Real Estate Investing in Upstate NY

Figuring out the next step

2008-06-16T19:45:00.003-04:00

So, my house is rented out. 2 year lease, and the tenants are interested in purchasing, possibly after one year (but I imagine it will be 2 years.).

So - this is good. However, my cash is tied up in the house now, and I can't refinance for 18 more months without a 6 month interest penalty payment.

What I need to do is crunch the numbers to see if it is worth it to take the penalty hit in order to get my next house and flip it.

I have decided no more 2 bedroom/1Bath homes unless there is room enough to add a 3rd bedroom.

House is rented out

2008-06-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

Got my house rented for the amount I need, which is good! These tenants have a 2 year lease, and they want the option to purchase, so this will probably work out quite well.

Once I get my finances righted around, it will be on to the next house!

Still not sold

2008-04-25T22:28:00.001-04:00

There has been very little activity in this market. My tax assessment came in quite high, so am in the process of fighting that.

I will give it one more month and then rent out the house.

Price change

2008-03-24T19:29:00.002-04:00

The market has been dead, dead, dead. So - I am lowering the price on the house. Hopefully that will increase some action.

2nd Open House

2008-02-26T18:22:00.001-05:00

Had my second open house on Sunday. 5 couples came through - they all liked the house, no takers, though. Seems only one comment on the house being too small. Encouraging - people are starting to shop now.
More snow scheduled - 6-12 inches tonight. That's always good for showings.....

I have decided on no more 2 bedroom homes for flips. Unless the square footage is enough so that a 3rd can be added.

weather finally clearing up.

2008-02-19T14:49:00.002-05:00

Well, the ice is melting. Looking to hold another open house this weekend. No snow in the forecast - so maybe things will look up. Nothing has gone under contract in my price range in the last 2 weeks. At least I feel better in some respects because it's not just my house! LOL!

I had my eye on another property, but that got snapped up already - thought that might happen.

Challening market

2008-02-12T18:16:00.002-05:00

Well, the open house had only one couple come through. They said the bedrooms were too small. They are larger than most, so that comment surprised me a bit. The snow didn't help that day, either.

And again - about 10 inches of snow expected tonight. This really puts a damper on showings, don't blame people for not wanting to go out! After 3 months, I might try a lease option on the property, or just rent it out.

Open house this weekend

2008-02-07T10:31:00.001-05:00

Having my first open house this weekend. Not too much activity in the market right now. I don't know if the crappy weather has been keeping people away or what. Lots of rain and slushy stuff, then a few inches of snow today. Sigh.....

I think I have found my next house - so I really, really want this one to sell now!!

slow

2008-01-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

Well, this time of year is slow. Not much activity on the house, but that is what I expected at first. I ordered sink clips, hopefully they will be in early this week.

Hoping to have an open house soon.
I need to talk to the county about my taxes. The assessment on my house is way higher than it should be for the area. Not sure what is up with that, but I need to get it straightened out.

I am on the lookout for the next house now. :)

House is on the market!

2008-01-17T14:16:00.000-05:00

The house is on the market and ready to go. Of course, we are supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow tomorrow, and we will be leaving town. So no one to shovel the driveway for the next week. Sigh..... Who knows if there will be any showings in the next week anyway.

Here are a few more pictures:
Living room before:

Living room done. Didn't need too much except paint, switch plates, curtains and a new ceiling fan.

The staircase before - nice industrial grey carpet.

Stairs after. Runner matches the color of the door and the curtains. Really helps pull everything together.

Just about done

2008-01-15T15:52:00.000-05:00

Finishing up detail stuff like paint touch up, moldings and cleanup. A few things will have to wait until we return from vacation, like sealing the countertops and finishing the sink install.

Kitchen before:

Kitchen today

Bathroom before:

Bathroom today:

Rehab week in review

2008-01-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

Wrapping things up at house.
This week:
- Installed granite counter tops and grouted them
- reattached all baseboard moldings that weren't broken
- touch up paint upstairs
- cleaned up both bedrooms
- installed bathroom fan grille
- installed shower rod and curtain
- put up some curtains

I have the sink ready to install, however the sink came with these tiny little clips. I need longer/adjustable clips due to the depth of the underlayment. Grrrrr...
My last flip I used an Elkay sink, and it had long adjustable clips. I didn't realize that the sink I bought for this flip would be different. Hopefully I can get those locally and won't have to order them, but will have the sink at least in place to put the house on the market next week. Always seems like there is something that puts the brakes on when you are cruising!

Curtains and counters

2008-01-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a pic of the curtains. They need ironing, but I like the color. I don't even know where my iron is, so who knows when that will get done.

This is the kitchen preview. The backsplash still need to be grouted, and the sink is just dry fit into place - but looking quite nice!

Tile system

2008-01-10T18:11:00.001-05:00

Okay, I checked the name of the tile system I used. Schluter - http://www.schluter.com/4677.aspx
They have some pretty cool stuff for tiling.

I got the granite part of the backsplash up today, will do the last of the mosaic tomorrow. It looks nice!

I also put up some test curtains, and really like how those look. They match the door color almost exactly. I do need to iron them, though :)

Tomorrow I should finish up the rest of the tiling and then do little leftover projects like paint touch ups and moulding replacement.

