June 26, 2009

Hat Trick House Sold In 5 Days!

 

We Sold The House In 5 Days and with Multiple Offers! Yahoo! Last weekend we had an Open House California style. We ran the big photo ad in the newspaper, passed out invites to the neighbors, had signs & balloons on the major intersections and hotdogs for the guests. To all my Realtor fans, THIS is how you get 100 people through your house on a Saturday. It was really quite rewarding to hear all the feedback from the guests admiring the design and craftsmanship. On Sunday we accepted a great offer from the buyer and not 15 minutes later we had a Phyllis Browning agent call saying he had a back up offer.

 

 

The buyer had his home inspection on Wednesday and for the first time ever we saw an inspection report that couldn’t list one single thing wrong with the house! All the inspector could say to the buyer was “this one was done right, you better buy this house.” In all Tarrant Realty’s years we’ve never seen this happen. These home inspectors will pick any small detail just to make the buyer feel like he earned his fee. They’ll usually even list questionable things just to protect themselves. I think I’ll frame this report as it’s a testament to our workmanship and attention to detail. Additionally, this week we passed finals on our mechanical and building permits so we are just waiting for the power company to move the line from our temporary pole and drop it to the new meter loop. We are set to close in mid July and are currently searching and writing offers on the quest for the next project.

 

June 18, 2009

Game On

 

The Hat Trick House is finally done and officially on the market and in MLS. We’ve had a swarm of buyers throughout the rehab and 3 great offers before it was even finished. We went 9% over budget but luckily our estimated sales price is surprisingly up 25% due to market conditions! Our list price is $359,000, this will be the highest sale in our area and set a new high comp if it sells for that price. My wife and I staged the house and it’s all ready for an advertised open house this Saturday. We already had one showing today, one scheduled for tomorrow morning and an agent that sold another one of our properties (The Abandonded House) just called and her “picky” client found it today on Realtor.com and wants to see it. The agent from our first showing today said the master bedroom closet alone would sell the house. Really? Can’t wait to see how this weekend turns out and get all the feedback. According to the Brookings Institution San Antonio was ranked THE strongest metropolitan area for economic performance in the wake of a recession for the whole nation for Q1 09. Top 5 cities mentioned in the report are San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Austin, Houston and Dallas.

 

June 7, 2009

The Final Countdown

 

We are in the home stretch and shooting for next weekend to be completely done with the Hat Trick House. Woot Woot! As you can see we’ve made great progress this week again completing all the landscaping while the floors were getting done inside.

 

We used 7 pallets of sod, 4 yards of river rock, 2 truck loads of topsoil, $600 in plants and a yard of black mulch after lining the beds out with the metal edging. All that’s left outside is to paint the front door.

 

The hardwood floor refinishing is done now as well so we will install appliances tomorrow and get started on the shoe mouldings on the baseboards. The floors came out nice and dark, as we planned. In fact when they first started applying the dark walnut stain it wasn’t dark enough for my liking so I had the guys mix in some black pigment. They look dark and rich now and go well with my interior colors and oil rubbed bronze fixtures.

 

We’ve had numerous visitors this week and early inquiries from sign calls. Additionally the neighbor directly beside us put their house on the market Friday so everyone who pulls up to see their house of course sees our “coming soon” sign and walks over to take a gander. Although theirs is in a lower price range and not updated it has enabled us to get some traffic even though we are not in MLS yet. Everyone that’s seen our house has been blown away, one well-respected local realtor predicted that we’ll get $335k. Stay tuned.

 

May 31, 2009

Taking Care of Business

 

I had a big week on the project. Monday morning I dragged the whole family up to Ikea in Austin to buy the cool farmhouse sink for $299. After getting back I went and picked up 6 pre bull-nosed granite slabs and with the help of a friend we got all the countertops installed by 11 pm. This is the way to do your granite counters for about $10/s.f. I used the color Verde Butterfly this time. I had to alter my sink base cabinet to accept the farmhouse sink from Ikea but with some simple cutting out on the front and back it fit perfectly. I also got all the bathroom sinks and faucets in and the hot water heater installed. The A/C guy finally showed up and installed the condenser so we can call in for HVAC final inspection this week. We started sanding the hardwood floors Friday and I was pleased to see that most of the problem areas are disappearing. Once we come back with the dark Walnut stain they should end up looking fantastic. The wrought iron driveway gate is also installed now and adds a great touch. The floor refinishing guys will work through next week, while I switch gears to the landscape. My “Coming Soon” sign is in the yard now so stay tuned.

 

May 24, 2009

“Hurry Up and Finish So We Can Make Another Offer”

 

This is what the potential buyer told me Friday when he stopped by during my cabinet install. It’s the same couple that wrote the great offer a few weeks back. First time I’ve ever heard anyone say this, he’s really not shy to let me know how bad he wants it. They really love the house so I hope they get it. I passed final electrical inspection Tuesday so now we are waiting on CPS to drop the power to the new meter loop. I finished the fence, it ended up being a 4-day project with my helper and a total of 210 feet of dog-eared cedar with a rear, locking gate on the alley. Because all the cedar started to look a little “fency” I decided to go with a wrought iron driveway gate so I had my guy come and measure on Friday. After the fence I jumped right into the 30’ x 12’ rear deck project, only 2 days total to build the 360 square feet with a sweet bench to boot. When the pressure treated wood dries out for a week or so I can put some stain on it.

 

The cabinets arrived Thursday so I got right into hanging the boxes and vanities as well as topping out the plumbing. All that’s left for the cabinets are a few filler pieces, glass and the crown molding. The simple Shaker style with square lines really goes with the house and the wine rack adds a nice touch. All in all, I am really pleased with how my kitchen design turned out. The next major items to tackle on my list are granite slab counters for kitchen and baths, hardwood floor refinishing and A/C final inspection. I am ready to get this one done, it’s been fun but I’m feeling a little burned out from the final big push.

 

One more week until the Grand Opening of the $74.4 Million dollar Museum Reach section of the River Walk Extension Project. Here’s a great video containing a sneak peek of the new River Walk Museum Reach area and the artwork incorporated. Thousands of people are expected to be milling around down there next Saturday. We are planning a family stroll Sunday morning.

May 17, 2009

Riverwalk Extension and HUD Blunder

 

The Hat Trick House is coming along quickly now. I switched gears to working outside this week painting the garage to match the house and starting the rear privacy fence. Final inspection for electrical is scheduled for Monday so if we pass we’ll proceed with finishing A/C and calling it in for final as well. The cabinets and vanities will hopefully arrive on Thursday. The buyers who wrote the killer offer have been by twice this week checking progress.

 

The Museum Reach of the San Antonio Riverwalk extension project was filled yesterday as the water from the San Antonio River was allowed to flow South past Josephine Street into the brand new section. It’s not officially open to the public yet as the ceremony is planned for the end of May but since it’s really affecting our real estate investing activities we rushed down to take a peek. Below is a pic behind the revamped Pearl Beer Brewery and as you can see the water is rising and the landscaping is almost finished.

 

Additionally there has been progress on the “Grotto” farther South at Lexington Avenue. The pedestrian sidewalks wind under a false rock façade creating a cave-like atmosphere with a waterfall cascading from above for everyone to enjoy. The grotto was designed and constructed by a local San Antonio family, who have been involved as a tradition in this type of artwork. Mr. Dionicio Rodriquez started by making the faux bois Bridge at Brackenridge Park in 1926 and the unique bus bench in Alamo Heights on Broadway, which is actually made of hand crafted concrete. His grandson Carlos Cortes is carrying on the family tradition with the grotto project on the Riverwalk. There is a cool jaguar head that resembles a skull over the stairwell that takes you from street level down to the grotto. If you couldn’t tell already I am really excited about this project, the Riverwalk is currently the 14th largest tourist attraction in the country and now that it’s reaching through residential areas its dramatically changing San Antonio. This grotto is neater than anything I’ve seen at Disneyland and furthermore it’s free and open to the public. We have more pictures of the San Antonio Riverwalk Expansion project posted here on our site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$8000 Dollar Tax Credit as HUD down payment?

