Of how the property looked BEFORE it was fully renovated. Just about everything in the property needed redoing; from the plumbing to full redecoration. Now the property is unrecogniseable and will make a great home for someone.
Posts Tagged ‘Detroit property renovation’
US076; Just a reminder…
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
US073 Cheyenne; Work well under way
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010This nice house is shaping up well. After removal of old carpets, repairs and painting has commenced. Repairs include replacing of old lights with smart new ones. Making good damages to walls and sundries, such as air vents and doors, and some plumbing - making sure everything will function properly.
Stairs to the basement have been covered in hard wearing tiles. And down there, further work has been done on the furnace. It’s proving a tricky machine to get running as the model isn’t common. However, we’ll find a suitable replacement.
Last major job is fitting the kitchen. The previous owners left in midst of refurbishing their kitchen and we have a “bare canvas” to work with. Once done, this will finish off a super house that will provide an excellent home for its tenant and good income for its owner.
US073 Cheyenne; New Job
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010Roof already done, now internal work
Another typical 3 bed single family unit, on a quiet cul de sac. The roof was completely changed as part of a batch job on a number of houses a few weeks ago, so now it’s time to deal with the interior.
All in all, it’s a good property. No major works. The biggest job is fitting out the kitchen. For some reason, the previous owners had started on completely refurbing their kitchen, stripping out the old, fitting new plasterboards to walls….then stopped, as in being foreclosed.
It’s remarkable how often home owners are spending money doing home improvements not long before the axe of foreclosure falls.
We’ll need to fit a complete set of kitchen cabinets, work surface and sink, plus tile the floor. The next biggest job is replacing the furnace. We’ve tested it and found the circuit board cooked, so we’ll fit another unit.
Apart from the furnace and kitchen, it’s just a matter of painting up and sorting out odd jobs, particularly substandard electrical sockets. And new carpet.
We like this property. It’s going to provide a very comfortable home and has a massive garage to rear. In fact, our rental manager already has a tenant lined up for the place. Only foreseeable problem is the contractor we have on it is a perfectionist! He took too long on US037 Courville house, doing it to a standard far beyond the standard city code. Had to be “3 coats” on everything sort of approach, even though it cost their guy in charge quite a bit of money. He’s old school and finds it hard to adapt to the faster pace of meeting code and moving to next job. But, better that way than careless.
Pictures below property pre-works:
US077 St Mary’s
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Tidy Up
The crew have pushed on well and just about finished this off now. Kitchen is looking very smart with new plumbing and decoration.
The hallway and staircase have been laid with very hard wearing green “grass” like material and the stair tread in non slip rubber. These material could be used outside such is their resistance, but inside they should protect the floor from hard use.
That’s one of the main points about renovating for tenants as against just for resale – reducing future maintenance is important. Keep paints and carpet neutral (hence beiges we typically use for carpets) and put down low maintenance surfaces like vinyl tiling.
Blinds have been put up (a lot of windows!) as required for general renting and work items are now being cleared for city inspection and tenant viewings.
US077 St Mary’s; Works almost done!
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010Photos from 27th Jan 2010
Great progress has been made on this property in the past two weeks; it’s really unrecognisable as the same place.
A door now separates the two apartments, with the staircase refurbished (see rubber treads for a neat utilitarian finish) and the whole place finished in a lovely white/cream decor which sets off the elegant interior.
A number of new lights have also been fitted and the usual overhaul of the electrics to be ready for code inspection.
Quite a bit of work has gone into the kitchens, which have been rubbed down, repaired and painted. They will now look attractive to renters, as does the whole place.
And the new beige carpet finishes it all off.
We really like this property now. To be frank, we aren’t fans of split levels. They tend to be in seedier areas of town. We made an exception with this one as it’s in a good location and was basically a really good property. All that it needed was a thorough makeover and now we’ve done this, the owner can look forward to double rents and a much more valuable asset.
US018 Somerset; Project Finished
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
We haven’t posted an update before finishing on this project, but suffice to say the builder knocked it on the head quickly. There was some small delay whilst owners arranged stage payments via PayPal (they are slow and charge a lot – not a good choice for transferring larger sums of money), but this was no big deal and we are really pleased with the job.
The place is unrecognisable now. The shell of a top floor has been portioned, wired, doors hung to make an extra bedroom plus side storage.
The whole building has been redecorated and nice carpets laid. Lots of small jobs needed doing to pass “code” – like filling cracks, getting the garage door working, giving the basement a good makeover and repairing front porch steps.
At end of job, our building manager does a snagging list, if there are minor problems to sort out. It was decided the kitchen floor was not good enough. So we replaced it with new tiles, at NO cost to the house owner.
