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Home Remodeling Project

This renovation involved the purchase of a listed property that was initially intended to be held and rented out but was instead sold after the renovation was complete. The purchasers did a majority of the work themselves. The renovation included the following:

  • Paint exterior windows, soffits and eaves
  • Paint interior walls, ceiling and trim and exterior
  • Replace kitchen cabinets, countertops, appliances and flooring.
  • Replace interior and exterior doors and hardware
  • Replace all interior and exterior light fixtures
  • Replace the roof shingles
  • Rehab. both bathrooms and convert the second half bath into a full bath
  • Refinish the hardwood floors
  • Repair and update assorted electrical problems and install smoke detectors
  • Repair the furnace vent pipe and have the HVAC serviced.
  • Etc, Etc. Etc.

This project took about 6 months from closing to closing.  During that time, in addition to the cost of materials, the purchasers paid the mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities on this property.

Below are some before and after pictures of the renovation.  The eventual sale of this home was the highest sale price at the time for the neighborhood.

Before and During Pictures:

Front of home before remodelingFront porch before remodelingKitchen before remodelingLiving room before remodeling

  • The front of the home before exterior painting, replacing the exterior doors, and replacing the roof shingles.
  • This was the worst of 3 rotten wooden columns on the front porch. As you can see, it is suspended from the soffit. A forth column was not rotten but was replaced for consistence.
  • The kitchen before any demolition.
  • The living room with the carpet removed. The hardwood floors have carpet padding stuck to them, as well as, numerous pet stains.

Interior paint colorsMore interior paint colorsHall bathHalf bath and closet

  • The previous owner painted each room a different color, in some cases, several different colors.
  • The hall bathroom after the sink and much of the wall tile and sheetrock has been removed.
  • The half bath in the master bedroom after the tile floor, toilet and sink have been removed. The closet was turned into a shower.

Broken furnace vent pipe

  • Corroded furnace vent pipe in crawl space. You can bet that the previous owners slept well in the winter!

After Pictures:

Front of home after remodelingKitchen after remodelingLiving room after remodelingHall bathroom after remodeling

  • The front of the home after exterior painting, a new front door (all the doors were replaced), new roof shingles and lots of general exterior cleanup.
  • New kitchen cabinets, countertop, sink, faucet, appliances, light fixture, tile floor, and of course, paint.
  • Freshly painted walls and trim in the living room. The hardwood floors were refinished and 3 coats of satin poly applied.
  • The completely renovated hall bathroom including, tile floor and tub surround, toilet, pedestal sink and faucets.

Master bathroom after remodelingLaundry room after remodeling

  • The new master bedroom full bathroom created from the old half bath and closet.
  • Tiled floor in what was a dirty utility room with no sheetrock or insulation.

Are you ready to renovate properties?

Home renovations are not always as fun, easy or profitable as friends and relatives (and those that would sell books or CD's to "get rich" in real estate) would have people believe.  This is especially true in markets where real estate prices are not increasing at an annual rate in the double digits.  Prospective real estate investors should expect a renovation project to cost more and take longer than planned.

Here are just a few important things to consider.  Is the property a good candidate for a renovation or is the lot more suitable for a teardown and rebuild?  If you decide you renovate a 1960's ranch home but all the surrounding homes were torn down and new homes built, you may find it difficult to sell, let alone, get a new home price for your renovated home.  Once you've renovated a property, do you plan to hold it and rent it out or are you going to sell it?  The answer to this question may tell you what type of renovation you want to do and how much money you'll need to invest.  A renter may not appreciate or maintain those refinished hardwood floors let alone a newly sodded front yard. If you do decide to be a landlord expect that a prospective tenant may not have your best interests at hand.

Here are two examples of incidents that indicate the audacity of some renters.

In the first incident a renter was said to have told the landlord after finally being evicted that he had not been paying the rent "because he was saving money to buy a house".

In the second incident the landlord lived in a home right next door to the tenant.  The landlord would periodically see the tenant and ask about the rent.  The tenant would say he'd pay it but never did.  The landlord went through the long process to evict the tenant.  On the day that they were scheduled to go to court, the tenant called the landlord and said "I've got your money".  When the landlord met with the tenant he only had $300 and not the $3000 he owed.  Since the landlord had expected to be paid-in-full he did not make his court date and now the whole three month process had to be restarted from scratch to evict a tenant that lived right next door.  The tenant moved out just before the second eviction date was reached.