 

HUD is now allowing first time homebuyers to use their $8000 tax credit as the down payment on FHA insured loans. Isn’t this taking us right back to where the problems began with putting people in homes with zero down and no skin in the game? We already got rid of the “down payment assistance programs” due to the high default ratios of buyers who didn’t put anything down. HUD secretary Shaun Donovan announced this brain fart this week during a prepared speech.

May 11, 2009

Paint and Two Offers

 

The interior paint came out really good and we’ve received 2 offers already and the house isn’t even done yet! Build it right and they will come. Instead of popping out different room colors like a clown house we ran Ralph Lauren Macaw through the entire house except for the baths. With all the floorplan changes and the room addition now it seems the house is reconnected with the color unity and it all flows well. My electrician also came this week and installed all the devices, switches and receptacles.

 

The buyer’s agent I spoke about on the last update showed up Monday with her buyers in tow, a really cool young couple. I had told her my price was in the $300k range but wasn’t specific. They absolutely loved the house and have been looking since Feb and have seen almost 70 houses. They wrote an incredible offer the next day for $310k with only 2 pts for the agent so effectively a $313k offer. With the recent new comps I really think we can push it a bit higher and as good as the offer was, I really want to market the property correctly and see what we can get. There have been 2 recent sales (one was ours with Craftsman Bungalow) that have got $175/s.f. The new pending sale we are excited about will be close to $190/s.f. With our addition of the master suite the Hat Trick House will be around 1930 s.f. so even if we use the conservative $175 per square foot then that puts us at $337k. If they love it now just wait until the landscape is done and we stage it. The highest sale in our area was for $299k and only 1650 s.f., so it looks like we are headed to another record breaking sale.

 

Wednesday night we received a call from Agent #2 whom we’ve done business with before. He has another buyer who has evidently already stopped by, spoken with me and seen our project. They offered a little less than 300k and wanted to finish it themselves so they can pick the colors and fixtures. We’ve got about 13k left to spend but we also have final payments to our subcontractors and open permits to finalize. Plus as we mentioned, half the fun is staging it and marketing it so we maximize the potential on the project.

May 3, 2009

Tile and Market Stats

 

It took 4 days but I got all of the tile done minus the white grout which I’ll do Monday. I went to Daltile and opened a wholesale account to get the Arctic White ceramic because they don’t sell retail to the public. You can find white ceramic at the big box stores but they don’t have all the special bull nosed corners necessary to do the job right. There are also 5 different shades of white ceramic tile so be careful if you are mixing pieces from Lowes and Home Depot. I used 6”square up to the glass liner then 3x6 subway tile on top. For the floors in both baths I used 18” travertine. I spent about $900 for ceramic and $350 for the travertine for both bathrooms. We generally budget $3500 for a complete high-end bath remodel so we are in line here with this expensive tile. I think the classic white ceramic mixed with the modern travertine and glass achieves a good balance of old and new. The cabinets are also now officially ordered with a 12-day turn around out of Dallas.

 

 

We had several new, interested parties contact us this week including a realtor representing a buyer whom had heard of us through a lady 3 blocks over. She knows the area extremely well and didn’t flinch when we had told her our plan on listing in the 300k range and in fact she also was aware of the recent price increases in the area including the 2/1 that’s under contract for 249k without major upgrades. There is virtually no inventory in our area and it’s also helping push prices up. We spoke about why Mahncke Park is seeing such good appreciation while for the most part the rest of San Antonio is staying flat. She felt its partly because it’s the second best choice for a historical neighborhood to King William/Monte Vista where prices are substantially higher. I still feel strongly it’s mostly due to the San Antonio Riverwalk extension to Witte Museum and all the Broadway revitalization. Additionally, M.P. was just under priced for its location for a long time and is now just catching up. San Antonio Board of Realtors put out a press release regarding March 2009 real estate sales statistics and first quarter trends. It said sales activity had dropped by 25% but prices remain stable. From talking to struggling agents on the front line it seems to me that activity has slowed a bit more but as one agent just told me the other day “There are just too many agents in San Antonio, all hanging on after the boom years when Californians were buying 3-4 houses sight unseen.” Those days are gone now because investors in California and other bubble markets can get cash flowing properties closer to home and be better positioned for the next upcycle in real estate prices.

 

April 26, 2009

Color Me Historic

 

We almost finished the exterior paint but the rain came again Friday. San Antonio needs the rain but when you are so close to adding the final details it really sucks to be forced to stop. The replica historic wooden window screens I made really allow for a cool color blocking combo. The dark purple accent color is from Benjamin Moore and called Vintage Wine. Of course we had it mixed at HD in a less expensive Behr. I am starting on the bathroom tile Monday rain or shine. I was crunching some numbers in MLS on an adjacent neighborhood here in San Antonio called Terrell Heights after talking to a friend who has a flip there sitting on the market. Inventory levels are twice what they were in 08 and transactions are down 50% while the average sales price has stayed flat at 188k. This neighborhood was hot when all the San Diego investors were here due mainly to the school district (AHISD) but several eventually got caught with their pants down as the market slowed last year. The small historic San Antonio neighborhood Mahncke Park on the other hand has seen a y.o.y. average price increase of over 20% as well as an increase in sales activity. I cant wait to get the Hat Trick House done and try to set another record high sales comp. We are on budget with the rehab and our target sales price has risen due to recent sales comps pushing prices up. The cactus came up missing after I offered it to several workers. Someone came and dug it up after hours. I have to say I am sad to see it go even though we were planning on removing it for the new landscaping.

 

 

April 19, 2009

Paint and Rain Don't Mix

 

It’s been a crazy week jumping from one project to another and making offers on 2 other properties. We started to paint the exterior and got rained out on day 2 of a 3 day rain. We did however get 2 coats on the eaves painted with Benjamin Moore’s Monroe Bisque. Then we got 2 coats up on the body of Benjamin Moore Tate Olive before the rain started. We are doing a 4-color scheme here but the 2 additional colors are used sparingly on window screens and accents. If you are ever painting and it starts to rain STOP immediately because the paint will not dry! I still have a day or so left on the trim and columns but it looks like we are due for a sunny week. The green body color came out sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was simultaneously spraying the interior trims and doors with High Gloss White. This is tricky business because you can’t have any runs but need complete coverage. It’s very similar to painting a car (or in my case a beach cruiser frame with spray paint). Multiple thin coats is the trick. Halfway through the day the clouds rolled in and it started dumping so with the moisture in the air this paint just sat there wet and wanted to sag. We quickly got lights and heaters to speed up the drying, whew, close call. So we are ready now to put the color on the walls, which I’ll cut in with a brush and roll soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We still haven’t pulled the trigger on cabinets yet. An old friend that I reunited with on Facebook this week has a cabinet shop in Houston and can order from several manufacturers and have them delivered right to our job site. I am choosing white shaker style cabinets from Woodmont called Hearthstone. For the price that I would have gotten cheap Ikea cabinets I can have these better white maple ones. The cabinets might take 2 weeks to arrive so in the meantime I’ll tile the bathrooms. I finished all the hardibacker floors and shower walls since it was raining so I’m ready to tile now. We finally decided to go with 18” travertine on the floors but white subway tile for the tub surround and shower with glass tile accents we found online. There’s a great site called glasstilestore.com that offers free shipping on some items in case you want some glass tile for a backsplash or accents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 12, 2009

Why Is Texas Bucking the National Economic Trend?

 

Everyone always asks us why we decided on moving to Texas from San Diego to invest in Real Estate. Our plan was to pick a stable city to go to and flip houses while we wait out the California price freefall and then go back to invest in more rental houses at the bottom of the next cycle. We could have picked any state in the US but for us it was an easy choice (and not to mention I am originally from Houston). In the face of National headlines delivering nothing but grim economic news, Texas is a Lone Star shining bright, a beacon of stability, growth and prosperity. With the projected growth around the metro areas and added commerce, jobs and real estate opportunities, there will soon be a Lone Star Boom. Let’s see why everyone is talking about Texas:

• If Texas was a country, it would be the 10 largest in the world.
• If Texas was a country it would be the 5th largest based on oil and gas production.
• If Texas was a country it would have the 12th largest economy based on GDP.
• In the last year ½ of all jobs created in US were in Texas.
• Texas has largest population growth in US.
• 82% of Texas population is in metro areas Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.
• 3 out of the top 10 largest cities in US are in Texas.
• Texas is home to more fortune 500 companies than any other state.
• CNBC recently rated Texas #1 state for doing business.
• Forbes recent article picks San Antonio as #2 for “Best Bang for your Buck”.

