Simple Rehab Tricks To Increase Value...
I'm putting in a few offers on some houses in marginal areas and would like to "prep" the properties by cleaning them out and doing a little structural work while the contract is pending.
Any tips on how to increase the wholesale value of a house so I can hopefully assign the contract before the closing date?
I'm not wanting to do major work until I have closed because I dont want the seller to maybe see what I've done and then dont want to close and sell it for a better price.
Thanx-
If you ask me, i think its a little risky to be putting money into somthing you dont' officially own yet. I would just negotiate the best price I could, and then flip it out as is. Don't sacrifice your own money on somthing your just going to flip and not rehab yourself. Just my 2 cents
I'm not going to do anything major to the house, just make sure it's cleaned out, and animals cant get back in. I was wanting to make the house more appealing to a wholesale buyer. I know some tricks are obvious and many investors will see right through them, I was wondering if there are other not-so-obvious ways to increase the flip value on a house without risking too much time or money cause of the seller flaking out.
1) empty the entire house of all stuff
2) haul away all thd trash from the yard
3) give the yard a good haircut and trim the hedges
4) flush toilets and put in some bleach
5) spray for pest control
6) remove carpets if they are nasty and smell
7) remove window treatements if they are nasty or they are an eye sore
8) wet mop everything
9) get some air fresheners. i love the ones that plug in if you have power
10) get rid of appliances if they are nasty
all this should cost no more than $500 (depending on the amount of stuff to be hauled)
a yard free of debris, and a house that is empty and smells good will add several thousand to your price.
Sweet, those are some killer money savers. I could definatly do those things (with my buddy of course) but still, Good Stuff
Thanx-
Joe,
Do NOT clean up the place. I was chatting to someone who does lots of rehabs. He made some offers on several houses and they were to go to closings.
He made the mistake of cleaning out the houses, mowing the lawns, etc. Just simple basic stuff.
Anyway, this piqued the interest of several folks in the neighbourhood and passersby. Suddenly the rundown dumps looked like houses with possibility. Upshot is they called up some realestate places who tracked down the owners and agents and made offers. He did get the houses but he ended up paying $80K more on the deal that he would have otherwise.
Have the money ready so the moment you close you can get started on the cleanup but please - NOT before
So your saying that the guy made the offer, the seller accepted that offer, and other investors came in and put in offers after the fact?
But if he just made offers before the seller accepted and still cleaned out the houses, then that'd be dumb. If a realtor signed up another offer after mine was accepted, I'd at least drag his/her name through the mud and try my hardest to get their license taken away from them.
Hi,
I 100% agree with linlin. His advice is on the money. If you present this property in it's present condition, before closing escrow, to another investor that doesn't see the potential, then this investor shouldn't be in this business. Experienced inventors know that finding these gems are hard, so paying you a finders fee or a small profit shouldn't be a problem.
The one thing I'll do is explain to potential investors how this property will look after certain things are done to it.
Bottom line, if you have a gem in the rough, you'll have no problem finding a jeweler to take it from you.
Good Luck!
A house isn't yours until it closes. Why would you do work on somebody elses house for free. Everybody in this business knows about somebody who did what you want to do and the owner see the house and thinks he accepted too little for it and then all hell breaks loose.
Its not so much that the investor may not see the diamond in the rough, it's more like me doing the mundane tasks that would cost more if my investor buyer had someone else do it . I just see it as getting that little extra more for pushing broom, and cleaning yard.
And on a subconsious level, if anyone sees that the place has been prep'd for rehabbing and they don't need to push out cat poo or dead rats, they'd be happy to pay more for an assignment fee.
I usually only clean up when I already have a purchase and sale agreement signed. There is no doubt that even experienced investors are more likely to pay more for a site if it is clean and smells clean. And god knows that there are many more novice investors out there than experienced investors and they will definately pay more for your property if it is clean and smells clean.
BTW, the guy is wholesaling which means that he will not take title. He is not buying the house.
I have definately prepped houses prior to assigning the contract.
Brenda
I don't see the difference between somebody assigning or somebody waiting for closing. How many investors are willing to force the sale when the deal gets f-uped and the seller starts acting like an idiot? I don't know of many and the majority of responses I have seen here are advising to walk away.