Granite tiles

2008-01-09T20:08:00.000-05:00

Spent the last couple days cutting and laying the granite tiles. I had to rent a tile machine that could handle granite - and boy, they gave me a huge one! It took 2 people to move the cutter, but it worked great! Cutting was a breeze.
This is the new tiling system I tried. Of course, I can't remember the name of it - will have to find that and post.
It consists of metal tracks for the edging, and you cut strips of tile to fill it in. There are inside and outside corner pieces - so no mitering has to be done. It was quite easy to use, and really looks different.
I also used ditaset between the underlayment and the tile. This is a cushioned material that is designed to keep the tiles and grout from cracking if the substrate expands and contracts.
This is top of the system. It comes in different metal colors, I chose brushed chrome - since it matches stainless steel. You can see the ditaset, it's the orange stuff (this is dry fit for these pictures). The ridge slips underneath the tile and is mortared down. The tile then butts right up against the edge.

This is the front view, with the channel empty.

This is how the granite strip looks. You just use silicone to hold it into place, and grout around the edges.

Since the tiles come right up to the edge of the counter, there is a 1 inch gap in the back. I chose a mosaic to fill it in. There will be a backsplash as well, not shown here.

Rehab week in review

2008-01-06T18:06:00.000-05:00

This week the work done was as follows:

- finished grout removal
- regrouted kitchen tiles
- installed bathroom light fixture
- got all pieces cut for counter top underlayment (attached all but one piece)
- got dishwasher installed and test ran
- installed new hand towel ring and tp roll dispenser
- replaced the upstairs baseboard molding

I picked up my granite yesterday (I love it!!), and got the metal edging pieces laid out so I could measure how much to build up the rest of the counter top. I then went to Lowe's and got more underlayment to put on tomorrow. I am going to rent a tile saw. We have one, but it is a small one, and I don't think it can handle the granite. I am going to measure for all my cuts, then get the saw and cut everything at once.

Grouting done

2008-01-04T17:41:00.001-05:00

Finished grouting the kitchen floor today. It looks good. The grout ended up a shade or 2 lighter than I would have liked, but it is much better than the old stuff.

Old grout

Grout removed

New grout

Also got a call that my granite tiles are in! They were supposed to come on Tuesday, but got here early - so I will go pick those up tomorrow.

Grout removal done

2008-01-02T20:46:00.000-05:00

Goodness - glad that is done. Even with the dremel tool, grout removal is tedious boring work. After finishing that - I got the rest of the loose and broken tiles up and then replaced them. Spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning the rest of tiles in preparation for grouting.

They actually look good all cleaned up! Tomorrow I will work on the actual grouting.
My granite tiles will arrive on Tuesday, so I have a few days to get most of everything else finished before then.

Happy New Year!!

2007-12-31T20:21:00.001-05:00

New Year's eve, the start of 2008 is fast approaching!

Worked today, and actually am going to be at the house tomorrow. When you work at home, days off don't quite mean the same. I actually want to get some rehab stuff done.

Today, I hooked up the dishwasher, and it works! Also got the extra frame pieces done for the counters (where there used to be a blind cabinet). And more grout removal. Geez that is tedious.
Tomorrow I plan on mortaring the replacement tiles down, and finishing the grout removal. There is only about 1/4 of the kitchen left to do.

Basically starting to put things back together now, not sure when my granite will arrive - but I will just finish up everything else.

Rehab week in review

2007-12-29T09:36:00.000-05:00

Got a lot done for a short week.
- Finished painting the wall color in both bedrooms
- painted the bathroom and repaired the toilet
- installed gfcis in the bathroom and kitchen
- finished painting the kitchen
- reinstalled the stove hood
- removed more grout

Here is a picture of the kitchen beam area that was repaired. The paint color is not that much different, but amazing how updated it looks (Brandied Pear by Olympic)

Here is the kitchen in it's current state. The dishwasher is fitted in, but not hooked up. Wanted to make sure cupboard doors and such could open before putting on the counter top plywood.

Plans for next week:
- continue with grout removal. This takes forever, even with the dremel
- repair broken tiles
- install plywood for counter tops
- add box to install bathroom light

Water Heater and painting

2007-12-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

Had the water heater checked out today. There wasn't really anything wrong with it. He just cleaned it and got it to light and stay lit. Only cost $80 - so I am not bothered by that.
Interesting note, the water heater person had been at this same house a couple years ago. Apparently the previous owner had a shady contractor in doing crappy work. She hired this company to come out and give her a list of what needed to be done to get the work up to code. Basically, he said all the plumbing had to be redone. Poor woman. She lost her house a year later, after putting in all that money.

Today I got the rest of the kitchen painted except for touch ups. I also reinstalled the stove hood (which I painted white), and painted the rest of the bedrooms upstairs. Then I started the edging around the bathroom. Tomorrow I plan to finish painting the bathroom, then remove the doors to the bedrooms upstairs so that they can get painted. Fingers crossed that I will finish all painting this week.
Then it's pretty much just counter tops.

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-25T21:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone!
Back to work tomorrow. Short week - will have to work hard LOL!

Rehab week in review

2007-12-21T17:41:00.000-05:00

Got a lot of stuff done this week:

Removed counter tops
Finished painting the living room
Installed new light fixtures
Painted the master bedroom
Got the plumbing fixed
Painted the stairwell
Repaired the ceiling beam area
Painted the range hood white
Started grout removal

I should be done with the painting next week. That is really the thing that takes the longest!

Plumbing

2007-12-20T17:40:00.000-05:00

There was good news and bad news with the plumbing. The handyman opened up what we thought was the pass through for the pipes and found this:

Not a pass through - but a solid beam (covered with plywood). So, we weren't quite sure how to proceed at this point. The question was whether to open up the ceiling and find the pipes or go through the wall in one of the bedrooms. Since we didn't know the status of the pipes, other than that there was a big leak - we decided to go behind the tub.

