Lots of foreclosure auctions

Now that this house is nearing completion, I have been poking around looking for the next deal. There are a lot of foreclosure auctions coming up in the next month.
Wonder if this is the tip of the iceberg?

Saw another house just come on the market that I had looked at, and appeared to be a real money pit. I am curious to see the inside and how the rehab was handled, particularly the foundation issues.

Bought some plants for landscaping today. Salvias, shasta daisies and a few annuals. Nothing extravagant, but definitely will help the front of the house.

Kitchen sink

Dry fit the kitchen sink. Had a thought that the cove molding wouldn't fit behind the sink - so put the sink in to make sure (and it was fine).



All of the oak trim around the counter has been cut to fit. Just needs varnish. The kitchen is very close to being finished. The whole house is getting close.

Floors

Here is a pic of some of the floor stripped. Quite a difference! This is the living room, and these floors are a lighter color than the upstairs (less varnish, too).

Tub refinishing

Here are the pics of the tub, before and after. The cost for the refinishing was $399. This worked out to be comparable or less than replacing the cast iron tub - including demo and installation. Plus the tub would have had to have been broken into pieces to get it down the stairs.
I also did not want to replace the tub with an acrylic one, since this one was in good condition other than the finish.

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Too hot!!

Today I was stripping the floors, had to keep the windows open for ventilation - but, it was 95 degrees out!
Supposed to be the same tomorrow, so instead of doing the floors - I am going to work on the kitchen countertop tile, so that I can close up the house and run the a/c.

Got the tub refinished today. Amazing how they can make a yucky tan tub shiny and new (and white!). The bathroom is really looking nice. I will have a pic up of the tub once the protective material is taken off the wall tomorrow.
Tub guy loved the floors - he couldn't believe how good the citrus biodegradable stripper worked. I might not even need to sand in the living room, the floors are in very good condition.

Floors

Well, I knew there would be some sort of delay! Got the sander, and then set it to work. It was much quieter than I thought it would be and pretty easy to handle. However, I only got about a 5 foot strip done, and the sandpaper (36 grit) was all gummed up. I was expecting to go through a lot of sandpaper, but this was too much.
Talked to flooring people and they said to strip the floor first, as the buildup of years of varnish would take forever to remove with sandpaper.

So, started stripping the floors. This meant taking the sander back, as I don't want to pay for it if I am not using it! I have to say, the floors look really, really nice underneath. It's going to make the job of sanding much easier and quicker as well.
This is going to be a real PITA, but it will be so worth it.

Rehab week in review

This week ended up being totally different than was planned. Without the floor sander, that changed what was done.
- The roof was started and completed
- Kitchen pantry cleaned painted, floored.
- All flooring prepared for sanding
- Hallway and stairwell ceiling painted
- Cut the plywood counter tops and installed backer board
- Cut sink hole in counter tops
- Lots of other odds and ends jobs, such as changing outlets and such. More of those to do.

Monday we will get the floor sander. I had spoken to another couple who just rehabbed a house, and they used a floor sander as well. The floors looked great! They also said it didn't take long to sand. I am still budgeting 4 days, as I normally have some sort of unusual issues come up :)

Roof finished!

The roof was finished up earlier today. Looks good! Need to take some pictures of it.

Been working on the kitchen counters, slow going as the drill loses power too quickly.
Now we need to go out and get a new drill..... it never ends LOL! Counter tops will be done in white tile with a wood trim.

Finished to old 'toilet closet' in the kitchen. Everything got ripped out, cleaned (twice), put in new floor and fresh paint. Quite a difference!

Old


Mid


Done

Change of schedule

Schedules don't always work out as you want them, so you have to be flexible when rehabbing.
I went to pick up a floor sander today at Lowes, and they only have one - and it was rented out!! I asked about reserving it when it came back, but they said it was first come , first serve. They won't even hold it for me if I call and find out it is back in. Nice, huh?
Can't believe they only have one! I had assumed that there were several, as I always saw a sander available - including Monday when I was there last. Figures that it was gone when I needed it.

So, plans are changing for now. Since it will take me 3-4 days to sand, I don't want to be sanding over the weekend, which would be the case if the sander came back tomorrow. So I will go ahead and work in the kitchen this week. Plywood has been attached on the main counter, now I need to cut the small piece for the cabinet by the stove. Then cement board and tile.

Roofers arrived and have been working hard (along with swearing and smoking - yuck!!). They should be done tomorrow or friday morning. It's gonna look good!

Pic of pavers:

Why you do the floors last

Dropped a full can of paint today, landed upside down and popped the lid off. About half a gallon of paint spilled onto the floor.
Thank goodness I hadn't sanded the floors (or had already finished them).
That's why you do your flooring after everything else! Got it cleaned up well, you can hardly tell, and I think after sanding it will be fine.

Ironically enough, it was ceiling paint....

Got the pavers finished, looks pretty good! The rooms are now ready for the actual sanding. Got the floors vacuumed ad the vents covered up.

Roofers are supposed to start tomorrow - although, of course, it will be raining.

Rehab goals for this week

This week the focus will be on sanding the floors. Today will be a tidy up day to finish up some loose ends of painting and the front stoop. Then starting Tuesday I will be sanding the floors. There are 3 bedrooms, a hallway, the dining room and living room to do.
I am not totally sure how long it will take, but I am thinking about 4 days or so to get them all done.

I have left the kitchen countertops to do between coats of floor varnish. The kitchen can be accessed from outside, so I can get in and out of the house and not be wasting time waiting for the floors to dry.

Rehab week in review

A shorter week than I would have liked this week due to John being out of town, but still got a fair amount accomplished.

This week saw the end to wall painting upstairs. All bedrooms are finished being painted, trim and all! Doors are painted except for one more coat on one of the doors.

