Free House Update. I bought a large Twin Home but own both sides (closed Jan 1, 2020). Each side is a walkout and the lower levels had mother-in-law suites (2 bed, 1 bath and small kitchen). We live in one side and the other side is rented.
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/snagged-a-free-house/?action=post;last_msg=2691205So it has been two years. We did not renew the lease for the tenants that came with the house (the other side).
I wanted to make it into two units. I do short term corporate rentals and large units are not profitable.
The lower units on both sides were done as a Mother in Law suites. Well, each really were separate 2 bedroom apartments. The kitchens were great except they didn't have full size oven / ranges.
And there was only one laundry room (lower level). So I would need a laundry room for the upper unit.
I called around (Sept 2020) for plumbers. It was INSANE. I was quoted $2800 to hook up water and drain (water and drain pipes are right there - nothing difficult). It was a one day job. When did plumber start making $500K+ a year?
So I decided to do the laundry room and kitchen myself. I had a buddy help for a while but he went a bit crazy when Trump lost the election (aka, was unable to steal the election). Buddy couldn't work anymore as he was mentally disabled.
I put in a laundry room at the bottom of the stairs. I walled it off with a door (city requirement otherwise considered a duplex). I cut the copper pipes and put in a SharkBite T and ran PEX to the washing machine box. Then cut the drain (coming from kitchen) and made a drain pipe for washing machine. Hooking it up to the plumbing vent was a PITA so I used an AAV. I hid the AAV way up so no one would know the difference. One day when I have issues in the upper kitchen and pull out cabinets I will hook it up.
The walled off laundry room is connected to the lower living room so sound attenuation is important. When I walled it off I used offset 2x3s (2x6 wall). I used sound deadening caulk and caulked everything like hell. Then I used sound absorbing insulation. On inside I used 5/8 drywall and 3/4 on outside (works better than 3/4 on both sides). Then caulked drywall before taping. You can barely hear the washer and dryer even though they are on the other side of the wall.
I then furnished and rented the upper unit. It rents for much more than the mortgage payment. And this summer I focused on shorter stays (think AirBnB) at higher rates and just the summer is enough to pay mortgage for entire year and then some (a bit more work though). I had people come from all over the world. Fun.
I then went to work on the lower kitchen. It is small. Unfortunately, I had to redo it as there was no way to reuse the existing cabinets (that were of much better quality.) The upside is I have extra cabinet doors, etc. for repairs to the upper kitchens.
I have never done a kitchen before. I had to run 8/3 for the range. I ran it through the heating vent raceway. That took 2 half days. The cable is so thick and hard to work with. I had to cut holes here and there to feed the cable through.
The breaker box is getting full as I added a circuit for range, dryer and washer.
I put in cabinets and laminate counter tops. It took some time to find a sink to for the smaller space but was large enough to be useful. I just reused existing plumbing. I usually use granite but that would mean calling someone and it was in the middle of the pandemic. I put in a microwave with vent above the oven. And a dishwasher. Overall the kitchen turned out pretty dang good.
I then furnished it and someone moved in. It did well the first year and I also did shorter term this summer. It did very well.
Oh, I built some outdoor stairs so tenant could get from the parking spot to the lower level. They are less than perfect steps : )
Wait. There is more.
This property is a large twin homes - and I have both sides. I am living in the other side and it is exactly the same layout. I was tired after doing the other side but I thought I will forget all of the stuff I learned (my side did not need to be converted yet as we are still living in it). So I did a repeat on my side. And it only took 5 weeks as I knew what to do.
So we have two kitchens and two laundry rooms for now. Our intention was to only stay in this house one year and buy a single family again for us - but that $4 Trillion in Trump money cause housing prices to go insane where we live.
I was tired and need a break so...
We did rent our the upper level when we did our Global Run Away:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/global-run-away-panama-turkey-and-europe/msg3059619/#msg3059619We just moved our stuff to the lower unit.
So now I have a 4 plex that makes great returns and will make insane returns when we move out and rent our side.
I would like to buy another similar property but they are very rare.
