How to completely rehab your home in 10 days!
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Article by: Dan Auito Complete Home , How To Promote Your Gardening Website Rehab in 10 Days By Dan Auito This report is about taking a house , How to Turn a Waitlist into an Acceptance and restoring it to an aesthetically pleasing dwelling that has reclaimed its functional utility. In effect, it is the anti-aging medication for bricks and mortar. This report assumes that you have already or will soon acquire the proper house. , A Look at Aluminum Awnings The one that is in essence, ripe for rehab. Be selective and sure of the house's potential to allow for a profit after all the hard work is done. I will help you find your house , Tarps – Your Versatile Outdoor Friend or houses. , How to Get the Most From Your Home Theater - Without Spendin In the proverbial nutshell, it helps if you choose a house , 5 Reasons To Stock Up On Firewood In Early Spring from the start that has a sound plumbing, , I PLANT A GARDEN EVERY YEAR heating and electrical system. - Plumbing - Heating - Electrical These are things that are expensive to correct in relation to the value they return to you upon resale. Most often, people cannot see the inner workings of these systems and they take them for granted. Very few buyers are going to give you an extra $15,000-$20,000 in your asking price because you have replaced things that they can't see and already take for granted as just a basic component that is buried in the structure. Also, they assume these components to be warranted against defects by you. After all, it is mandatory in most, if not all states that you fill out a disclosure form that tells the buyer of every defect that exists or ever has to your knowledge. So inspect the systems of your investment alternatives carefully, as they can be expensive to repair , Control Those Weeds the Easy Way and replace, with minimum dollar return value being realized at the sale. Along these same lines, you should also pay close attention to the following cash vacuums: - Roof - Foundation - Structural Integrity Here are a few ways to quickly gage a home , Next Day Flower Delivery from its appearance: Stand across the street from it. Now look at the bones of the structure. Does it look like a sway-backed horse, with the roof , Re-Define What "Clean" Means for You and Your Home sagging in the middle? Does it have flat , Control Those Weeds the Easy Way areas in its design , 6 REALLY COOL THINGS: BE the KING of your CASTLE!!! that don't allow water , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. to be drained away quickly? Water, dampness and rot are the equivalent of cancer to the human body when it concerns a structure. Shingles can be replaced. That won't necessarily stop me from buying. Usually I will use that old roof , Update on Herbs as a bargaining chip in negotiating the seller down to a lower price. However, if I crawl into the attic and see that the plywood has become rotted and truss members are also affected, it's time to move on to my next potential deal. Life is too short and I will never rehab it in 10 days if I have to rip the roof , Home Loans And Mortgages – One Third Of Homes In U.s. Overva off and rebuild it too. Some other conditions, such as sagging eves, wavy roof , Germinating Seeds in Hydroponic Systems surface, rotten fascia and trim pieces, and insect infestations can be deal killers too, if severe. Solution: Get into the structural members with a long, sharp, sturdy, standard flat-tip screwdriver and attempt to penetrate structural components that are made of wood. , The Advantages of Gazebo Kits You won't hurt anything if there are no underlying deficiencies. However, if someone has freshly painted over or patched it, that screwdriver is one heck of a lie detector! Use it. Now, I'm not saying people would do that. It may just be the termites have eaten everything but the exterior coating of the wood , How to Add a Touch of Warmth to Every Home: It’s as Easy as to conceal their activity whatever the case probe. There are also tile , Microwave Convection Ovens - Double Benefits roofs, metal roofs, , The Garden Wall cedar shake roofs, , Directions for Planting a White Pine Tree hot-rolled roofing, , New Jersey Home Remodeling tar and gravel , New Jersey Home Remodeling roofs and always a few new high-tech roof , Avoid Problems: Painting Aluminum And Vinyl Siding coatings. I feel my main concern is whether the decking or the roof , Build a Rain Garden support structure has been undermined by water, , Next Day Flower Delivery insects, rodents, poor materials, poor design , Native Trees and Plants For Carbon County Pa or craftsmanship, a lack of fasteners, strapping, etc. Shingles and coatings can be replaced. Just know what is underneath. That's my criteria. Negotiate lower for needed replacement of roof , A Look at Aluminum Awnings coverings if you can. I dwell on roofs , Build a Rain Garden because it protects everything else! Next on the list of deal killers is the foundation. The same thing applies to the foundation. I will start