After opening up this wall - the problem was evident. The cold water pipe had separated just above the shut off. It wasn't broken - it had just popped out. Got that soldered back into place and no more leaking!! So - we didn't have to repipe anything. Saved me money and time that way.

The bad news is that the water heater doesn't work. Tried that today. It's only 3 years old, but won't light up. So - have to have someone come look at that. At least I know a fixed price ceiling on this, in case it would have to be replaced in a worst case scenario.

Now I can start putting the kitchen back together. It looks bad now LOL

Painting

2007-12-19T21:21:00.000-05:00

Progressing quickly with the painting. Got the first color coat on both bedrooms. Chose a buttery yellow color, it's quite nice. I started trim painting upstairs as well.
I can't wait to get the pipes fixed in the house. Then I can do more work on the kitchen.
I was able to scoot some of the cabinets over on one side to make more pass through room to the basement door. I took out more cabinet width than dishwasher width, so I could do that. I will also move one of those removed cabinets to the area near the fridge. I bought a little extra granite in case I was able to do this.

I have to say that grout sawing is very tedious. Since I am keeping the tile, I need new grout. Much of this grout is filthy and the color just makes the tiles look a little weird. I have a grout saw, and it works well, but just takes time. I think I will work on doing a little each day, rather than doing it all at once.

I did turn the water on to the house, just to check the downstairs pipes. I slowly opened the main shut off valve, and then I heard water trickling behind me from somewhere. Silly me forgot to close the drain on the water heater! None of the pipes downstairs are busted - so that is very good news!

Oh, and more snow expected tonight....... sigh.......

Shovel, shovel

2007-12-17T17:39:00.000-05:00

We got quite a bit of snow yesterday, on top of what we got Friday. So - not only do I have to shovel my own driveway, but the one at the flip house as well. Ugh!! Have had about enough of that! John was looking at electric snowblowers online today :)

Got all my lights on the first floor changed out, and they all work - so no new wiring needed there. I even got the ceiling fan replaced. That took quite awhile, and I was so sure that it wasn't going to come on when I put the power back on. There were *a lot* of wires! But, it did.
Think the neighbors probably heard me shout for joy.

The countertops are removed and I also removed the 2 cabinets which are going to be replaced by a dishwasher. There was a bit of mold behind the cabinets from the water damage, so I had to bleach that out. Luckily it's just surface mold. The kitchen looks officially torn apart now!

The granite tiles were ordered on Saturday, along with the edging system I am using. I can't wait to see how this is going to look! It will probably take at least 10 days, with the holidays in there, I am hoping it won't be too long.

Rehab week in review

2007-12-14T17:45:00.001-05:00

Well, the first official week is done in the new flip house.
What was accomplished:
- Furnace fixed
- water turned on (although not running through the house yet)
- evaluated and made a list of what needs to be done
- driveway shoveled (twice!!), with a big storm expected again this weekend.....
- Worked on basement cleanout
- Picked out granite tile for the counter tops
- Removed wallpaper downstairs
- patched all the walls
- started painting

Painting is going pretty quickly. There is very little trim to paint, since all the trim downstairs is a nice wood. There is a section of the kitchen I am not painting until the work on the pipes happens next week.

I found the most beautiful granite tile. It's called St Cecelia and it has beautiful wine colored accents in it. This will play off the door color really well. I am going to tile with a metal channel, and mosiac backsplash. It's going to look really sharp (I hope!). It will take 10 days or so for the tiles to arrive.

Goals for next week:
- shoveling for sure LOL
- Remove counter tops
- finish painting downstairs
- replace light fixtures
- fix closet doors
- start painting upstairs

Creepy

2007-12-11T19:21:00.000-05:00

You never know what you are going to find when you clean out someone's stuff. This house doesn't have a ton of things to go. I won't even need a dumpster (yeah!!).
Found this adorable little thing in the basement. So creepy
Someone actually liked it enough to buy it!

Had the furnace people come out today. The furnace actually needed more repairs than thought - to the tune of $1400. Good thing I am saving money on the dumpster and the tile floors. That will help offset that in the budget. Just one of those things that you never know what it's going to cost. But the good thing is - we now have heat!

Demo and evaluation

2007-12-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, first off - it's freaking cold in that house! Someone will be out to do the furnace tomorrow - but it's hard to work when it's 30 degrees *inside*.
Here is the kitchen.

The colors are pretty drab in here, and that wall paper doesn't help. Removed the chair rail and started pulling the wallpaper down.
I am thinking I will keep the tile floor. I wasn't sure at first, but the more I look at it, the better it looks. Just needs a good cleaning. There is one broken tile - but I found a box of extras in the basement (lucky there!)

The tile is neutral, which is good. With a better color on the walls, this will definitely look better.
Once the heat is on, then the water will be turned on, then the upstairs pipes can be repaired.

Closing!

2007-12-06T18:58:00.000-05:00

Here is why you need nerves of steel to do RE investing.
This is a recap of what happened prior to close in the last week:

- Last Friday, notified that the bank need copies of cancelled checks for the previous flip property mortgage. All months. Was told this was the last thing they needed. Did that.

- Monday morning - was told the checks were fine, now the bank wants to verify the utilities are in working order. They were shut off and winterized. Bank says utilities must be turned on, and this was the last thing needed. I called to have the electric and gas turned on for Tuesday. The city refused to turn on the water prior to closing. We could not get around that - had several people call, no dice. So - we asked them for a letter stating why they wouldn't turn on the water to send to the bank.

