Author Topic: The slow rehab is finally finished!  (Read 4936 times)

Enough

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The slow rehab is finally finished!
« on: August 25, 2017, 08:58:23 AM »
Bought a foreclosure ~3.5 years ago.  Slowly rehabbed for over a year before moving into it.  Recently moved out of town and now selling it.  Wanted to share the before / after photos and financials.

Purchased: $19,500
Rehab (includes materials; tools; non-volunteer labor; taxes, insurance, and bills when not residing in it): $24,645

Total: $44,145

Sale Price: $55,000-60,000

Overall: I knew I wasnt going to make much money off of this house, but it gave me a 'free' place to stay for ~2 years (less opportunity cost).  Also, I jokingly call this my 'practice' house as I had never before done this level of renovation and, given the price point, there wasn't a whole lot to lose if I messed it up. My prior construction experience was volunteering with habitat for humanity about once a month for a couple years (which is a great and fun way to learn the basics).  I learned a lot from my dad helping me out with the rough-in type work and the rest was a combination of trial and error, the library, and internet.  So although the financial returns will not be great - probably negative if I were to pay myself $20/hr for the time I put in it - the value of what I have learned working on this house is huge.

Photos are not labeled, but before and after should be pretty clear:




























« Last Edit: August 25, 2017, 02:26:36 PM by Enough »

dandarc

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished
« Reply #1 on: August 25, 2017, 09:03:42 AM »
I want to move to where you live where you can buy a house that looks that good for $60K.

Good work!

Meowmalade

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2017, 09:22:52 AM »
That is a gorgeous remodel!  You made some really great choices like opening up the kitchen and moving things around in the bathroom!

meghan88

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2017, 12:12:17 PM »
Stunning.  Great choice of tiles in the bathroom.  $60 K asking price ... just WOW.  I hope you get an offer that's more than that.  Good luck!!

rab-bit

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2017, 12:20:27 PM »
Very nice work!

Stachetastic

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2017, 12:39:34 PM »
Amazing transformation in the kitchen! And those shower tiles have me swooning. Good luck on the sale!

CU Tiger

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2017, 08:53:39 PM »
Those floors are dreamy.

TartanTallulah

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2017, 06:18:29 AM »
Thanks for this post and all the photos. You've done a beautiful job of transforming an unloved house into somewhere adorably bright and modern.

happy

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2017, 06:22:39 AM »
Hey great work! Amazing changes. I really like the floors also.

kendallf

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2017, 07:57:25 AM »
Looks really good!  Too bad you can't transplant that house to, say, San Francisco and sell it for $700k.  :-)

Enough

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2017, 10:36:51 AM »
Thanks for all the positive feedback!  I put a lot of time and effort into it and I hope it sells quickly.  Although it won't result in the highest return, the changes I made and the level of finish reflect what I would've wanted if I were to live there for a longer period of time.

With respect to the price, the small to medium size midwest cities have an incredibly LCOL.  I'm talking large enough to have good employment opportunities and an aldi for the $0.93/gal milk, but small enough that no one really wants to live there, so housing is incredibly cheap as well.  I'll add that I plan to list it for 65k and hopefully get an offer for 60k.

On the bathroom shower and tile, it is best marble-looking porcelain tile that I could find (wanted the marble look without the high maintenance/stain potential).  Arizona Tile Marmol Venatino https://www.arizonatile.com/en/products/porcelain-and-ceramic/marmol.  Found it online first and then for cheap at a tile warehouse/pallet store.  And that is a MMM shower - just followed the instructions the blog post: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/12/21/how-to-make-a-relatively-sweet-shower-cheap/

Looks really good!  Too bad you can't transplant that house to, say, San Francisco and sell it for $700k.  :-)

+1.   I'd even take 600k... another zero on the sale price would be quite nice, haha
« Last Edit: August 26, 2017, 12:46:48 PM by Enough »

frugledoc

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2017, 03:43:42 PM »
Where is this house located and why is it so cheap? 

You wouldn't get a rubbish house in a bad area in the UK anything near that cheap, and the area looks nice.

jac941

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2017, 05:03:25 PM »
Looks really good!  Too bad you can't transplant that house to, say, San Francisco and sell it for $700k.  :-)

I assure you that $700k wouldn't get you this beautiful house in San Francisco. Houses in that price range are either under a freeway (literally) or contain "contractor's special" in the description ;-)

You did a beautiful job! Good luck on the sale!

SwordGuy

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #13 on: August 26, 2017, 06:45:46 PM »
Great job!   

Not only will you have gotten a free place to live, the skills you've learned will save you a bundle in the future, too!

kendallf

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #14 on: August 27, 2017, 05:06:41 AM »
Looks really good!  Too bad you can't transplant that house to, say, San Francisco and sell it for $700k.  :-)

I assure you that $700k wouldn't get you this beautiful house in San Francisco. Houses in that price range are either under a freeway (literally) or contain "contractor's special" in the description ;-)

You did a beautiful job! Good luck on the sale!

I'm sure you're right; my in-laws all live in the Bay area and renting for life is pretty much the norm for a lot of them.