by standing back from it and looking at it from a distance. Does this place , Next Day Flower Delivery look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Or are the seams coming apart? Do the windows , How to Get the Most From Your Home Theater - Without Spendin and doors , How to Get the Most From Your Home Theater - Without Spendin look square? Are porches, , Planting The Dura Heat and River Birch Trees stairs and additions on firm ground as well? Block homes , A Look at Aluminum Awnings can tell you very quickly if they are stressed out just by the appearance of the mortar joints. Those giant unsettling cracks can and do tell a story. This does happen and mortar cracks maybe 10-years old. You need to investigate further. Once again, water , Dream Yard is a sign of trouble with foundations because it leads to erosion, rot, mold and mildew. It washes out foundation materials and slabs will crack. It rots sill plates and your walls , Air tools or electric power tools? Which is better? are no longer firmly attached to a base. If you have a crawl space, it's time to get your coveralls on and get in there. Now, let's use our heads here and I mean this! Before you enter a dark, supposedly uninhabited, infrequently entered, dark and restrictive to movement area, assess the situation. Ask someone who has knowledge of the dwelling if there has been any animal activity that they know of. You may also encounter bees, wasps, ants, spiders, snakes, slugs, mosquitoes, rats, mice and a host of other inhabitants. Beware and be prepared. It's truly another world in some cases. If you don't want to do it, hire a professional and I do mean a pro, not some Joe who says he is one. For goodness sake, use a licensed , If You Think Mold and Mildew Hibernate During The Winter, Th professional home , I PLANT A GARDEN EVERY YEAR inspector to protect yourself , Granite might of stone - Info and Facts in all areas if you're just not sure! OK, you're a trooper and you're going in. Good for you, Rambo! You'll make it in this business because it takes faith, guts and determination. By getting into this type of situation, you'll learn a lot more about every part of the homes , Hazards posed by Spas, Hot Tubs, and Whirlpools. you inspect. You should have a strong flashlight, your trusty screwdriver, maybe some insect repellent and a safety , Home Equity – Don’t Spend It On Risky Investments observer standing at the access entry to give you piece of mind. Now you can go to the perimeter walls , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic and inspect where the walls , Re-Define What "Clean" Means for You and Your Home meet the foundation. Look for rot, misalignment, cracks, separations, water , Become an Urban Farmer and Start Growing Pot- damage or any other condition that doesn't appear normal. While you're down there, look at the other foundational supports, you will see pier blocks and posts, other concrete , Tarps – Your Versatile Outdoor Friend support pillars and walls, , Update on Herbs beams, joists and cross bracing, and the underside of sub-flooring. Check this stuff's condition. Does it look original? Is it structurally sound? Or are there some discrepancies that need further investigation? Take a good look and smell! Don't leave yet. You also will want to look at all that plumbing , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. and electrical that is there as well. Scan the perimeter. Do you see any sunlight coming in from where it shouldn't be? That might be a hole that needs repair. , Control Those Weeds the Easy Way This is common sense land, not computer a chip lab. You can inspect for general condition. Simply follow everything to its logical end, looking mainly at the condition of the different components. OK, you've made mental and physical notes. Now dust yourself , Preserving Dried Flowers - Few Tips for Best Results off and go inside , Teak Garden Furniture - A Lasting Value the house , Air tools or electric power tools? Which is better? if everything has checked out so far. So the roof , How to Turn a Waitlist into an Acceptance and foundation have passed your keen eye. Let's look at the rest of the house , Air tools or electric power tools? Which is better? with respect to its structural integrity. More than half of your structural integrity check at this point is already complete as the roof , Directions for Planting a White Pine Tree and foundation are two of the most important components and those have been done. Now you are left with the interior , Next Day Flower Delivery spaces of the structure. Here's what I do once inside. , Avoid Problems: Painting Aluminum And Vinyl Siding I stand at the front door , The Advantages of Gazebo Kits with a checklist in hand (www.inspectamerica.com) and I begin to scan the walls, , 6 REALLY COOL THINGS: BE the KING of your CASTLE!!! ceiling and floors. , If You Think Mold and Mildew Hibernate During The Winter, Th I'm looking for water , How to Turn a Waitlist into an Acceptance stains on all three surfaces, as well as patches that were used to repair , How to Add a Touch