Also did:
-dry fit pavers on the front stoop
- painted the front door
- started painting the hallway door
- stair risers painted

The roofer came today, he has been delayed by rain. We picked out the shingles and he will get started next week.

Here is a pic of the stoop before and with a dry run of pavers. They are going to look quite nice!

Backyard surprise

Found out there is a peach tree in the backyard!! I didn't realize they could grow in upstate NY.

Hopefully they will be ripe enough for us to have some before the house sells!

Picture of my new hood:


Bedroom 3 before and after:

Hallway work

Here are some before and after photos of the hallway:

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The end of trim painting is in sight!!

Been painting trim in the hallway the last couple days. They have been short days, since I need to watch our other business. Hopefully things will be back to normal tomorrow.
I will have used 2 gallons of paint on the trim in the house - that is how much there is to do! The hallway and stairwell are looking great.

Trying to decide on how to pave the stoop. I would like just bricks, but for some reason I can't find any that don't have holes in them. I want decorator brick, which might be a special order? Pavers are okay, but I want grout lines that match the brick face on the steps.

I also took a look at the garage door opener. Looks like I just need to get a new bent arm to replace the broken one. $5 replacement part, hopefully that will work correctly then!

Rehab week in review

Lot of mishmash stuff got done this week:

- Handyman came in and wired the kitchen, did plumbing in kitchen, removed toilet waste pipe in closet, fixed a few upstairs outlets and fixed some plumbing in the basement.

- Continued painting: all the priming has been done. Final coats on 2 of the bedrooms, trim painted in all the bedrooms (mostly), stairwell and hallway got first coat of color.

- installed range hood
- put up light fixtures in dining room and living room
- dug up plants/weeds in the front garden beds
- general cleanup of stuff as the house was getting cluttered with stuff
- finished tiling the area by the back door and basement


This week will see continued trim painting (and painting, more and more painting), hopefully pavering the front stoop, bathroom light fixture and outside work.

There won't be pics for a few days, as the camera is out of town :)

Tile done and more painting

Short day today, as I had to attend to our business and couldn't be at the house until the afternoon. I will be spending some time there on saturday, so will post the week in review after that.

Finished the tile out to the back door from the kitchen. It really looks sharp. Painted in the stairwell, and primed the hallway.

One of the neighbors stopped by to see the progress on the house. He had only seen it inside when someone else lived there, and he said it was dirty and cluttered (kind of like how I bought it!!). He is very impressed with the progress.

We also talked about a house the next block over that another investor is trying to flip. We had looked at that same house to purchase as our own last fall, and it didn't really need any work done inside. It had an offer on it when we looked, and I assume it must have been this investor. Can't imagine they have enough margin to make money on this house, unless they somehow got an awesome price. The neighbor said they put in all new plumbing and wiring, tore out all the lathe and plaster. Then put up drywall without any insulation behind it to save money. Give me a break! What's the purpose of tearing down a wall if you aren't going to put it back together correctly?? It's people like that who give flippers a bad name.

Grass seed in the back yard is starting to grow, so it's looking better. There are a few other places to patch, which I will try to do next week.

Bedroom paint

Today we used the leg leveler extension on the ladder to reach into the stairwell. Works really well. Had to patch the ceiling and wall cracks. Really glad I got that ladder.

Most of the trim is done in all 3 bedrooms. One bedroom is all finished with the final coat. Here is a before and after:




Just need to paint the door and then refinish the floors in this room.

Paint, plumbing and electrical

Things are moving briskly this week.
We have gotten the wiring done in the kitchen (new hood, dishwasher and new wall outlet), kitchen plumbing done and the waste pipe removed from the kitchen pantry. Now there is a nice 4 inch hole in the floor LOL!

I originally thought there was some sort of strange dishwasher hook up in the kitchen, but it turns out that there were hot and cold hookups plus a drain for a washing machine - not a dishwasher. Coupled with the kitchen pantry toilet, you have to think someone was living there that was unable to get up or down stairs.

All the wiring in the house has been checked, and with the exception of a couple funny outlets (which were fixed), all looks good and ready to go.

The handyman is coming back in a couple weeks to put in some railings for me. I am going to tile or paver the front stoop, and the railing can't go in until that is done.

Got trim painted in one bedroom and put the first coat of final paint on. Looks really nice. The color is Magnolia Spray (Olympic). The whole upstairs will be this color.

Rehab goal for week of June 4th

Not as much outside work this week, at least for the early part. There are a few days of rain expected, but that saves me from watering the grass seed!

Handyman called me today, and they are coming out tomorrow morning to start their work! Yay! It should take them about 2 days to get all the stuff done.

For me, the plan is:
- install bathroom sink
- finish touch up paint in living room, and paint ceiling
- install downstairs light fixtures
- patch walls in stairwell and hallway
- start painting trim in the bedrooms.
- put counter underlayment on for kitchen counters

If the ground isn't too soggy, later this week I will work on the front garden beds. Just simple perennials and mulch.

Rehab week in review

Got a good chunk of stuff done this week.
- Replaced panes of glass and trim in doors
- Seeded the back lawn
- trimmed the lilac bushes
- painted trim and walls in living room
- primed the old refrigerator area
- grouted bathroom tile
- installed shower surround
- installed toilet
- installed light fixtures in bedrooms

Had a handyman come today to review some projects (licensed electrician). He is putting in wiring for a hood and a dishwasher. Running plumbing lines for said dishwasher and removing old plumbing from the closet toilet. Plus, he will be putting in a new hand railing outside. He is also working on the circuit breaker box, there are too many outlets on too few circuits, so he is going to fix some of those for me. Work will take about 2 days, and he is scheduled for Wednesday.

Bathroom when I bought the house:

Bathroom currently:


My new sink (dry fit)