 

This is a really good video that demonstrates why Texas is a good bet:

 

April 4, 2009

Post-mud walkthrough

 

All the tape and float is now complete and the whole house got textured today with a light orange peel. This crew did a great job and the house looks incredible. The texture guy was checking out my cactus in the front yard so I had to keep an eye on him. We ordered 13 pre-hung interior doors at roughly $68.00 ea. this week so they will get delivered Tuesday and I can start hanging them. I chose a raised 2-panel hollow core with oil rubbed bronze hardware, which we will use throughout the house. A nice young couple has been by several times looking at the house and found me through a friend who lives on the next block. They are extremely interested and love the area however I think we might be priced a bit out of their range. It’s amazing how hot this area is and what little good inventory comes up. Most of the houses in Mahncke Park are 2/1’s with tiny closets and not fully updated so our 3/2 with luxurious master suite will be a very unique offering and timely to coincide with the surging popularity of the area. Here is a quick walkthrough video from today.

 

March 29, 2009

Anthony Bourdain ain’t got nothin’ on me

 

Last week we passed the mechanical, framing and insulation inspections and finally got the drywall hung Friday. Eating cactus is a big thing here in San Antonio with the Mexicans. First the sheetrock delivery driver spotted my cactus in the yard and wanted to take some with him to eat, of course I obliged. Then when the hangers showed up Friday and also got excited about it I had to give it a try. Evidently you are supposed to boil it first and then chop it up and use it with eggs in burritos or carne asada on the grill. Eating it raw off the plant in my backyard was quite an experience; I’d have to say it tastes like room temperature cucumber. The workers I find are quite resourceful. My roofer on another house found a wild berry plant in the alley and harvested them saying he was going to make salsa. I tried those too and they were hot as hell. I’ve seen these berries for years on plants but always assumed they were poisonous. I want to know who the first guy was to try eating these backyard plants and find out they were ok. The tape and float crew came in over the weekend and got started as you can see. They didn’t find anything appetizing growing in the yard. By mid week we should have it all the way to texture inside and then I can take over with the paint sprayer. My stomach was feeling a little off today; don’t think I’ll be eating any plants out of the backyard again anytime soon.

 

 

March 22, 2009

Plumbing Inspection: Passed; Mechanical: Failed

 

We passed plumbing this week but failed A/C inspection yesterday due to some minor details overlooked by my sub-contractor, which have already been addressed. Second mechanical inspection is set for Monday. After passing plumbing I went ahead and installed the new plywood sub floor and set the tub in the hall bath and shower pan in the master bath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as we pass the mechanical inspection I can call for the framing inspection. It seems odd and out of order the way San Antonio does it, they inspect framing after all the tradesmen have finished. If something were incorrect you would have to rip out all those sub contractors new work, weird. So the schedule is: pass mechanical Monday. Call in framing inspection for Tuesday. Pass framing Tuesday and schedule the insulation inspection for Wednesday. Once we pass the insulation inspection we can hang all the drywall. My drywall crew is chomping at the bit and ready to get started. I am going to have it delivered Thursday, 225 sheets to do the whole 1930 s.f. house, 5/8” for the ceilings and 1/2” on the walls.

 

 

Take one last look inside these walls, next time you see the house it will be all sealed up. This is always a huge milestone for me; to see the house with all new drywall really shows how it will look. It blocks out all the “old house” smell and it’s all downhill from there, baby.

 

 

We’ve been monitoring sales activity a little closer lately and I ran some interesting reports out of MLS last night. In our little “area” there were only 9 sales in 2008, (2 of which were ours) and avg. price was 206k. In Q1 08 there were no transactions, so far this year we have 6 pending or sold. Average price on these 6 is 257k. That’s an increase in sales activity of 600% and an avg. price increase of 19% Y.O.Y. Currently there are only 4 months of inventory making it essentially a sellers market. While the overall market has slowed down in San Antonio our area seems to be a bright spot. The Craftsman Bungalow sold for $174/s.f. last year setting a record for high comp based on $/s.f. The avg. price per s.f. is closer to $155.00 so with Hat Trick being 1930 s.f. and the level of rehab we plan on listing it for around $289k –$299k. The only thing better than setting a high comp for a neighborhood is getting to come back and use that comp in your next sale!

 

March 12, 2009

Primed & Ready

 

After 5 days of prep on the Hat Trick House I finally got the outside in primer last weekend. Just in time before this week’s 4-day rainstorm hit. It looks great, can’t wait to see some color on it. My wife and I are considering an olive drab body color with cream trims and plum accents. The A/C is all roughed in now so we will be calling for inspection shortly. The plumbers are finally now working on roughing in the complete new system including water supply, waste and gas lines. There will be no trace of any old mechanical system in this house when we are done. Although the market has slowed way down this year we are happy to see 2 more houses go under contract this week within blocks of our house. Despite the troubling economy and all the bad press in the media, people still need houses to live in and this area we have been investing in is hot. Additionally, we are getting random potential buyers from the neighborhood stopping by asking when the house is going to be ready. The word is out that I am doing this rehab as we have developed quite a following in Mahncke Park, everyone loved our last remodel one block over, the Craftsman Bungalow.

 

 

March 1, 2009

Electrical Inspection: Passed

 

This week we had our electrical inspection for rough-in and passed. The inspector that came out was the same guy who did our last rehab house one block over and complimented us on the good work being done. I really felt guilty for taking out the original sashed, leaded glass windows after seeing all that white vinyl earlier this week. It had to be done though as they were in such bad shape and with tons of cracked panes. Additionally, with the room addition having new dual panes it just made sense on this house. To redeem myself with the historical gods I spent 2 days remaking wooden original replica hanging window screens. I designed them in such a way to minimize the appearance of the white vinyl. They came out sweet and will be an important accent feature of the exterior paint job coming up soon. I used 1x2 and 1x3 Poplar hardwood and pre-drilled, screwed and glued them. I also used the historically correct screen hangers still available from Stanley. After the screens are painted I’ll stretch the mesh behind the frames.

 

 

I also installed the pre-hung back door to the kitchen and went ahead and replaced the siding around it since I had extra left over. These pre-hung units are really easy to install, any DIY’er can tackle this project. Finally, I installed the French doors to the master bedroom so now the house locks up good at night.

 

 

Many of our regular visitors remember the wholesale deal we offered last summer called Bungalow 2. We sold it to another investor and he quickly rehabbed it with a full crew. He did a nice Ikea kitchen with granite and stainless and added a master bathroom on it as well. After being on the market only 44 days we saw that it just went under contract. Here’s how the house looks now after his rehab.

 

 

February 21, 2009

The Old and the New

 

As you can see I have the whole house sanded down and the new windows are in. I did all 30 windows in 1 day by myself. It’s looking really good now and it’s easy to imagine how it looked in bare wood form circa 1925 with a possible Model-T parked out front. Looking in the near distance you can see the new 20-story luxury upscale condo building called The Broadway that’s being built just 2 blocks away. It’s the largest scale condo high-rise in San Antonio and the most expensive coming in at $500 per square foot. The San Antonio Riverwalk Extension will reach 2 blocks away from this high-rise and our property as well. This area of Broadway will become quite swanky in the next 3-5 years with the addition of this high-rise and more on the table. We are in good company with the builder, Mr. Red McCombs who is also betting on this area as being a good investment. Mr. McCombs is supposedly keeping the top floor for his private use while the 19th floor is comprised of two penthouses at 4 million each, one of which is already sold.