of Warmth to Every Home: It’s as Easy as or conceal damage. I go through every room , The Garden Wall and look for signs of damage or concealment. Any flat floor , Home Loans And Mortgages – One Third Of Homes In U.s. Overva is a good candidate for my scientific marble test. I'll drop my marble; if it rolls to a corner, that floor , Finding a Flower Bulb Company ain't level, Buckwheat. That's a simple test but I do want to know that the under-layer or sub-flooring is sound and firmly attached to all those joists, and beams and trimmers and blah, blah, blah. Soft spongy floors , Re-Define What "Clean" Means for You and Your Home are of concern, creaky floors , Update on Herbs are annoying and rotten floors , Safety Steps For Riding Lawn Tractors are another story. So once again, I'm looking at the structural support of the floors. , A Look at Aluminum Awnings I don't care that the cheap, yellowed vinyl is coming up at the seams. I don't care that the carpet , Germinating Seeds in Hydroponic Systems is matted down or thread bare, and I don't mind if the finish is worn off of hardwood floors , Microwave Convection Ovens - Double Benefits or tiles , How to Organize Your Cabinets - Containers are loose. Floor coverings fall , How to Get the Most From Your Home Theater - Without Spendin under the label of cosmetics. That's such a pretty word and that's what you want to concentrate on: cosmetics...more on that in a moment. So the floors , How Stained Glass Can Add Elegance To Your Home pass my test for sub-flooring and structural integrity is great. Now I can check that the walls , How Stained Glass Can Add Elegance To Your Home are square because they are attached to that floor, , Home Equity – Don’t Spend It On Risky Investments and then I can check that the doors , Planting The Dura Heat and River Birch Trees all operate properly and are square too. How much more can there be than that, Dan? Well, let me tell you a few things that can bite you here. Let's say the structure overall is good. By that, I mean you have a solid roof, , Air tools or electric power tools? Which is better? a solid foundation and sturdy floors , Planting The Dura Heat and River Birch Trees and walls. , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. What is behind those walls? The things that bite you aren't usually seen until you get bit. One particular painful bite is finding out your wiring is not grounded or that the circuits are not properly protected. You're looking for three-pronged outlets and modern plastic-encased wiring made of copper, , I PLANT A GARDEN EVERY YEAR not aluminum. You want circuit breakers, not fuses. What you really need here is a licensed , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. electrician to do this more in-depth and professionally licensed , Flower Bulbs: Nature’s Greatest Gift review of the system. I have seen more than one Joe Homeowner rehab go up in flames because of a lack of respect for electricity. , Update on Herbs Licensed , Granite might of stone - Info and Facts electricians bring you up to code and protect your investment. Find a good one and make it a point to shower , Preserving Dried Flowers - Few Tips for Best Results him or her with praise, attention and money well spent. They will give you free estimates, so use them as a preliminary inspector with you. If you decide to buy it, use them to do the work that needs to be done. Plumbers are a breed apart. You would think they use gold for soldering your pipes with the prices they charge. My grandfather was a plumber and I was on the truck with him at nine years old. A plumber may or may not give you a free estimate. With a little digging, it can be done. Just give them the work if indeed you do buy the house. , Safety Steps For Riding Lawn Tractors With plumbers, the only time you're going to need one is if you are doing major system work or the once every ten year hot water , Is An Old Home for You? – The Cons - Repairs heater job. Also the occasional clogged main sewer line to the street. In today's P.V.C. plastic plumbing , Avoid Problems: Painting Aluminum And Vinyl Siding kits world, you can hire just about any good all-around handyman to get the job done. If you have to tear through a wall , How Important Is Your Air Conditioner Filter? to get at plumbing, , New Jersey Home Remodeling building , Heirloom Decorating code inspector-man will say, “Get a licensed , How Stained Glass Can Add Elegance To Your Home plumber.” Heating and cooling: the air , Become an Urban Farmer and Start Growing Pot- conditioning system, if the house , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic you're inspecting doesn't have adequate heating and cooling, that can become expensive. Let's say you have a flat , 5 Reasons To Stock Up On Firewood In Early Spring roof home , The Advantages of Gazebo Kits in a hot , Control Those Weeds the Easy Way climate with window , Air tools or electric power tools? Which is better? unit air-conditioners, and you intend on bringing this house , I PLANT A GARDEN EVERY YEAR up to what a modern day home , Planting The Dura