- Tuesday - was told electric and gas would be on by 6pm. Great! Appraiser scheduled to come back on Wednesday at 9am to verify utilities are on. John and I go after 6 pm to light the furnace and turn on the main breaker. No power or gas. I call National Grid - was told the power was shut off at the street (which I told them yesterday) so it had to be turned on manually. They tell me someone will come out at some point during the night to do this.

- Yesterday - still no power and gas at the house as of 8am. Called and was told there was a mistake, the person who came out thought they had to verify the power was *off*, so did nothing. Idiots. Frantic to get everything on, since the appraiser was due out in an hour. Realize that this is unlikely - so call the appraiser and ask him to come a little later, but needed to have him there by noon so we could close the next day.
National grid comes out - power on, but furnace won't stay lit. (Don't care about that, just a service call there). However - appraiser doesn't know what to make of this. He took pictures of the gas stove lit to show that the gas was on.
All submitted to bank, we look good to go. Closing scheduled for 4pm the next day.

- Late yesterday afternoon, call from mortgage broker. Bank won't accept that the water is off, and wants the system pressure tested by a plumber. Told this is the last thing holding up the deal. Well - *we* know the system will fail the test, since we know there are broken pipes upstairs, the bank does not know this. I am now curled up in a fetal position on the floor.

- About 8pm last night, told we might be able to sign a waiver that we don't hold the bank responsible for any problems with the plumbing.

- This morning - said addendum is faxed and we got all needed documents and went to the closing table at 4:30pm. Since funds won't be available tonight due to the late closing time, all funds are going to be wired in the morning. All docs are signed and I will get the keys tomorrow.

What a nightmare!

So close!

2007-12-05T11:52:00.001-05:00

Almost there. The bank accepted the cancelled cheks - but now they want the utilities on before closing, with a reappraisal indicating that they are on. It's crazy!

The city refuses to turn on the water before closing, which I understand. Not to mention the fact the I don't want the water on with the broken pipe upstairs.
The furnace needs servicing - so while the gas is turned on, the furnace can't be turned on. Luckily there is a gas stove, so the appraiser could take a picture of the burners lit to prove the gas is on. And the electric is on.
It's now up to the bank, yet again. Who knows if they will accept the utilities as they are. We have the closing set tentatively for 4pm tomorrow.

These are the kind of things that gurus never tell you about.

Almost there

2007-12-02T17:39:00.000-05:00

Well - we got the *last* condition from the bank late Friday afternoon. On my last flip - the mortgage never appeared on my credit report, so this bank wants copies of cancelled checks to show that the mortgage was paid. So - had to get copies of 4 months worth of checks.
That was the last condition. If for some reason, they don't like the copies I can't do anything else to prove the payments. If they do accept the copies, then we will get the clear to close.
FINGERS CROSSED!!!!

This might be the last stated income loan I try to do. Unless something in the market changes over the next 6 months.

Deal still alive!

2007-11-28T11:11:00.001-05:00

Well, I thought this deal was on life support, but it looks as though it might go through after all!

Definitely need to sit down with my mortgage broker after this and go over all investor options that are open.
Stated income isn't likely to work anymore.
We are shooting for a closing date of 12/6 or a little earlier.

Wachovia funding

2007-11-21T23:15:00.000-05:00

Well, Wachovia dropped a bomb today. They are no longer doing funding for investors. So even though they have given us the conditions, they won't close the loan. How about that?!?!?

We have the back-up bank on the table now, and have submitted all conditions to them. The interest rate is higher, though.

Trying not to be irritated about all this, but it is difficult LOL!

Mortgage issues

2007-11-15T09:16:00.000-05:00

I am not sure the funding for this deal is going to go through. We are stated income, so it is already difficult in this climate - but it is really getting annoying.
The bank keeps asking for more information, and then doesn't respond with what they want for conditions. We have some conditions, but the bank says there will more *if* they decide to go ahead and fund.
MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!!!

Either yay or nay, but quit stringing me along. It's too late now to go for hard money, with closing date of Monday, so the deal will die.

Oh well, I think for sure next time I will do hard money to avoid all this crap. Just means I need to get the property for even lower.

Laminate floors

2007-11-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

Well, this isn't a rehab house - it's our own, but there is always work to be done!
Here are a couple photos of the new flooring we put down in our bedroom. Got it at Lumber Liquidators. $1.69 a square foot, and has the underlayment attached to the boards. It's click and lock flooring, but not many of the boards clicked into place. We had to do a lot of tapping to get them to lay flat. Once we got past the first couple rows - things went much smoother.

Closing soon

2007-11-08T17:14:00.000-05:00

Got some conditions back from the bank today. Some of them are a PITA, our broker actually submitted the loan to 3 different banks, just to see who had the better offer to us!
When looking at this loan vs hard money
My loan is 7.875 % with 10% down, no points state income. 30 year fixed, no prepay penalty (need for flips!). 4-5 weeks to close

HML - 14% interest rate, plus points. No prepay penalty. 2 weeks to close.
Which would you choose???

I read this whenever I get irritated with the banks.
The latest the closing will be is the 20th of November. Might have a bit of trouble getting workers to come in that week, with Thanksgiving - but I can at least get started on demo.

Appraisal came in good!

2007-10-25T10:54:00.000-04:00

The appraisal came in for the property. Got it for $90K and the appraisal came in at $110 in the current condition. Instant equity - gotta love it!

Mortgage commitment is being sent this week, and hopefully we can close in a couple weeks. I have until 11/20 - but hope to get in early.

Showed the kitchen pictures to my handyman to give him a heads up of what the project will entail.

