Start with something simple - a small house with basically sound construction but dated/damaged interior fitout. Learn how to do simple stuff like fixing walls, painting, new kitchen cabinets, laying new tile, replacing plumbing fittings. Keep it simple, low cost and in-line with the market expectations for a good quality house in the area.
Do the numbers and if you can't make at least 20% on your outlay (not the total sale price, but your cash-on-cash return) then keep looking until you find something suitable.
The key challenges are less learning how to lay grout but more in buying effectively, assessing the market your customers are operating in (ie, who is going to buy it, what are their tastes, budget and needs?) and dealing with contractors who will necessarily complete work you cannot do (such as electrical).
Every house will sell with the right price attached. That should be the least of your worries. Worst of all cases is that you are halfway through, and lose time/money/energy/cash to complete the job. Then you've got a half-built house which is unsaleable to everyone but a person who can exploit the pickle you've got yourself in.
I have moved into houses and lived there while upgrading the interior and it has always been personally and financially rewarding, but this is not for everyone.
> I have moved into houses and lived there while upgrading the interior
> and it has always been personally and financially rewarding
...after the demo work is finished. Maintaining sanity and a positive outlook is hard if your partner/spouse does not thrive in chaos. Triple the insanity if the kids are hopping over the chop saw in the dining room:)
Walking from the kitchen to dining room to cut 2xs is a lot easier than going to workshop. I was lucky and only had the girlfriend in the house. It is not the saw dust that killed me, it was the mess that came out of the walls when taking the old lathe and plaster down. The soot in the ceiling from the old gas lamps was disgusting.
Its nuts, dead center of the dining room there is black pipe right next to some old nob and tube wiring. It was as if they were not sure this new fangled electricity thing was going to take off so they were playing it safe and kept their options open. Fortunately I knew the other end was dangling in the basement. When I had an electrician put in a new service he saw the open end in the basement and said that he still stumbles across pipes that are hooked up and occasionally are noticeably leaking.
Comments
Start with something simple - a small house with basically sound construction but dated/damaged interior fitout. Learn how to do simple stuff like fixing walls, painting, new kitchen cabinets, laying new tile, replacing plumbing fittings. Keep it simple, low cost and in-line with the market expectations for a good quality house in the area.
Do the numbers and if you can't make at least 20% on your outlay (not the total sale price, but your cash-on-cash return) then keep looking until you find something suitable.
The key challenges are less learning how to lay grout but more in buying effectively, assessing the market your customers are operating in (ie, who is going to buy it, what are their tastes, budget and needs?) and dealing with contractors who will necessarily complete work you cannot do (such as electrical).
Every house will sell with the right price attached. That should be the least of your worries. Worst of all cases is that you are halfway through, and lose time/money/energy/cash to complete the job. Then you've got a half-built house which is unsaleable to everyone but a person who can exploit the pickle you've got yourself in.
I have moved into houses and lived there while upgrading the interior and it has always been personally and financially rewarding, but this is not for everyone.
Ha, my most successful project was done partially with a pregnant spouse and the other half with an infant in the house.
I find that you can gain a lot of understanding with 'shiny new house/cash to buy bigger house' promise at the end.
I always keep the saw in the garage. Better for keeping excess sawdust out of the house.
Walking from the kitchen to dining room to cut 2xs is a lot easier than going to workshop. I was lucky and only had the girlfriend in the house. It is not the saw dust that killed me, it was the mess that came out of the walls when taking the old lathe and plaster down. The soot in the ceiling from the old gas lamps was disgusting.
Yeah...I think we are working on houses built in different centuries. I was working on the first reno since building...not the 40th.
Its nuts, dead center of the dining room there is black pipe right next to some old nob and tube wiring. It was as if they were not sure this new fangled electricity thing was going to take off so they were playing it safe and kept their options open. Fortunately I knew the other end was dangling in the basement. When I had an electrician put in a new service he saw the open end in the basement and said that he still stumbles across pipes that are hooked up and occasionally are noticeably leaking.