Heat and River Birch Trees dweller expects. You may have a problem. Where would you put new ductwork if you don't have attic space to house , Teak Garden Furniture - A Lasting Value and route central heat , I PLANT A GARDEN EVERY YEAR and air? Once again, call , Native Trees and Plants For Carbon County Pa in a pro if you need some advice. , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. They do give free estimates! Here's a point for you to follow up on: the plumbing, , Air tools or electric power tools? Which is better? heating and air-conditioning guys all drive service trucks. Be on the lookout for those trucks if they are your neighbors; go say “Hello” and introduce yourself. , New Jersey Home Remodeling Regardless, I have always done this and what I am saying is this: these guys most always work on the side and that means half price. You may have to pull a permit as a homeowner but the savings is substantial. Develop a network of these blue-collar geniuses. They are the guys who will transform your investment fast! So now you have a solid house. , 5 Reasons To Stock Up On Firewood In Early Spring By that I mean, plumbing, , How to Add a Touch of Warmth to Every Home: It’s as Easy as electrical, heating and air-conditioning, roof, , How to Turn a Waitlist into an Acceptance foundation and overall good structural integrity. So what's left to do? Call , Landscaping Ideas: Using Landscaping Rock for Maximum Effect in your army of carpenter ants, from painters to carpenters and flooring , Maintaining Oxygen Levels in Fish and KOI Ponds installers, yard , Safety Steps For Riding Lawn Tractors maintenance and tree , How to Add a Touch of Warmth to Every Home: It’s as Easy as trimmers, and handymen of all sorts. This is the whirlwind tour. Let the demolition guy in first. Order a dumpster for the next ten days. Order demolition man to throw out everything including the kitchen , How Stained Glass Can Add Elegance To Your Home sink. What I am out to do at this point is to clear the decks. , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. A blank canvass is created for the painters to perform the transformation. They come in at this point and patch and paint. , Do You Need Annuals or Perennials for your Garden Let them blast the place , Become an Urban Farmer and Start Growing Pot- with their airless paint-spraying arsenal inside , Preserving Dried Flowers - Few Tips for Best Results and out. Give them 3 days and you have just added a huge improvement , The Advantages of Gazebo Kits to your investment. This is the biggest dollar-for-dollar return you can make. One cautionary note here: Make absolutely sure that quality paint , Update on Herbs is used. When it comes to painting, , Finding a Flower Bulb Company it's the labor , Planting The Dura Heat and River Birch Trees that kills you, not the material. I insist on Sherwin Williams Super Paint. , Tarps – Your Versatile Outdoor Friend It is a miracle formula that I am convinced could cover up bullet holes without any patching compound and it lasts forever. It's worth every penny; insist on it! So my idea of finding the ideal fixer upper is to find those where the structure and systems are fine but it still needs demolition man and the paint , Planting The Dura Heat and River Birch Trees brigade. Everything up to this point has been inspection and appraisal of the situation. Once I'm satisfied that it is a cosmetic rehab and not the expensive money pit, I send in my cosmetologists. I wouldn't call , Germinating Seeds in Hydroponic Systems these guys that to their face but these are normally men adding residential make-up to the bricks and mortar. Once the painters leave, the flooring , Teak Garden Furniture - A Lasting Value guys are right behind them, laying tile , 25 Christmas Stocking Filler Ideas For Your Teenage Girl and carpet. , 5 Reasons To Stock Up On Firewood In Early Spring These guys are out in 2-3 days and my cabinet and handyman plumber are attacking. Light fixtures, vanities, toilets, sinks, doors, , Flower Bulbs: Nature’s Greatest Gift switch plates and outlet covers…wham, ten days are up and this house , Become an Urban Farmer and Start Growing Pot- is either held out for rent, lease-optioned or sold for a whole heck of a lot more than the ten grand I put into it, if that much. You must be somewhat of an appraiser and deal finder. It takes time to recruit your cosmetologists, but you will run across them in your travels. Friends and family usually can provide you with some serious leads. Start networking and talking to tradesmen. Get their numbers and schedule them to descend upon your ugly duckling at certain times and watch the transformation begin. It took me years to learn these tricks. I did it all myself for years and it always took three months when I did it myself. The sad part is that I thought I was saving money that way. Can you see how much I actually lost? Here is a quick example. I bought a house , Update on Herbs for $55,000. Its deficiencies were purely cosmetic. I used other people to do all the work and I pitched in to keep them organized. Ten