take advantage of the backyard view
-install new fridge & stove

I can't remember what was down in the bathrooms, vinyl or tile so both may need to be replaced. I am sure i missed a few things, but that is the bulk of it. I already crawled into the crawl space and saw nothing terrible except spyders, vapor barrier was intact and it was dry.

s219 · Sep 6, 2013

Be careful with the bleach -- it can start corrosion on metal stuff like nails, hardware, wiring, ducting, etc (don't ask me how I know). If you have mold, Concrobium works great and can be fogged into rooms.

I look forward to the pics and progress. This definitely sounds like a doable project. Of course, it's the unexpected undoable stuff that always slows things down and costs more... ;-)

EddieWalker · Sep 6, 2013

MotorSeven said:
-bleach all surfaces
-repair ceilings & either re-popcorn or scrap it all off, or use drywall mud and brush print ceilings
-tape off an spray kilz on all ceilings & walls(yes this is a must ...trust me)
-paint ceilings & walls with semi gloss white
-carpet the bedrooms, laminate the kitchen, living room & hallway
-repair/replace ac unit

Sounds like a good plan. A couple things that you might re consider. You can never patch a popcorn ceiling. It will always show up where the new and the old meet. If you are scraping it, you might as well do a nice orange peel texture to it if you can. If the sheetrock shows the ceiling joists, or you can see any uneven or bowing, then spray popcorn on it again. If you don't have a spray gun, you should pick one up. Mine is probably 15 years old and just as good today as the day I bought it at Home Depot.

I'm not a fan of Kilz. In fact, I don't like it at all. Zinnsser is sold right next to Kilz in both Home Depot and Lowes. It costs about the same, but it works. The 123 is my go to primer for most everything, but if I have a really bad water stain, I go to Sherwin Williams and get their stain blocker. Nothing is better.

Never paint a wall semi gloss. For ceilings, use a flat paint. Ceilings are never flat. That's why popcorn is used so often. It beaks up and hides the sags and lines in a ceiling. The more shine you have in the paint, the more light it reflects, and the more problems you notice. I realize it's easier to clean, but that's not your concern with selling the house. On the walls, eggshell is a good choice. It gives you just enough sheen to look nice, but not so much that you see any problems. I always buy the premium paints. They cover faster and you get a nicer finish. Behr Premium at Home Depot or Valspar Ultra or whatever it's called now are both great paints. The primer built into the paint is just a scam or sales technique for a better quality of paint. It's worth the money, so I buy it, but you still need to prime new sheetrock or anything dark that you are going over with lighter paint. And of course, Sherwin Williams have even better paint, but it's quite a bit more money and usually not worth the greater expense unless you are covering some sort of an issue or stain.

Semi gloss is great for trim and doors.

If the bleach doesn't do the trick for you, buy swimming pool shock in the liquid form. Walmart and Lowes sell it by the gallon. It's a much, much stronger concentration of bleach. It will make your eyes water and in small spaces, it might give you a headache. But it will kill anything you want dead with one application. I just put it in a spray bottle and soak whatever is the problem. Just don't get it on any clothing, it will turn it white and in some cases, eat right through the material!! LOL

Good luck,
Eddie

radioman · Sep 6, 2013

hmm -- in my opinion, you there are already making mistakes in your plan. the popcorn -- yes scrape it all off. no more popcorn. it sells with no popcorn IMHO. Use FLAT white, not semi. flat hides any imperfections and becomes more neutral and pleasing to the eye for buyers. If the door,trims is already white then by all means go ahead and paint them semi. as for kilz-- if all walls and ceiling needs it, then I think its cheaper and easier to cover all with 3/8 new drywall. This way , the walls look new, not painted over look which helps to sell . This way even the best stainblocker might have bled thru giving you grief down the road.