 

 

The complete electrical is also now roughed in. All we have to do is set the meter loop next week and then we can call in for rough inspection. I hired and fired a plumber this week as well, after talking him down to the price we needed he dropped off his materials and disappeared for 4 days. He begged me to give him another chance and explained how badly he needed the work, I could only keep asking myself why wouldn’t he show up and do it then? If it’s this hard to get him over to do the rough-in then we could really be in a jamb when inspections started…better to clip this guy now. Of course we didn’t give him any money up front so we haven’t lost anything but time. The HVAC guys have started running all the ductwork for the new central A/C I’m adding. I’ve located the furnace and coil in the attic to save space. I am using a 4-ton, 14 seer Goodman system for this house. They recommend roughly 1 ton for every 500 s.f. of living space. Prices in San Antonio for a system like this with all new equipment, ducts, grilles, boxes and permits run about $5,000. Keep in mind this is an investor price; retail companies from the phone book would be quoting $8-10k easy.

 

 

I got the siding on this week as well. I used the “historical replica” #117 siding for the whole master suite addition so it matches the existing house. I did the whole rear addition with 1 helper in a day, a big day though. It’s been pretty fun building this “new” addition in the “old” style. It reminds me of the restoration/modified builds they do on old muscle cars these days. All old and original looking but with today’s advanced technology. They call these cars Resto-Mods. I think I’ll dub this house a Resto-Remod.

 

February 7, 2009

February 3, 2009

Get 50% Off By Haggling With Your Subcontractors

2.5 days and the whole master suite addition is all framed up and dried in. It came out sweet; I am really excited with the reconfigure of the floor plan on the Hat Trick House. I have the roofers coming tomorrow to put down a 30-year dimensional shingle in the color Estate Grey with ridge vents. My electrician is also getting started in the a.m. roughing everything in for the complete re-wire. I am also planning to call for framing inspection tomorrow as well so let’s hope for a pass, should be no problems as I went with 2x8 for ceiling joists and 2x6 for the roof. I had a bid yesterday for all new plumbing with permits including tying in the new room addition. This character had the nerve to bid $8,000. It’s really crazy now that construction has slowed down; some subs are actually raising their prices to make up for less work. I had him down to $3,500 by the time we got outside to the curb. I’m still getting bids and trying to hit $2,500 max.

January 30, 2009

5 Yards of Concrete & 200 lbs of Rebar Later

I finished the 15 concrete piers today for the 435 s.f. master suite addition. There are 3 rows of 5 with 7 foot spacing. After the bobcat grading I dug 24” holes, 2 feet deep with an auger. At the bottom of the holes I placed #4 rebar in a tic tac toe pattern, 3 pcs each way. Then I filled the holes up 18” with 4000 psi concrete to make the footing. For the pier I placed 2 more pieces of rebar sticking straight up through 10” sonitubes. I left these 2 pieces of rebar a little high so the sill beams can lay inside them. Finally I filled the sonitubes with more concrete to complete the pier. I have to reflect for a minute on how easy this is in Texas vs. California which has all the earthquake codes and bureaucratic red tape. The City of San Antonio only requires an Engineer’s approval letter for the foundation inspection of my building permit, (which I pulled over the counter). He comes out twice, once to inspect the hole depth then secondly after the beams are sitting on the piers. Try pulling a permit in San Diego. Drop off your plans, wait for months and prepare to jump through some hoops! The framing will start on Monday. Stay tuned.

January 16, 2009

San Diego, California Market Case Study

Here’s a good one for the bubble bloggers out there. To illustrate how far the real estate market has fallen in Southern California, our Flip from 2004 seen here on our site “The Probate House” just sold as a short sale for 345k. We bought it in Fall 2004 for 375k as an extreme fixer and sold it Spring 2005 for 500k. That’s a 31% price reduction off the ‘05 peak. It’s pretty crazy that people were paying 500k for a tiny 1000 square foot 3/1 with a 1-car garage. You could get a mansion here in Texas for half a million. The buyer obtained a Subprime adjustable loan with 100% financing. In fact, his “creative” realtor/mortgage broker tried to overwrite the contract for 525k and take out the extra 25k at the close of escrow for himself telling his foreign national client it was part of his fee. The poor buyers almost got stuck with it until our realtor blew the whistle on him and called the DA’s office. He was prosecuted and went to jail for pulling that scam multiple times. I wonder if they confiscated his brand new black Porsche.

Here's what the house looks like now 4 years later and worth 31% less. At least the palm trees I planted still look good.

January 12, 2009

2009 Forecast, Will San Antonio get Spurred while San Diego Charges?

The SABOR 2009 Housing Forecast was recently presented. They do it every year and hold it downtown in the fancy Omni Hotel conference room. All the bigwig Realtors and Builders give their spiel on the San Antonio Real estate market. Remember, these are Realtors painting this picture for us so take it with a grain of salt as with anything coming out of the NAR. They stated the following in their presentation, which I have posted here on my site. Sales were down 18% in 2008 compared to 2007. Down 23% from peak in 2006. A bright note they claim is that inventory is not however growing. This seems odd to me because as I drive around all I see are For Sale signs. Fewer sales but less homes being listed for sale with 17,359 units sold in 2008. Months of supply are up at around 8 but only due to the fewer sales. The average days on the market for 2008 was up to 87 and that number doubles when you get north outside loop 1604. Foreclosures were up 23% compared to 2007. The median sales price stayed flat at around 155k. According to the head honcho’s San Antonio Prices are now stable and expected to stay stable through 2009. The percentage price change per neighborhood can be found on the .pdf file presentation but most neighborhoods saw about 2% appreciation rate for 2008. There were reports in another earlier that SA was down 4% but that was comparing November 07 to November 08.

 

In a recent article from Yahoo titled 2009 Real Estate Forecast: Troubles Spread it states that some Texas cities could now also be in trouble like the rest of the US. It forecasts that Houston could drop 8.5% and San Antonio could see price drops of up to 10% in 2009. The article then goes on to explain how severely damaged markets such as Boston, Orange County and our hometown San Diego could be reaching affordability levels seen before the boom and may level off. My wife ran across a thread on City-Data that asked all the California transplants how many of them would consider moving back now that homes were affordable and back down to 2001 prices. Honey, pack the bags and I’ll load up the tools in the truck!

 

As always, Location, Quality and Price will be key for our rehabs through the New Year.

January 10, 2009

No LaDainian tomorrow but we have another LT, Darren (Lil Tank) Sproles. “I’ve played against him and seen a lot of film, I’ve never seen anyone get a great hit on him” – Troy Polamalu. With the incredible D of the Steelers we have our work cut out for us. The good news is the Steelers don’t run well and can’t score. With only 11 points scored against us at our last meeting, turnovers might decide the game. My prediction 28-17 Bolts. Go Chargers!

 

We are anxious to return to work soon on The Hat Trick House, stay tuned for regular updates once I get back over there. We want to give a special shout out to another blogger and investor named J. Scott at REIstartup.com. He and his wife also quit their corporate jobs and moved from California to the Dirty South like we did. I love his site, he shares tons of info, tips, numbers and pics. I can’t get off it. It’s a must read!

December 17, 2008

Recently we switched gears to the 430 s.f. room addition for the new master suite. It's a pier and beam foundation and since my lot slopes up towards the rear, the first thing I had to do was to rent a Bobcat and grade down 18 inches. This will allow for the crawlspace to comply with the building code of having a minimum of 1 foot space between the earth and the bottom of your sill. With the Holidays quickly approaching it's now time to take off work for a while and spend precious time wih family and loved ones. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

December 10, 2008

December 7, 2008

When my wife and I first moved to San Antonio 2 years ago an insurance agent told us the city’s nickname was “Land Of Mañana.” We’ve found this to be totally true, it seems most workers are satisfied to poke along and only do what’s necessary to keep their family fed and stay semi-busy. Oh, I’ll just finish it tomorrow seems to be the consensus. Since the cost of living is low here there’s really no sense of urgency to get anything done. Although we do most of the rehab work ourselves there are still sub contractors who we depend on and recently we’ve had our pace slowed down a bit.