Appraisal done

2007-10-23T18:20:00.000-04:00

The appraisal was done on the property. We are now waiting on the results. Should have mortgage commitment letter today. Hoping to get this financing pushed through to get the house earlier than November 20th.

Moving forward on new property

2007-10-18T16:13:00.001-04:00

So, I have the finalized contract on the new flip property. Closing is done on the last one (yay!!!).
Since there was a broken pipe in this new house, I went in and cleaned up some surface mold before the appraisal. I am going with traditional financing on this one as well. 7.85% interest rate, can't get that with hard money.
I can't wait until I am able to pay all cash for houses.

Looking into different counter tops, there are some local granite fabricators, so I might be able to get a better price on granite than on Corian. Will have to see. The counters will all depend on how much the pipe repair is going to cost.

Offer accepted!

2007-10-10T20:47:00.000-04:00

Yeah! Next property on the way! Dealing with banks can be a real PITA, you know? But, in the end - I get the property.
This one needs so much less work than the last house. That will be nice. Plus there is no seasoning on the title, which means I can turn it around faster!
Closing is set for 11/20, however we will push forward to get as much done as quickly as possible for an early closing.

Negotiations

2007-10-09T10:06:00.000-04:00

We are in negotiations on the next property (the one in the post below). I think we are pretty close to a deal!

Possible flip candidate

2007-09-26T16:29:00.000-04:00

Got a request for mortgage payoff for next week on my current flip. Looks like the buyers might close early after all - here's hoping!

Looked at a cute, cute house today that would really be mostly light cosmetics.

It has 2 large bedrooms, and had been recently updated. It appears that there was a broken pipe in the bathroom (probably freeze damage), and you can see in the kitchen picture - the beam area of the ceiling shows the damage. The bath pipes go through area this to the main waste line. That looks to be the only big issue. The rest is paint and new kitchen countertop, flooring and light fixtures. If comps work out, might go for this one!

Article on my last rehab.

2007-09-18T09:12:00.000-04:00

I have posted an article on Associated Content with a synopsis of my last flip. If you would like to read that rather than go through the blog, please click here.

Inspections and mortgage done

2007-09-15T10:57:00.000-04:00

All inspections on the house are done, and the buyers have mortgage approval! Yay! We have asked that they move the closing date up, as now it is wasted time since all approvals are done. Hoping they agree.

Have looked at a couple places. One would have been a nice rehab if it wasn't right next to train tracks and a factory LOL!

Also, have a multi family on the short list right now. Going to look at some more next week.

Buying a house at auction

2007-08-29T15:22:00.000-04:00

Real Estate Investing Through Foreclosures: Buying a Home at Auction
By Lori Kimble

As a real estate investor, purchasing a foreclosure home at auction can offer a great deal of equity for a small amount of money. Finding these properties is not always easy, but the actual auction is fairly straight forward.

So what should you do to prepare for an auction? First, you need to find homes up for auction. Purchasing an auction home is not like working with a home owner to prevent foreclosure - an auction is the lender actually selling the home to try to gain its mortgage money back.Click here to read the rest of my article

New offer!

2007-08-24T17:21:00.001-04:00

Just received another offer on the house. This one is actually better than the first one, so fingers are crossed that it will move along without issues!

Fingers crossed

2007-08-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

Had an open house over the weekend, and two more showings to come this week. There is a party that has requested the seller's disclosure sheet, so I have my fingers crossed.

We put up a thin plywood sheeting between the trees and the fence to keep the next door neighbor's dogs from scaring people. The dogs are very nice when you meet them, but are scaring people away. One of the dogs managed to create a hole big enough in the wire fence to push her head through, so that is why we put up the plywood. The trees are too close to the fence to be able to put up new fencing, so we just wove thin plywood around the trees and fastened them to the existing fence. That at least blocks the view of the dogs. The neighbors are very understanding about it, new owners are going to have some nice neighbors here.

Deal is dead

2007-08-09T19:44:00.000-04:00

Well, that was fast. The deal fell through. Apparently when the buyers came back to do a separate inspection for the heating system, they got into an altercation with the neighbors. I still do not have full details on what went down, but the buyers are backing out of the contract. They are still in attorney review, so they can do this.

House is back on the market! Gotta love it.......

Inspection done, waiting on results.

2007-08-07T16:01:00.000-04:00

The inspection was done on Monday. These buyers are not wasting any time at all! Now we are just waiting for the laundry list :)

There are some things I am assuming they will ask for, as I had a few projects I was going to work on while the house was on the market.

Offer on the house

2007-08-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

We received an offer on the house friday which we are very happy with, so we are going to move forward on the sale! It was on the market for 14 days.
Just need to get through the inspection and mortgage final approval. Conditions will be fulfilled by the 21st of August, and closing is set for Sept 13th.

Have all toes and fingers crossed!!

Kitchen rehab

2007-07-27T10:44:00.001-04:00

The kitchen was the room that had the most work done, and the most money spent. It's a small kitchen, a little less than 100 sf. It was in total shambles when we first saw it:

We were better able to really see potential once the junk had been cleared out:

There really wasn't anything salvageable in this kitchen. We changed the layout a bit, the refrigerator was located in the back hallway, and we decided to give up some counter space to get the fridge into the same room. There is also a nice pantry, which someone had installed a toilet in.

So - everything was ripped out, from the floor to the ceiling:

After that, we had some new electric put in for a hood and a new outlet. Then plumbing put in for a dishwasher. The hookups we originally thought were for a dishwasher turned out to be plumbing for a washer. We also added more cabinets above the stove, so even though we took out some lower cabinets and counter space for the fridge, we ended up putting in more storage than was originally there.