days later, it was done. I spent a total of $5,000 on materials and labor , Build a Rain Garden and it appraised at $90,000 in 10 days! That's $30,000 in 10 days, not 3 months. Now marketing time would take 45 days but I know how to , Landscaping Ideas: Using Landscaping Rock for Maximum Effect do that too, and I will also show you how you can do it too. There is no doubt about it. This can be done and you can do it. In all honesty, it may take you 30 days to achieve a completed house. , Finding a Flower Bulb Company That's may be 3 times what it took me but I am experienced. Here's a pretty neat way I figured out how to , Add a Touch of Warmth to Every Home: It’s as Easy as find good cosmetologists (tradesmen). If I know relatively no one in the area, I will ask a local , Heirloom Decorating appraiser to suggest who he would use if he were me. This is an intelligent way to ask that question. I ask it in this form: “If you were me, who would you use?” Now that triggers a self-preservation mechanism in their brain and they give me excellent people, who are very good at what they do! Try it; it works. I went to appraisal school and learned a lot. Believe me, appraisers are underrated and treated poorly. They truly are experts at discerning quality and value. They know whom does quality work. Make friends with a competent appraiser and the lenders that accept their appraisals. Hint: You'll get very fair evaluations and their lender approves them. Marketing, hunting, finding and capturing the “ripe for rehab houses” is another book entirely. However, don't lose faith because I have written that book for you as well. Here is an excerpt from my other book. It is called Magic Bullets in Real Estate. There are 4 phases, or lifecycles, to real estate and here is how it often goes. Phase 1 You will see new construction, bright shiny homes , Become an Urban Farmer and Start Growing Pot- popping up, landscaping , 25 Christmas Stocking Filler Ideas For Your Teenage Girl contests, baby strollers and tricycles in the neighborhood. This is probably going on in the suburbs of the city, as new growth tends to radiate out at a pace of one mile per year from growing , Build a Rain Garden and prosperous cities. Phase 2 The same neighborhood now 10-15 years later has aged a bit and now you see basketball hoops and 2-wheel bikes, as the kids are older and want more mobility. Phase 3 The kids are grown and gone with families of their own and now the parents are riding their own 3-wheel bicycles, trikes to the hip grannies. Here in Phase 3, you're looking at 25-35 year old homes, , Heirloom Decorating where some people are passing away. Others are just hanging in and some are moving in with the kids or going to an A.L.F. (Assisted Living Facility). No doubt, you have outdated homes, , Do You Need Annuals or Perennials for your Garden deferred maintenance and some repairs , Avoid Problems: Painting Aluminum And Vinyl Siding to be made. Here is the beauty of this whole thing. These are my cosmetology candidates. Here's why! The formally elder owners lived there and they needed everything to work. They didn't update it. They just fixed things that needed repair , Searching for the best opinion concerning bathroom vanities. in order to maintain a level of comfort. They had pest , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic control and the Sears man come annually and piddled around. So things were kind of looked after in that manner. Buy here! Phase 4 Revitalization – That's what happens as a result of you buying your ripe- for-rehab fixer-upper in Phase 3 neighborhoods. Odds are, you will rent it out Dan is a 20- year veteran of the United States Coast Guard. also, lease-option it or it to a young family when it does sell, and guess what? Yep, out come the tricycles and baby strollers and it starts all over again. Tricycles Bicycles 3-wheel bikes (buy here!) Revitalization Determine what cycle different neighborhoods are in! Follow cycle 3. Isn't that a beautiful , Flower Bulbs: Nature’s Greatest Gift story; isn't that the truth? Think about your own parents and your own childhood. Now I also want you to think about that brand new young family that is counting on you to treat them fairly and give them a trouble-free home , How Stained Glass Can Add Elegance To Your when they buy or rent from you. The harder and smarter you work, the better quality and value you can provide to others. Don't rip them off. Don't take advantage, don't scrimp and for Pete's sake, do your best to do your level best. You need education and help from others to achieve these heights of excellence. About the author: Dan Auito is a dual-licensed real estate agent and appraisal assistant. Founder of a non-profit drug prevention corporation, a real estate consulting group and is the author of “Magic Bullets Real Estate.” This 300-page power-packed book (due out in late Sept 2004 comes with a website that further supports its readers. Dan may be reached at magicbullets@alaska.com or by visiting www.magicbullets.com |
  
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