 

 

 

The foundation guys disappeared for a week after there was a water leak under the house and things got a little muddy. You can’t lift the house to level it if it’s muddy because the hydraulic jacks will sink on you. I had the meter off but it turns out it was faulty so some water was getting by even though it didn’t show it. I had SAWS come out for free and replace the water meter so we are all dry now and the guys finally got the house level and are almost done.

 

 

The design of the kitchen cabinet layout is complete thanks again to our Swedish friend's website. Last time we wrote that we had some people email us and ask who our Swedish friend is...for all of you who don't get that joke our friend is Ikea! Yuk yuk yuk. The design required us to remove the 3 existing kitchen windows and put one back in with a new location so it's centered over where the sink will be.

 

 

I finished the entire interior framing this week so the new laundry room, hot water heater closet, refrigerator cubby, food pantry, hallways and relocated doorways are all complete. I also patched the wood floors with Red Oak in the areas where I opened up interior walls. Once the floors are refinished you won’t be able to see the patched areas.

 

 

We are ready to start on the master suite room addition this week. To prepare for the room addition I had to get a 60-foot pecan tree taken down and then grind the stump down. I got a great deal from some guys to take down the tree but once again they only seemed to want to work half days and spread out a one-day job to 4 days. Getting rock bottom prices from subs is a key to our success but sometimes it slows you down a bit. The room addition is 29 feet long so I also had CPS Energy come out and move the gas meter from the rear of the house 30 feet back in the yard. This only cost about $200, which I though was surprisingly cheap. They kind of have you over a barrel when it comes to moving their equipment so they could really charge what they want. CPS is really easy to work with here in SA. They even came out for free when we dropped the big tree and took down the power feed to the house to make it easier and safer.

 

November 23, 2008

Here's how the new floorplan is playing out after our drastic changes. As you can see we've opened up 4 main walls with dramatic arches. It has really given the home a more functional layout and brings in a lot more light.

 

 

 

We also got started on the foundation repair which is always 2nd on our list to do after demo. It was important on this project to get everything level before we even start the room addition and it needs to be lifted 3 inches in some areas. The house sits on 38 cedar posts, these posts are actually trunks of cedar trees which is common in this part of Texas. Each post is 5 feet tall, 3 feet of which is buried in the ground sitting on a concrete pad. Cedar is naturally resistent to termites, however, after 85 years and possible drainage problems the cedar gets rotten as you can see in the above photo. In order for us to level the house, we are replacing all 38 posts. We had 4 workers under the house digging the holes to pull out the rotten posts. How would you like to have to crawl under the house with only a damp dark 24 inches of clearance and dig 38 3-foot deep holes? These guys are rad.

 

November 16, 2008

 

We started the rehab on our next project “The Hat Trick House” this past Tuesday. It’s one block over from the two bungalow houses we sold this summer. It took two days with 3 helpers to do all the demolition and we filled two 30-yard roll off dumpsters in the process. I ripped the kitchen and bath down to the studs and took off the paneling throughout the rest of the house. There was no drywall under the paneling so we have a lot to replace. The house also had vinyl siding that was installed over the original waterfall wood siding. I ripped all this off already as well to reveal the historically correct appearance. I got lucky as the condition of the wood underneath was o.k. I also cut down the loquat trees blocking the cool front porch; we have some great features here to show off with this old craftsman bungalow so you need to be able to see them. You can’t sell a house if you can’t see it, right?

 

 

The house is originally a 2 bedroom, 1 bath with 1450 square feet. There is a bonus sunroom off the master but you can’t technically call it a bedroom since you have to access it through the master. I designed a completely new floor plan to bring this grand old lady current and get us top dollar on the resale. We are closing off one of the two front doors and will now be using the front bedroom as an entrance and study. I’ll open the wall between this room and the living room to give more space to the front of the house. I am also opening the wall between the kitchen and dining room and adding a hallway to access the sunroom in order to take it as a third bedroom. For the middle bath I am relocating the doorway around the corner so it’s not visible from the dining room since I am also opening the wall to the main hallway. There is an original room off the kitchen called the milk run, it is a narrow hallway used in the old days for the milkman to leave your milk and eggs inside your house without entering the kitchen. It’s common to find these interior hallways in older homes from the 1920’s and 1930’s. It’s basically a waste of space and this area will be added to enlarge the kitchen. With the new huge kitchen size I’ve designed a laundry room on the back wall that will be 36 square feet. My wife and I also designed a 435 square feet master suite off the back of the house including new second bathroom with dual vanities, water closet and shower. The master bedroom will measure 13x15 feet and have French doors leading to a new deck in the backyard similar to the last house. A huge 60 s.f. walk in closet is also in my plans at the back of the new addition. I’ll be matching the original siding to the rest of the house, as this “waterfall” is still available and called #117 siding. We are entering uncharted waters here by adding square footage to a flip. Usually we only work with the existing footprint and maybe open some walls or raise ceilings at the most. This neighborhood is fetching around $150/s.f. and I can build the addition for around $50/s.f. so adding this master suite should pay off. We are having a lot of fun given the opportunity to design our own master suite addition. Here’s what my new floor plan design will look like after the complete reconfiguration and added master suite.

 

 

Friday I got started with opening some of the walls for the floor plan changes. Since the ceilings are 9’ I am raising the headers up as far as possible to the top plate and adding arches.

 

 

October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween and let’s celebrate! The sale on the Craftsman Bungalow closed today! Yea! This was a really fun project for us; we were able to explore some different avenues through the use of materials and colors that were outside of our normal selections. It was quite enjoyable working with an older historic house for a change, but there was a real balance to be achieved with trying to preserve the original character but still use our creativity on the design elements. We were really pleased with the end product and already looking forward to the next house with more cool ideas.

 

 

We already bought our next project as well. I decided to call it the “Hat Trick House” since it’s the third one in a row in this same neighborhood for us. It’s another cool 1925 Craftsman Bungalow in Mahncke Park and only one block over from the 2 we sold this Summer. We have a really good feel for the area now and actually just set our own comp. After hearing all the feedback we feel we know what the market is looking for and have some ideas on how to capitalize from this knowledge. The rehab will start November 15 so stay tuned for more flipping fun this Winter!

 

 

October 22, 2008

San Antonio, Texas – Biggest Bang For Your Buck Forbes.com 10/08

Y’all May All Go To Hell, I’m Going To Texas -Davey Crockett 1836

Looks like Forbes.com is agreeing with the great Texian soldier. As just reported if you want more bang for your buck, head to Texas. San Antonio ranked #1 along with Austin on Forbes.com top cities to ride out the economic storm. Also recommended were Houston and Dallas. Forbes noted that Texas continues to do well thanks to our Energy markets, Technology and growth in Manufacturing. San Antonio was among the top 10 cities due to its reputation of where residents get the best value for their dollar, enjoy affordable housing and have promising prospects for job growth. San Antonio also has a huge advantage due to a growing Military community and number of Government jobs. Homes in San Antonio are also not likely to fall in value due to the slow (non-bubble) growth.

October 21, 2008

After a slow couple of weeks from the credit meltdown and stock market crash things really picked up. The 7th Annual Mahncke Park Home Tour was a huge success, click here to read the full story.

Within 3 days last week we had 4 showings on our house and 2 offers resulting in a sale. The buyers are looking for a quick close on Halloween, which is great news for us. The offer that we accepted included financing via a FHA loan. There is an anti-flipping rule that FHA has where they recommend title seasoning for 6 months. Furthermore - for investors who are selling their property to a retail buyer within 12 months of purchasing it, and the selling price is greater than your purchase price, the FHA might ask you to substantiate the improvements you did to the property with receipts, before and after photos etc. Under some circumstances only a 90-day seasoning might suffice. Make sure and talk to the buyers’ lender to find out exactly what their requirements are before getting tied up in a contract which could result in an extra 30 days before you can close escrow.

 

 

There are many buyers in Texas using FHA loans these days because they can get good interest rates and only put 3-5% down. We purchased this house in late April, did a 3-month rehab and it’s been on the market for 70 days so we just luckily will have the closing date 3 days after a 6 month seasoning period. This rule was put into place to protect homebuyers from mortgage fraud and predatory actions. With the current housing market situation though you would think our Government and the Lenders would make it easier on private investors who in turn are getting families into some of these vacant foreclosures, getting loans off the books and simultaneously bringing back property tax revenue.