Hallway work

2007-07-25T13:17:00.000-04:00

The hallway turned out quite nice. There was a runner carpet along the floor, when we pulled that up, you could see water damage on the hardwoods from the bathroom. They actually came out okay after refinishing, but I decided to put another runner down, and that turned out to be a very nice touch.

The hallway required wallpaper stripping, ceiling and wall patching, new light fixture and paint.

Rehabbed bedrooms

2007-07-23T08:54:00.001-04:00

This house has 3 bedrooms. First views were not bad, although the rooms had junk in them.

They ended up being a little more work than I thought. There was wallpaper, which I thought would just come down and I would patch and paint. Not so - there were multiple layers of wallpaper, very old - down to the original wallboard.
I soon realized that this would not be possible to remove, so I skim coated the walls with joint compound and then painted.

The floors upstairs are red pine. The varnish had darkened to the point that I thought the floors were actually stained, but turns out they weren't.

Rooms finished. They were all done in the same color scheme: Magnolia Spray on the walls with white trim.

Bathroom rehab

2007-07-20T22:30:00.000-04:00

Already have 2 showings scheduled for the house! Then an open house on Sunday. Here's hoping the market isn't going to be soft for me.

The bathroom rehab was the scariest part for me, because it involved doing things I hadn't done before, such as toilet replacement and the tub.
This bathroom was just gross. Filthy, moldy and outdated. The toilet leaked, and you could see water stains on the kitchen ceiling below. The shower surround had small round holes in it, not sure how those were created, probably with a screw driver.

After inspecting the tub, we decided that other than the finish, it was in good shape, so rather than removing a cast iron tub - we wanted to refinish it. After deciding that, everything else was removed from the bathroom except for the medicine cabinet (which was original). Like every other surface in this house, there was wallpaper everywhere, including behind the shower surround!

After repairing the floor, I put down backer board and then tiled.

Then the toilet and sink were installed, then the surround. The tub refinisher said to have the tub done last, so everything went in but the caulk and fixtures.

After that, the tub was done. It originally was almond, and the refinisher was able to make it white. They can actually make it almost any color, which I have filed away for future reference.
Then came the light fixture and shower curtain.
Finished bath (the colors are a bit yellow due to the sunlight):

I really like how this turned out. The pedestal sink makes the bathroom appear much larger. I would have liked tile for the tub surround, but we had to make room in the budget for the overage on the roof. Turned out quite nice, and was quick and easy to install. It was a mid-range surround.

Dining room rehab

2007-07-19T17:39:00.001-04:00

The dining room was more difficult than the bedrooms and living room to rehab, because of the ceramic tile floor that was in place.
First impression of the dining room:

After closing (bank cleared it out)

We didn't know about the wood floors underneath the tile, and the first thought was to design a color scheme around the existing tile. The problem was that the tile was ugly, even though it was in good condition. Looked cheap and was pink

So, I thought it would be better to remove it and put down new tile. However, once some tile was lifted, we saw these great floors.

Lifting the tile itself was quite the job. At first, I tried prying up tiles, but they were breaking off in tiny pieces, which would have taken weeks to do. So I used a crow bar underneath the underlayment and lifted up big chunks. It took about 2/3 of a day to get all the floor up. That day was the most physically tired I got during the whole rehab.
Then it was just a matter of wall patch, paint, new light fixtures and floor finishing:

House going on the market.

2007-07-17T17:15:00.000-04:00

Tying up some loose ends, and the house will be on the market officially on Thursday. Over the next few days, I will post pictures of the individual rooms from start to finish.

Starting with the living room! Out of all the rooms, this was the one that was least problematic. Other than the general filth, it was in good condition.

First thing to go was the rug. It reeked of pet urine, and I was actually surprised that there were only a couple stains on the wood floors. When we first looked at the house, we did not know about the hardwoods underneath, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Then down came all the wallpaper and priming the walls, which actually did a lot to improve the room. The wallpaper was really dirty ( not to mention totally outdated).

The walls, trim and ceiling were painted, outlets were switched out, new light fixture and new blinds.
Finished room.

Appliances arrived

2007-07-15T16:49:00.001-04:00

Appliances came this morning. However, the stove has a dent in the side and a huge dent in the back. There was no way to see this until after it was uncrated. They put it into place just so that we could put the house on the market with a stove, and will swap it out next week.
After much finagling the dishwasher is in. We now need a couple spacers on each side, and it will look great.

Pics are a little hard to take here, since the kitchen is small.

Before:

After

Here, the old kitchen did not have a fridge in it. The cabinets were so low to the counter that there would be no place for any appliances such as a toaster or coffee maker.

After: we put the fridge in the kitchen, and added an extra outlet along that counter wall. Not sure why this pic looks so crooked?

Stove area, did not have a hood, or upper cabinets above the stove.
After: stove in place where it was originally, new cabinets and new hood.

Rehab week in review

2007-07-13T18:01:00.000-04:00

This week is bringing everything close to the finish line.

- Floors varnished
- Shoe molding installed in all the rooms
- Stair treads replaced
- Thresholds painted
- Garage junked out
- More outlet replacing
- Replaced blinds on the first floor
- Front porch light fixture replaced

Appliances will be delivered on Sunday, then I will start the cleanup and get the house on the market next week. We just need a few finishing touches done (including the handyman stuff).

Pics of the exterior:

When we first saw the house:

Thawed out :)

Today

Junk out finished

2007-07-12T18:01:00.000-04:00

Have a nice empty garage now! The junk out took a couple days, but nice to have it done. The guys looked through the side windows and commented on how nice my floors were! I agree :)

Been working on the shoe molding - only have the bathroom and half of one bedroom left to do. Then painted the thresholds on the front and back doors. Also got the new stair treads put down.