This shows how loath we are too charge extra on a job, even though prices are estimates and not fixed quotes. We know people like to know where they stand and we are developing a good track record of sticking to prices.
The owners are well pleased on this project. Final cost came in at no more than half their original quote! Saving them at least $18,000!
US061 Mansfield; Job Done in a Month
Monday, January 4th, 2010The crew have finished up in this property and it’s looking a whole lot smarter than when they arrived.
New front door with step. Windows and shutters painted. Inside, the hardwood floors look really good sanded and varnished.
All wall surfaces newly painted in light shade. In kitchen, revamped and is now fine for renting (or selling). New sanitary ware, and very importantly new heating and hot water system.
All in, a job well done, quickly and without hassle. And the proof of this in a tenant snapping it up as soon as offered. We tell our clients there is big rental demand in Detroit. Yes, there is, BUT, it’s got to be the right sort of property. Better houses in decent locations, like all the houses we process.
And what tenants scramble to rent, will sell for a nice price later on for sure.
(In the photos the boards are still on the property as these pictures were took last just before the tenant moved in. We usually leave boards on until tenants move in).
US018 Somerset: Same street, different project
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009We’ve sold 3 houses on Somerset street in Detroit – it’s a nice but not too expensive area ideal for rentals. A popular residential pocket on the border with Grosse Pointe where find properties are very popular for rentals.
The owners of this property wished to get a private estimate for the refurbishment necessary, which is fine. However, they were quoted 36,000 USD, much more than they expected or budgeted for.
Our estimate was over half that excluding plumbing and electrical – the amount of work needed on these two aspects won’t be known accurately until work progresses. As you might imagine, the owners were relieved to get their original quote well down – by 50%, in fact!
In the first couple of weeks, prior to Christmas break, we were able to finish the drywall in the upstairs bedroom, paint the lower bedrooms, hallway, and bathroom. Plus installed the toilet, repaired the roof, and patched the ceiling in the living room and kitchen (see before and after pictures of hole.) The boiler and furnace have also been replaced too.
Our contractor wanted 1200 USD for the plumbing, but we squeezed, as usual, and got the price down to 500 USD. We haven’t heard of the electrical supplement yet, but it shouldn’t be too much. We made clear to the owners, as usual, that the price excludes plumbing and electrics, but we are very loath to add onto main estimate as people tend to mentally stick with one figure and don’t like additions.
Another week or so should see this project completed – within the month or so indicated to the owners.
Pre work photos below with updated to follow:
US043 Buckingham; Phew… Job done!
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009This project is finally finished, with tenants in place. It’s been a bit of a mountain to climb – a lot of work. All basics needed renewing, such as roof, plumbing and electrics. Even floor in rear cloakroom was re-laid. That plus complete redecoration.
I remember very well the first contractor we had round at the beginning, who said, “no way”. He reckoned we were crazy to be doing such a huge job for the sort of money we had to. Well, we don’t like people who think something can’t be done. That just incites us more to prove them wrong. And we have.
We’ve done a lot of fundamental works that usually tally up an eye watering bill. Not for this lucky owner, though. He was savy enough to buy for a low price that included this long list of works. Now he’s basically got a free house as the price he paid would hardly cover the work! Fortune favours those that act, is our view, and we hope he makes a massive profit if he sells in the future.
The project has given this work crew of ours added confidence. Their other jobs will, most likely, be a lot less work and will seem easier now they’ve tackled this big job. It’s intangibles like that which adds value to a business and although we nearly lost our shirts on this one, we’re pleased at the result.
NEW PROJECT US060: Somerset
Monday, December 14th, 2009Another classic rentable single family unit. Decent street and nice solid building.
Range of works that need doing is fairly typical – the previous owners, a Bank, had neglected the place as they typically do. The back door had been forced and left open. The plumbing and some wiring had been whipped out, along with the boiler. The roof of the house and garage need replacing as well as fixing the garage door.
The problem with copper theft of this kind is the damage they do when ripping it out. Big holes are knocked in walls and a lot of damage done – out of all proportion to the small value of the items. We now as a matter of standard procedure, check water and electric circuits in all properties as just about always there are faults and sorting out this aspect of properties is usually the biggest headache and cost.
Additionally, with Somerset, the furnace looked like something from the Titanic..after it sunk. It will need replacing along with ducting. That’s $4,500 for starters. I note the price to make the point very clear that refurbishment is most definitely not a cheap process and our clients are getting very great value for money to have it included in the purchase price. In many cases, they are getting the house for just about free, if the cost of the works was at full market rate. Anyone thinking of doing this themselves – go right ahead, but just watch out for the numerous pitfalls that make a big hole in your wallet.