 

October 11, 2008

The last 2 weeks have been really quiet, probably due to all the fear out there. This is a perfect time to go lowball some stuff and steal something because everyone is so freaked out. I spoke with my title agent recently and she said business hasn’t slowed down. Banks are still funding and it’s business as usual for all the people who aren’t glued to the TV or hiding under their couch waiting for the next Great Depression. I’m sure it’s tougher out there for the people putting 0 down or trying to buy too much house, but they shouldn’t be buying anyway so it’s probably a good thing. I spoke to someone today who went down to the Ford dealer, traded in his truck and bought a brand new one. No problem getting a loan. Where is the credit crunch in San Antonio? Maybe it’s just on Wall Street. I feel sorry for anyone who had their retirement in the stock market. In other news The Craftsman Bungalow has now been on the market for 61 days with 3 offers so far that didn’t work out. Next weekend is the Mahncke Park Home Tour so we should get over 130 people through the house.

September 24, 2008

We got our second offer on the The Craftsman Bungalow. It was $10k higher than the first offer. This is not bad but additionally they asked for over $6000.00 in closing costs so the deal didn’t fly after we countered.

Also this week we were chosen to take part in the Mahncke Park Home Tour by MPNA that takes place yearly, and is coming up on October 19, 2008. Tickets are 10 bucks and it’s open to the public. The local newspaper also covers the event and showcases some of the homes in their Sunday Edition so we hope to make the cut. Hundreds of people will come through on that Sunday and the neighborhood as a whole will get tons of media exposure so we’re excited. My wife and I went ahead and staged the house this week. We pulled extra furniture and accessories from our home and bought a few new items as well. It’s now been on the market 44 days so we thought we would step it up a bit, stage it for the Mahncke Park Home Tour and with the furniture it looks really good. Bungalow#2 closes tomorrow, yeah!

September 16, 2008

We have some good news and bad news. First the good news, we sold Bungalow #2 to another investor after putting it in MLS and getting a lot of interest on it. All cash offer, it closes next week and we got the price we wanted. This 2-week deal will net us a 25% return on our investment and all I did was pressure wash it, take out the carpets and mow the grass. We were able to make a decent profit and still leave some on the table for the next guy.  Had I not already been working on a rehab across the street I wouldn’t have run across this deal. It wasn’t on the market for sale, was not vacant, and according to the neighbors the owner would never sell it and I still took it down. This goes to show that perseverance is the key.

Our rehabbed house, The Craftsman Bungalow is still for sale. Although the first offer we received didn’t work out we are still averaging over 5 showings per week. It’s been on the market 33 days now. No sweat, it will sell. It only takes 1 buyer. As long as we keep getting the traffic we are getting, I am not worried.

The bad news is Hurricane Ike hit Houston pretty hard last weekend and flooded my mom’s house so my wife and I loaded up the truck with a generator, fans, water and gasoline and headed over to Houston to help Mom out. I had to pull up all the carpets as there was about 2” water in the whole house and had to cut down several large elm trees that had also fallen on the home. It’s a real natural disaster, there are no gas stations open, still no power in her home and a citywide curfew imposed until this mess gets worked out. Galveston got hit a lot harder, my mom also owns a couple properties down there, both of which seemed to make it through with just some minor flooding. Thank God it wasn’t worse and nobody got hurt, houses can always be fixed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 3, 2008

After 19 days on the market and 15 showings we finally received our first offer on The Craftsman Bungalow. We are getting great feedback and have had tons of showings personally to buyers driving around without an agent. This offer was from a lovely young couple who are first time homebuyers and not represented by an agent, thus saving us 3%. They still came in about 10% below our asking price, not a bad offer if we were your typical homeowner sitting here with years of equity but since this is an investment property for us, that 10% would represent a nice chunk of our potential profit. We countered their offer over the weekend so we’ll see if they are able to come up a bit. I have a feeling they were stretching already but we’ll see.

In other great news we closed on our next house last week as well. It’s actually on the same street as the other house but larger at about 1550 sf. As I worked everyday on the Craftsman Bungalow I noticed there was another vacant house 4 doors down. I asked the neighbors what the story was, all of them telling me that the owner lives out of state but would never sell. One neighbor actually firmly instructed me not to contact him because it would be a waste of time because even if he did decide to sell he had promised the house to this guy’s daughter. Did I listen to the neighbors? Of course not. I made contact and ended up closing the deal at 51% ARV. The day we closed I put it in MLS at 70% ARV and we’ve had about 8 showings already on this “Bungalow #2.” We figured we would throw it out there for a few weeks and see if we get any bites and if not our plans are to rehab this as our next project.

August 11, 2008

It’s Done! Last week was crazy, tons of small items to finish and 14-hour days but I finally arrived at completion last night. It’s been a fun 3 months and it’s quite rewarding to look at the before and after pics and remember what we started with. You can also watch the full video here if you care to see a more in depth look at the rehab steps we went through.  We’ll keep you posted on this project throughout the offer and sale process. We’ve priced it at the top of the market so this should be interesting. Stay tuned…

August 3, 2008

Monday started off great this week, we got another house under contract and opened escrow. (More on that later.) We’ve been getting a lot of sign calls on this house though and thought we were getting an offer but the lady who had been coming by during the rehab backed out because she bought something else. This week I put all the Frigidaire appliances in that I bought at Lowe’s. I used a stainless steel high-end digital dishwasher with the buttons on top, a 6-burner gas stove, professional series microwave/convection oven and side-by-side fridge with water and ice in the door. I also put on all the cabinet handles and installed the lazy susans in the corner base cabinets. The kitchen looks killer and is now complete! Additionally, we passed the electrical final inspection on Tuesday. All I am missing is the final on the HVAC, which should happen this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also put down a pallet and a half of sod in the front yard and laid out the flowerbeds, using white limestone chop rock as a border. The front porch was concrete and very cracked and uneven as you could see from previous pictures. The area by the front door is what I concentrate on the most when it comes to attention to detail. Buyers make up their mind if they like the house as they stand there while the agent fumbles with the lockbox trying to get in. I always make sure that as you look around while standing there, you can’t see any flaws. This is why I decided to build a wood front porch cap over the existing concrete slab porch. I shot down some treated studs and laid long leaf pine tongue and groove, which is historically correct for this house. After a light sanding I used oil based stain and then came back with Cabot’s satin Spar oil base varnish in 2 coats. The finished hardwood porch looks incredible and once I add the final touch by hanging the swing our curb appeal will be done.

 

My wife and I worked on the bathroom all day Saturday. We hung the mirror, towel bar, tp holder, did some touch up painting and installed the tub faucet and a cool rain showerhead. The bathroom is almost finished as well now, just a few punch list items left.

 

The rear of the house is almost done minus some general lawn clean up which I’ll do this week. I stained the deck today with a Redwood Tone oil base to protect it from the elements. I usually take Sunday off but since we are in the home stretch I decided to knock off one big item from our to-do list this morning but don’t worry, I still made it home in time to barbeque some hot wings and go for a swim in the pool. My self-imposed deadline is Friday to have the house done and get it in MLS for the weekend. I still have a big punch list of small stuff but should be able to get it all done this week.

 

July 27, 2008

Well, we changed colors again. On paint day my wife and I both actually started to second guess our choice and we put up another 5 color samples. The neighbors had all left their votes in chalk on the sidewalk over the weekend, not making our decision any easier. Picking colors should be the fun part and you would think it gets easier with every house but to the contrary it’s actually quite stressful. The wrong color can counteract all that hard work you’ve done while the perfect tone can accent the home’s features and get those buyers out of their car. We are really happy with our choice, the home looks incredible now, it’s a classy and elegant version of a traditional historic colorway. The base color is Behr Restful in satin, Trim is Behr Turtle Dove in semi-gloss and the screen color is Behr Thorny Branch. We found a cool carriage lamp at Home Depot in satin black for only $39.00 as well as an outdoor ceiling fan for the front porch. I really wanted to get some artsy house numbers; we found these at Restoration Hardware. They were a little on the pricey side at $10.00 each, but well worth the extra expense for this important detail.