To the OP, I bought my current house for $34k and spent about $10k on renovation and repair in 2014; it's now worth perhaps $85k.  Having the skills to diy pays off, for sure.

Lyngi

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #15 on: August 29, 2017, 10:40:33 PM »
Amazing!!!!  I've been thinking about your house off and on for days.  Thanks so much for the link to the tile. 

soccerluvof4

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #16 on: August 31, 2017, 10:21:21 AM »
Very nice work! if you had to breakout the costs of updating the kitchen what would you say that was all in? and specifically what kind of things did you do. I have been in my house for 2 years going from room to room around the kitchen and I need to do that next.

Enough

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #17 on: September 01, 2017, 02:08:14 PM »
Very nice work! if you had to breakout the costs of updating the kitchen what would you say that was all in? and specifically what kind of things did you do. I have been in my house for 2 years going from room to room around the kitchen and I need to do that next.

So the kitchen from top to bottom:
Drywall/mud/paint/supplies: ~$700(?)
Ceiling fan: $90 - menards clearance
Crown: $200. Got the crown for free, used, from a co-worker.  It was originally stained oak, price is for refinishing materials (stripper, sanding, primer, paint.
RTA Cabinets - $1,100 Got them at a cabinet warehouse seller and they had a $100/cabinet special, with some limited selection.  You can tell that the cabinet above the microwave should have been shorter and above the refrigerator should have been a deep upper, wider and shorter. They are actually high quality though, solid wood doors and plywood boxes.
Granite Countertops - $2,400 This was a home depot 'sale' that turned into a clusterfk
Sink - ~$100 - you can find super cheap sinks for sale online that are very nice.  It came with these rubber footed stainless steel grates that sit in the bottom that I absolutely love.
Faucet - $60 - same as above, very nice, very inexpensive, very much purchased online and shipped from overseas.
Stove / dishwasher / refrigerator / Microwave - $225/$100/$400/$75 - all purchased on craigslist or at thrift stores.  They dont match but look and work great.
Floors - $200 - the floors throughout the house is refinished heart pine that was under the carpets, original to the house and 90 years old.  Its not in the best shape, but I think the character and goes with the house well.  Total cost to refinish was $800 in sander rental, pads, stain and poly and counting 25% of that for the kitchen.
Miscellaneous - $350-$850 - everything else that I don't remember the price or am forgetting about (cabinet hardware, shims, quarter round, router bits and new wood where trim had to be replaced, landfill fees, pendant lights, electrical wire, switches, plugs, faceplates, plumbing materials, etc)

so total cost was $6000-6500
« Last Edit: September 01, 2017, 02:28:20 PM by Enough »

Enough

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #18 on: September 02, 2017, 12:43:22 PM »
Where is this house located and why is it so cheap? 

You wouldn't get a rubbish house in a bad area in the UK anything near that cheap, and the area looks nice.

Evansville IN... Small midwest city in the U.S..  Its cheap because no one that isnt from the area, you and I included, wants to live here, haha
« Last Edit: September 02, 2017, 12:56:25 PM by Enough »

paddedhat

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2017, 04:55:05 PM »
I love the before shots. We spent months looking for an older home and probably saw a few hundred repainted, 60-70 year old kitchens, and countless funky wall colors. Your place with fire engine red cabinets and lipstick red walls, is a whole new level.  Bet it felt pretty good to make those colors disappear?  Nice job on everything. Sad to see you busting your ass for such a low ROI, but as you said, it also kept a roof over your head for a few years too.  I'm impressed.

Enough

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #20 on: September 21, 2017, 05:32:35 PM »
Sold! Just accepted a cash offer for 60k.  It was on the market for ~2 weeks, listed at 66.9k

lexde

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The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #21 on: September 21, 2017, 05:41:01 PM »
Congrats on the sale!!

What's the square footage of the home? Those floors are beautiful. You did an excellent job rehabbing.

Enough

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #22 on: September 23, 2017, 10:52:08 AM »
Congrats on the sale!!

What's the square footage of the home? Those floors are beautiful. You did an excellent job rehabbing.

824 sqft

lexde

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #23 on: September 23, 2017, 04:56:57 PM »
Congrats on the sale!!

What's the square footage of the home? Those floors are beautiful. You did an excellent job rehabbing.

824 sqft
Very cool! That puts everything into perspective a little better for me. I'm seriously blown away by everything you did. Beautiful work.

Sister C

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #24 on: September 27, 2017, 08:49:03 AM »
Hey, congrats!  Beautifully done.  I'm especially impressed by that bathroom.  What an impressively awkward layout that was, transformed into a sleek and shiny new bathroom.  I like seeing your MMM shower.  I've filed that idea away for a future project... it's significantly beyond my very limited construction skills right now, but someday...

AMandM

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Re: The slow rehab is finally finished!
« Reply #25 on: October 09, 2017, 01:21:06 PM »
Fantastic job, and congrats on living and learning for free for two years!

I love where I live, but I just want to say that around here houses that look just like yours sell for $250k in the "before" state.