It's all these little piddly jobs that seem to take much longer than they should.

Tomorrow my realtor is stopping by. I had hoped to have the appliances in for that, but c'est la vie!
My handyman called, and he can't get out until next week to do the railing and a few other things. Seems like I spend a lot of time waiting for other people!

2007-07-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

Appliances will be in on Sunday for delivery. I was told the other day that in stock appliances were next day. So now I get them (and they are in stock) and no delivery til Sunday. Go figure.

Progress photos

2007-07-10T17:51:00.000-04:00

Today was outlet changing, and starting on the shoe molding downstairs. Also, the guys came to start the junkout on the garage.
Here are some photos of various rooms as they are now, and as they were:

Kitchen stove area

Bedroom

Dining room

Master bedroom

Moldy paint

2007-07-09T17:18:00.000-04:00

After putting the 2nd coat of finish on the floors, I moved on to painting the back hallway off the kitchen. I thought I would paint it the same color as the kitchen, so I got out the paint tray and roller that I had used previously. They were both covered in mold! So - I got out the leftover paint, and there was mold inside of the paint can as well. How weird! The odd thing is, this is special paint for kitchen and bath that is supposed to be resistant to mold. Yuck.
So, that area is now going to be white LOL!

Hopefully the floors will be dry tomorrow. It is extremely humid and hot, so I don't hold out a lot of hope that I will be able to walk on them tomorrow - but they were finished by 2pm so maybe they will be dry by 9am tomorrow morning. If so, then the shoe molding will go in the dining room and kitchen.

Another picture of the dining room with varnish. Very purty!!

Rehab week in review

2007-07-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

Seems like more and more little projects are winding up now.
Except the floors, which was a big project!

Finished this week:
- Kitchen counter top backsplash installation and grouting
- counter top oak trim varnished
- Cabinet hardware installed
- kitchen sink installed with dishwasher drain pipe
- all floors sanded and seal coat put down
- landscaping in the front

The house has two kinds of wood floors, downstairs is oak, and upstairs is red pine. The pine is really fragrant after sanding. Very resinous.

Will probably put one coat of poly down on the floors this weekend to get them started.
Early next week I will get the appliances ordered for delivery, and start working on replacing the shoe molding in all the rooms.

Love my floors!!

2007-07-05T17:24:00.000-04:00

I am so excited - the floors look great, and there isn't even finish on them yet!! Floor guys showed up before 9am, and got to work about 10 minutes later. They didn't waste any time.

The first floor is done, and they are coming back tomorrow to finish the upstairs.

On a side, note - a quick way to come close to being fired by me:

They are sanding the floors only, I told them I would be putting on the finish when I scheduled the appointment. One man said to me "So your husband is going to put down the polyurethane?" Not sure why he would think that, as I was the only one around. So, of course I had to point out that I did almost all the work on the house, and would continue to do so. Grrrrrr....

Here is the dining room at the start of sanding and finished sanding:

Old living room:

New living room (sanded and sealed floor, but no finish yet)

Uncle!

2007-07-04T18:24:00.001-04:00

Okay, the floors turned out to be a challenge I don't want to proceed with. We can get someone to sand the floors for us for $1.50 a square foot. They start on thursday and should be finished friday. Way quicker than I could get it done, and it still fits within budget (yay!!).

Part of this is learning what I really can (or will) do myself, and when it's worth it to bring someone in.

Now I can concentrate on finishing up the kitchen and the landscaping.

Sanding taking forever

2007-07-03T07:18:00.001-04:00

Spent most of the day yesterday sanding one room. It's taking forever! When I picked up the sander, the guy said I could probably get all 5 rooms done in a day if I kept at it. I still decided to rent for 2 days anyway (I had assumed 4). Well, the papers gummed up horribly, even after I removed a lot of varnish. One room is now down to bare wood, so now I can work to get the scratches out.

Spoke with HD about the sander, and they said it really shouldn't take this long, but there must be a lot of build up on the floor. And I would just have to sand through it. When I went to pick up a bunch more sandpaper, I asked about when I would need to call to reserve another day, the guy said I shouldn't need to. Haha - apparently they don't know me very well! I am still sticking to my assumption that the floors will take 4 days. Unless something unusual happens today and I get through the other 4 rooms.

Flip - the book

2007-07-01T21:37:00.001-04:00

I highly recommend this book for real estate investors

It has great step by step plans on finding your properties and a rehab scheduling plan.

Rehab goals for this week

2007-07-01T11:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, going to attempt the floors again this week. Third time's a charm, right? Getting the sander from a different place, though. Will be picking that up Monday morning.

So, plans are to:
- Sand the floors
- Finish installing and grouting the kitchen tile cove molding
- Varnishing the oak trim around the counter tops
- Landscaping

Again, not sure how long it will take for the floors, with the majority of the varnish gone, hopefully it will be quicker. Plus, this is a holiday week :)

** PSA - please take some time this week and donate blood, summer blood supply levels are critically low. We will be doing our part on the 2nd! ** ( http://www.givelife.org )

Lots of foreclosure auctions

2007-06-30T20:32:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-29T17:28:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-28T08:40:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-27T12:31:00.000-04:00

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.

Too hot!!

2007-06-26T20:49:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-26T08:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-24T19:15:00.001-04:00

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!