Restoring and re-stretching the original wooden screens will be an integral part of our remodel. We even found reproduction screen hangers available from Stanley. These authentically preserved features are what buyers seek in this neighborhood. Another neighbor came by from the next block over; she had heard of our remodel and was searching for the original parlor door that separates the kitchen from the dining room. Since we opened up our kitchen wall for the breakfast bar I had no use for it and was glad to see that it made it back into another local historic home.

With the curb appeal starting to come along I decided to break one of my cardinal rules and put the For Sale sign up. I made a rider that states “Coming Soon” so any lurkers driving the area will know it’s almost ready and will be for sale. I usually don’t like any potential buyers to see my product until all the tiny details are finished but we’ll try it this time and see how it goes. To retail buyers, small unfinished details can be big issues but it would be nice to find a buyer without having to put the house in MLS and pay 3%, thus saving us over $6,000. We probably have another 2 weeks tying up a lot of loose ends and after everything is done we’ll put it in the computer.

July 20, 2008

After a full week (with 2 helpers) of scraping, stripping, grinding, sanding, caulking and filling, the house is almost ready to paint. First we ground all the peeling areas then I sprayed it with Kilz2 latex primer to make all small cracks and holes easy to see. There were thousands of tiny holes to be filled from the siding that I pulled off. All this prep is necessary to give a great final product as the paint job can only come out as good as what’s under it. These Craftsman style homes in our neighborhood are all 3-color paint schemes; we are choosing a green base, cream trim with brick red accents. I’ve been known to change colors along the way but this is what we’ve decided on after spending Saturday afternoon and $110.00 on paint samples. We tried 11 different colors including shades of blue, yellow, beige and green. You never know how it’s going to look until you get a sample up as they always dry darker. For real estate investing purposes, normally green wouldn’t be a safe bet however this neighborhood and style of home makes it possible. This will be the second project this year we’ll have painted green, contrary to the preaching of most real estate gurus. Since the last green house sold in 2 days maybe we can continue the good luck pattern with this one! Get ready to see this gem in full color for the next blog update.

July 13, 2008

I decided to tackle the deck project this week instead of starting exterior painting. It will, after all, make it easier to prep and paint the rear of the house. The deck is quite large measuring 20’ x 16’ with stair access from the driveway as well as the backyard. I used pressure treated lumber and screws as apposed to a nail gun. One more day and I should be able to finish the balusters, lattice skirt and handrails making it a 4-day project. For the cost of the deck at around $1,000 in materials, This added a tremendous value to the house due to today’s indoor/outdoor living lifestyle. On Friday I had another visit from the 2 ladies again, they loved the sidelites and the deck. The potential buyer’s agent proclaimed that this house was not “lipstick on a pig” meaning that we didn’t just go in and cover up all the bad stuff with cosmetics. After all, if you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig. After seeing the hardwood floor refinish job and asking what the exterior colors were going to be they then asked if I would accept an offer now for the house and if I could be finished by the end of this month. I don’t get emotional about a sale anymore, if they write an offer fine. If not, that’s fine too. I am confident that it’s going to turn out great and sell quickly; being in San Antonio, Texas, which is rated #2 for Recession Proof Cities by Forbes.com.

July 9, 2008

 

Yesterday a neighbor offered me some original sidelites (glass side window panels) for the front door, which he had recycled from a house on the next block. I was really excited to get them as my house was missing them and had been filled in with wood. When I was putting them in today I discovered something of a time capsule. Stenciled inside the wall of the house near the front door was what appeared to be shipping labels from Fort Snelling, Minnesota to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Additionally it clearly states the name of the original owner of the house, which is Lt. Col. W.J. Henry. I am not sure if the house was shipped in panels or if the wall was made from a crate which some of his belongings arrived in. In any case it was pretty cool to pull out a piece of wood that hadn’t been touched since 1920 and see who the original owner was. I think I’ll permanently affix them somewhere in the attic to assure they stay with the house for future owners.

July 8, 2008

Rain, rain, go away! Arrrgh! While the floors were getting sanded today I had my stucco guys re-doing the fireplace. Now the inside is just about complete and I am ready to start prepping the outside for paint, but wouldn’t you know that it has been raining for 4 days. The rain actually washed half of the first brown coat of stucco away yesterday so upon finishing today we covered it in plastic. Once the floors are stained and sealed I can install the kitchen appliances. When the weather cooperates, I’ll start painting the exterior, I can’t wait to pick some fun colors for this eclectic neighborhood. As you can see I’ve started outside by replacing a lot of the damaged wood trim to get ready. Besides the exterior paint, my last big project is building the rear deck. I’ve already got the design done and it will measure 20 x 16 and have two access points with stairs down to the backyard and driveway. I thought that the giant deck was an important feature for that indoor/outdoor lifestyle that’s so important to today’s buyer.

Two local Realtors stopped by today, one of them is a really nice guy who actually represented the buyers on our last rehab “The Craigslist House”. He is very active in Mahncke Park and was impressed with what we’ve done. We talked for a while and he wants to bring some clients through before we put it in MLS. We are still totally on budget and excited to get it finished. I also have been negotiating a potential deal that’s very close to this project, it’s amazing how you can discover hidden treasures once you are working on your flip and start networking with the neighbors.

June 29, 2008

 

The interior is nearing completion. I finished the trim carpentry this week, hanging doors for the pantry and laundry & putting in the kitchen baseboards to match the existing ones. Inside the kitchen pantry I made some custom shelves as well. The baseboards are 1 x 8 pine with a shoe molding. All the original trims had to be sanded and primed with oil base, as they were originally oil-based paint. If you’ve ever tried to paint oil based trim in an old house with latex, you know how it will just peel right off. I like the Zinnser oil based primer product better than Kilz. It’s extremely difficult to work with, you have to slop it on, move fast smoothing it out and don’t go back over old work. All that’s left now are all the windows and casements which are extremely flaky, this is going to take a lot of prep work this week to smooth them out and get them in primer. I just passed the 8-week mark for this project, looks like about 1-2 more weeks and the inside will be done. I’m still on track with the budget however I’m expecting to go a little over on landscaping and the rear deck. I’m not too worried though as the neighborhood comps are showing that my original sales target price was conservative a bit so I’ll list now for $19,000 higher than initially planned.

June 22, 2008

A 4-day tile project ate up my week! I’ve done my fair share of tile jobs but never all the bathroom walls; it was like doing one giant shower. I used a white ceramic 3x5 subway tile pattern changing to diagonal 4” at the top and separated by a sage green glass liner. The tile job seemed to go on forever. I also mixed in a few green glass accent tiles in the octagon white ceramic floor pattern. The sage green glass accent ties into the kitchen color while the original 1920 bathroom pedestal sink matches the farmhouse kitchen sink. You just couldn’t have gone into this bathroom with the typical travertine and had it flow right. I haven’t used white ceramic on a remodel in a long time; while it’s not the common choice these days, for this project it really captured the period feel we are after. I’ll set the toilet and original pedestal sink in on Monday and it will all be done. The bathroom is really cool; it reminds me of a grandma’s house but in an updated, fresh way. Ah, to feel those octagon tiles on your bare feet after getting out of the Jacuzzi tub.

We’ve had a group of ladies stop by the house twice now. They noticed the rehab in progress and came up and knocked last week. One lady seems really into what we are doing, it would be nice to have someone interested before it’s finished but my philosophy is not to show your product or advertise it until its 100% complete so I am not that anxious to impress them. I know another investor that starts the rehab and then lines up his buyers and lets them make changes along the way. IMO, working with buyers nitpicking colors and changing things isn’t worth the drama. That’s why I am not a general contractor! I would rather use my own creativity, build a unique product, and then throw it out there into the marketplace. After all, that’s why I enjoy doing this anyway.

