repairing years of deferred maintenance

The former owner had neglected repairing the roof, the rotting siding & fumes leaking gas furnace. The current renter was at first cooperative, asking for the time needed to find a new home. She had two months by law and we informed her so. However, she hired a public defender who pressed for monetary damages and over time she was evicted and her attorney shown the legal door. The house was finally ready for renovation as the November rains came in from the Pacific. The home’s lack of roof eaves would prove problematic as the siding was continually rewetted by the rain with no overhead protection.

A home with a laundry list of repairs…..

Homes purchased in foreclosure can range in condition from extensive renovation to nearly new. The turnkeys need a dab of touch up painting & deep cleaning to be market ready. At the other end of the spectrum are those with gaping holes in the roof and rotted subflooring. This home was somewhere in the middle needing a new roof, selective replacement of rotted siding & broken windows, a new kitchen, gas furnace & painting both interior & exterior.

choosing what to keep & what to replace

The main picture window was in good shape however the entry door was damaged and uninviting. It was replaced with a craftsman style door painted a warm inviting red toneon the outside. The iron & wood bench had character and was kept once a few wood boards were replaced. Aside from some paint streaks & scratches, the hardwood floors were in good shape and were deep cleaned. Hardwood floors typically hold up well with the except of those damaged by pet urine. The acidic nature of urine either darkly stains or literally dissolves the wood if left in place.

The home needed a new 200 amp electrical panel with a further complication of having the service coming into an underground vault. We replaced the underground cable from the vault to the panel & removed the large stump in during trenching process.

should i stay or should i go….

A new kitchen with solid wood cabinetry, granite counter tops & a stainless steel sink & appliances is a fairly expensive investment. It does, however, have a well proven track record of helping the home find an eager buyer. In return for cash out of pocket, the kitchen remodel can both raise the asking price & reduce market time. Repainting the cabinets was an option. But since we needed to replace the damaged faux wood laminate flooring we decided to remove them. This allowed for the vinyl flooring to be laid down with minimal cuts and the new cabinetry to be installed above.

The trenching & back filling had scared up the lawn & the house had such a blank wall facing the street. Wholesale purchased mature plants, along with decorative rocks, were used to create a more generous garden and to give the home greater street appeal.

a myriad of issues….

Obviously the goal of purchasing at auction is to make money on the final renovated home, balancing what is spent verses what the expected final income will be. We discovered many maintenance issues with this house and the expenses were beyond what we expected. A small profit was made, far less than what the television hucksters claim they make on every flip. We have yet to see those kinds of obviously inflated numbers and the program producers should be exposed for what they are: hyped up charlatans selling a get rich quick dream with no regards for the real risks foreclosure buyers take when purchasing at auction. A myriad of issues can come up once you own the property and all must be addressed before the wired proceeds of the sale get deposited into your account. Buyers are justifiably fickle and the competition to be that chosen fixed up “fixer-upper” over other historically well maintained homes is fierce.