2007-06-22T16:57:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-20T18:13:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-19T19:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-18T08:34:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-15T17:29:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-14T17:58:00.001-04:00

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

2007-06-13T20:40:00.001-04:00

Here are some before and after photos of the hallway:

The end of trim painting is in sight!!

2007-06-12T18:28:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-10T10:04:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-08T20:54:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-06T17:27:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-05T16:40:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-03T12:35:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-01T18:01:00.000-04:00

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)

The throne is in!!

2007-05-30T18:03:00.000-04:00

Finally got the toilet installed. Geez.... I managed to put that off for way too long. In this picture, you can see the surround up (with it's blue protective membrane) for a dry fit.

For those that have asked, yes - the tub is tan. It's going to be refinished white as soon as the surround is up. The refinishers said to do everything else in the bathroom, and the tub should be done last (not what I would have thought, but they are the experts).

Got most of the trim and baseboards painted in the living room. Finally having a handyman (licensed) to come in on Friday to do the misc plumbing and electrical stuff. Or at least they are supposed to be coming......

New light fixtures

2007-05-29T17:22:00.000-04:00

Got the upstairs bedroom light fixtures done. Took down the old ceiling fans. I am not sure how people didn't bonk their heads on these fans. They were quite low. I suppose these fans have their charm, the date on the sticker was from 1989 - which is not as old as I thought they were! Anyway, going to give them away for free, since they are functional. I chose not to replace the fans, as this house has central air.

Also dry fit the tub surround. Looks excellent!

Old lights

New lights

Rehab goals for this week

2007-05-27T22:21:00.000-04:00

Short week due to the Memorial Day holiday. Plans include:

- Painting trim and final color in living room
- painting ceilings
- grouting tile
- installing toilet
- installing shower surround
- working on landscaping

All in all, progress is going well. The roofer is meeting with me at the end of the week to get the shingle colors picked out and get a scheduled time to start work.

House rehab week in review

2007-05-25T18:18:00.000-04:00

This week's projects include:

- Drywall repair to basement entry
- cement board put up in shower area
- removed a platoon of lily of the valley flowers from the front yard (smell great, though!)
- Dining room trim completed and one coat of final color on the walls
- Living room primed
- laid most of the tile in the bathroom (need to get some more)
- Picked up all the final paint for the interior

Here is a pic of the dining room. The paint is Olympic "Heavy Cream".

The grass seeds have now sprouted in the front yard, so that will be looking much better soon.

Wall patching

2007-05-23T18:37:00.001-04:00

Took a break from the endless monotony of painting today and fixed the walls in the basement entry. This is where the fridge used to be, and the walls were very damaged. All done and patched, they will need sanding and painting. Looks soooo much better.

Before:

After

Today I also laid the rest of the tile in the bathroom that doesn't need cutting. Plus started measuring for the wall repair in the shower. Having trouble with the hole saw, it doesn't cut very well. Not sure why, so that's a puzzle to figure out tomorrow.

Never ending paint!

2007-05-22T17:28:00.000-04:00

Painting again, and again. Of course, we painted the kitchen and office of our own home this weekend, and here I am painting again.
Got the bathroom, dining room and living room primed, the bathroom trim mostly done and the dining room ceiling painted.

Here is a living room progress shot from original to today:

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Bathroom is really starting to come along. Pics of the backer board, and the dry run of tiles. Today I started installing the tiles.

Tonight is a trip to the big box for a lot of big stuff. Getting some dry wall, plywood, backer board, shower surround and more paint.

Rehab goals for this week

2007-05-20T19:06:00.000-04:00

Plans for this week include:

- priming living room and dining room
- putting up green board in bathroom
- picking up shower surround, and possibly installing it
- finishing up the kitchen cabinets and measuring for counter top tile
- picking out paint colors for upstairs bedrooms and bath

Still waiting on the handyman who is coming to do a bit of electrical and plumbing work. Was supposed to get back with me last week, but hasn't. Gotta love it.

House rehab week in review

2007-05-18T17:14:00.000-04:00

Got a good chunk of work done this week.
- tiled kitchen floor
- primed and painted kitchen
- installed most of the upper cabinets
- put underlayment in the bathroom
- removed plywood from the shower area
- planted grass seed

The shower was a real pain. For whatever reason, the previous owners put up plywood instead of backer board on the plumbing wall. So, that had to be taken out. The faucets were very difficult to remove, but with a good chunk of swearing and elbow grease, they finally gave way. They are back in place again in the picture, since we need water access for cleaning and such.

Now we need to put up new green board and then the shower will be ready for a surround.

Kitchen is really coming along nicely.

Before

After!!

My new ladder!

2007-05-17T08:17:00.000-04:00

I got my ladder the other day, and have been playing around with it. Found a great price on QVC for this - only $198

24-in-1 MultiFunction 17'Ladder w/ Leg Leveler by Little Giant

These are some of the functions:
Positions include four A-frame ladders, six staircase ladders, three 90-degree ladders, seven extension ladders, and two trestles for four levels of scaffolding
and a leg leveler for stability

It's very sturdy, and surprisingly lightweight (looks like it would be heavier). I had debated about getting this, but now I am really glad I did. Going to be useful for our own house, let alone the investment properties.

Kitchen floor done

2007-05-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

Making progress this week. The kitchen floor is done, and it really looks nice! We got a tile from Lowes - the new natural stone vinyl tile line. It has a nice texture and a matte finish - really looks like stone, with beveled edges.
The trim in the kitchen is just about finished, and then the wall paint. I am going to paint around the cabinet area before hanging them, so that I don't have to tape off the cabinets later (I hate taping).

The backerboard is down for the bathroom ceramic tile. Should begin tiling later this week.