June 15, 2008

We reached some important milestones this week. The A/C is on, big deal in this 98 degree Texas heat! I finished all the cabinets as well as installed the granite slab countertops. I get the pre-bullnosed 8’ slabs fabricated in China and cut the dog-ears myself to seam them. This is the best way to go for rehabbers because it’s very cost effective and highly desirable for resale. We wanted to go dark to give some contrast to the white cabinets so I picked Uba Tuba green. I dropped in a farmhouse style kitchen sink that’s very popular right now and furthermore mimics the original kitchen but in an updated version. All the light fixtures and ceiling fans are up now and we are waiting for both the electrical and HVAC final inspections this week.

We broke out the big guns this week and unleashed our secret weapon - it’s an iPort in-wall dock for your iPod or iPhone. Flush-mounted in the wall just inside the front door, this device allows you to play your favorite music through the whole house surround sound system. You can also send images directly to your flat screen TV. My pre-wire included HDMI and an 110v outlet above the fireplace for easy TV installation. The iPort is connected using a cat5 wire from the dock location to your media center (on this house I selected a closet). You can also dock your iPhone, as it will charge either device. Studies have shown that buyers today are looking for smart wiring and tech goodies. This neighborhood attracts young, hip first time buyers so chances are good that they will be iPod savvy. I felt the minimal cost of $200 for adding this cool feature was a good investment for this house.

Additionally, my blog was showcased this week on REItips.com, check out their site for some great real estate investing resources.

June 8, 2008

We got the A/C roughed in this week, it has all new ducts and we relocated the furnace up into the attic. After a couple of tries we also nailed down the paint color for the kitchen. It's a Benjamin Moore color called Spring Valley but we went to Home Depot and had them match it in Behr because we would never pay $50 for a gallon of paint. As we said before, we really want to do something different with this house since it's a 1920s bungalow. By using green in the kitchen it gives it a more authentic 20's feel and the color turned out exactly as we'd hoped. We went with the white cabinets that have some glass front doors and fluted lines. We got most of the upper cabinets hung on the wall and started on the lowers as you can see in the picture, it's starting to look really cool. Keep in mind that we're going to refinish the original long leaf pine floors in the kitchen. We're thinking of using black granite on the countertops and stainless appliances. White appliances would probably look really good and more period-correct but most buyers today are still looking for stainless.

We've noticed a lot of return visitors to this site so thanks for checking it out.

June 1, 2008

This week I spent a lot of time sanding and mudding to get the drywall ready for texture. After taping the baseboards and door casings off yesterday I sprayed a light pattern of orange peel texture with my hopper on the entire interior of the house, walls and ceiling. We're ready tomorrow to go in there and spray a good coat of primer on everything and then spray the ceilings only with flat white ceiling paint. I'll use a brush and roller for all the rest of the interior walls a little later in the project.

I also put a lot of work into the bathroom this week. I started out by putting in a new plywood subfloor and a toilet ring. I also framed out a box for the new jetted tub. This tub requires a designated 110 circuit so we pulled a wire from under the house into the tub box. Code calls for a GFI protection but you don't want to use a receptacle underneath the tub where the motor plugs in becuase if it trips you won't be able to get in there to reset it. We'll obtain our protection from a GFCI breaker on the panel instead. I had to go under the house to remove the old lead drum trap and change the system over to PVC with a P-trap.

After tying in the plumbing I mixed up 2 bags of mortar and dumped it into the tub box as a big blob.  I then dropped in the tub and while doing so I pushed down gently and it squeezed the mortar bed out to a perfect thickness to fill the gap between the bottom of the tub and the subfloor.  This is really important so when you're standing in the tub and using it as a shower the bottom won't flex and all the weight of the water and the person isn't supported by the outer rim of the tub.  This is the correct way to install a jetted tub as per the manufacturer's instructions. I've seen other people use spray foam as a fill but it doesn't provide as much support.  I dropped in the tub unit and used hardibacker for the surround as well as the floor. For the walls in the bathroom I used blueboard tile backer since these aren't in direct wet areas. Now the bathroom is completely ready for tile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 25, 2008

We passed our electrical rough-in inspection on Tuesday.  My helper Nacho and I started right away hanging the drywall and we finished the tape and float on Friday. You can really start to see how the new kitchen is going to look and it's exciting. All the "old house smells" are now gone as the walls are all sealed up. Additionally, I put in a new back door on the kitchen and a new subfloor in the bath. My A/C guy is coming Tuesday to start running all the ductwork and install the furnace in the attic for new central air conditioning.  I originally planned to place the compressor on the side of the house so I had the electrician run the power there, but after pulling the permit we were advised that since we are in a historic neighborhood we couldn’t have the equipment visable from the street so I decided to put it in the backyard. Another neighbor stopped by today to tell me how happy she was to see someone finally doing something with this old house.

May 18, 2008

This week we roughed in all the plumbing as we had to relocate supply and drainage for the kitchen sink and the new washer & dryer location. One nice thing about pier & beam homes is that it's relatively simple to relocate appliances because there's more room underneath the house to crawl around and move any lines. On Friday and Saturday we handled the roof. It was a 2 day project because we had to tear off 2 layers which included the original cedar shake shingle below. We found one more dead raccoon when we took off the old roof bringing the count to 5! After redecking the roof with plywood I chose a 30-year dimensional shingle in the color Estate Grey. It's always good to do the roof before you start any of your drywall repair, that way you won't have any surprises on your new tape and float job after a rain. You'll notice from the photo below that I also retrimmed the windows. The electrical inspection is set for Tuesday so once that's clear we can start hanging the drywall.

May 9, 2008

We had a good first week. Outside I trimmed up the landscaping so you can actually see the house now and also removed all the asbestos siding to expose the original waterfall siding. Inside we took care of all the demo which included a complete kitchen and bath gut as well as a makeshift rear addition that was on the back of the house. We filled up a dumpster and a half with all of that. Upon tearing out the kitchen cabinets we discovered what the horrible smell was that we had originally thought might be a dead rat in the wall...there were dead raccoons above the cabinets as well as in the attic. After the demo we tackled the foundation. Since there was a previous foundation job done on the house which included 45 concrete piers we only had to use steel shims to lift it 2" max in some areas.

All the framing also went really smoothly. As planned, we opened up the kitchen to the dining room and the dining room to the living room with two dramatic arches. Inside the kitchen we firred out a wall to accomodate a stacked washer & dryer as well as a food pantry. We also closed up the 2nd front door to the house and installed a pull-down attic ladder. Additionally, the electrical is now all roughed in including flat-screen, surround sound and cat-5 wiring throughout.

May 3, 2008

After taking exact measurements of the kitchen space and window locations, I went to my Swedish friend's website to get an easy look in 3-D at how my kitchen would look. We were able to play around with different configurations until we got the best use of our space. Since cabinet boxes come in standard sizes this tool is a good way to lay out your options whether you end up buying the cabinets from there or not.

April 28, 2008

I bought this 1920's Craftsman bungalow from the caretaker of the original owner. She inherited the home and did not want it. The house had been sitting vacant for 18 years, except for 35 cats which the caretaker was being paid to feed. We are once again the hero for all the existing neighbors as you can imagine.There is an addition on the rear of the home that served as a feline master suite. This will have to be removed as it's poorly constructed. This house will get new central heat/air, ductwork, roof, complete electrical, kitchen, bath, hardwood refinishing, foundation leveling, remove exterior asbestos siding to expose original waterfall siding as well as paint in and out. Additionally I plan to reframe a new gable and columns at the porch area to give it more curb appeal, close off the second front door and add a porch swing.

As far as floorplan changes, the kitchen will be opened up to the dining room with an arched pass-through but I don't want to change too much to disturb the period feel of the home. All the original interior and exterior doors will be refurbished and kept in place as well as the original sashed windows will remain. I plan to use different materials on this home than our usual materials which are travertine, cherry cabinets and granite. This one may get some white ceramic tile in the bath with a subway pattern. This historical San Antonio neighborhood called Mahncke Park is seeing a huge revitalization push with its proximity to Alamo Heights, Witte Museum, Downtown and the Riverwalk Extension Project.