{"id":1055,"date":"2007-02-19T08:52:07","date_gmt":"2007-02-19T15:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=1055"},"modified":"2007-02-19T19:22:42","modified_gmt":"2007-02-20T02:22:42","slug":"how-to-avoid-a-rehab-nightmare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1055\/how-to-avoid-a-rehab-nightmare\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid a Rehab Nightmare"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With the refinance boom just about over and house sales slowing, now might be a great time for investors to think about doing a few upgrades on their properties. I mention the refinance boom because I know a lot of people used those funds to upgrade properties. Doing upgrades now puts the current investor at a distinct advantage because the upgrades will be newer and with declining demand should be about the same price as six months ago (not including the increased cost of materials). So where do you begin as an investor?<\/p>\n<p>First, read everything you can. Keep the following generic tips in mind&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don&#8217;t upgrade an investment property like its your personal residence (even if it is!)<\/li>\n<li>Splurge on the little things, scrimp on the big things (see a few exceptions below)<\/li>\n<li> Negotiate, Negotiate, and then Negotiate some more (even with National retailers like Home Depot)<\/li>\n<li>Go neutral with everything<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Second, plan the rehab in the areas that will get the most bangs for your buck. While this many seem simple, it is more complicated than many people think. Most people purchase a generic book or look at a website and see that bathroom upgrades add the most value. The problem with this method is that it does not account for the area or the property. There are many areas where houses are small and people pay significant premiums for finished basements for example.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, your house may have average bathrooms, but an atrocious kitchen. Here, it may be better to tackle the kitchen instead of making the bathrooms really shine. The most important tool you have in this process is the open house. If you are investing in apartment buildings, this also applies. Make sure you shop your competition. Think like a buyer. If you were looking for a house in this neighborhood, what would make this house better than (or equal to) all the other houses in the market? If every house has a great kitchen, finished basements, and average bathrooms, plan accordingly with your house.<\/p>\n<p>I would recommend a few areas to spend a little bit more. First, the front door\/address sign\/mailbox should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1055\/how-to-avoid-a-rehab-nightmare\/#more-1055\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the refinance boom just about over and house sales slowing, now might be a great time for investors to think about doing a few upgrades on their properties. I mention the refinance boom because I know a lot of people used those funds to upgrade properties. Doing upgrades now puts the current investor at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-blogging","7":"category-investment","8":"category-real-estate","10":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1667,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1667\/the-800-pound-gorilla-in-the-corner-the-meltdown-of-the-wall-street-mortgage-market\/","url_meta":{"origin":1055,"position":0},"title":"The 800 pound gorilla in the corner &#8211; the meltdown of the Wall Street mortgage market","author":"Morgan Brown","date":"July 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"As we go about our daily lives in the mortgage and real estate world; dutifully performing our job functions and taking the high road of customer enlightenment via blogs such as Bloodhound; we are faced with a very large gorilla looming in the corner of our workplace. That gorilla is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lending&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lending","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/lending\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":725,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/725\/ask-the-broker-are-new-build-prices-negotiable\/","url_meta":{"origin":1055,"position":1},"title":"Ask the Broker: Are new build prices negotiable?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"December 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"When purchasing a home or condo in a new development are the prices quoted firm or can the buyer negotiate the selling price with the broker? Are the costs of \"upgrade options\" negotiable.The definitive answer: Maybe. New home sales is a retail business. The builder has to move current inventory\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ask the Broker&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ask the Broker","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/ask-the-broker\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4858,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/4858\/will-mortgage-brokers-be-the-hope-for-homeowners\/","url_meta":{"origin":1055,"position":2},"title":"Will Mortgage Brokers Be the Hope For Homeowners?","author":"Brian Brady","date":"October 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The FHA Hope For Homeowners program was designed for existing homeowners, struggling with mortgage payments and an \"upside-down\" equity position in their primary residence.\u00a0 It is a new program with lots of misinformation.\u00a0 Some believe it can only be offered by existing loan servicers, some think only participating lender\/servicers can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lending&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lending","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/lending\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12916,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/12916\/master-seller-financing-to-beat-the-mortgage-market-freeze-of-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":1055,"position":3},"title":"Master Seller-Financing To Beat The Mortgage Market Freeze of 2011","author":"Brian Brady","date":"August 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not so sure I want to play hockey against Bryant Tutas.\u00a0 He thinks like Wayne Gretsky. I cautioned about the coming mortgage freeze and asked what agents might do to prepare for it.\u00a0 I'm a mortgage guy so I think in terms of institutional financing.\u00a0 I completely forgot about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Investment&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Investment","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/investment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17470,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/17470\/listing-and-selling-a-san-diego-home-the-bloodhound-blog-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":1055,"position":4},"title":"Listing and Selling A San Diego Home The BloodhoundBlog Way","author":"Brian Brady","date":"January 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a California real estate broker.\u00a0 I don't sell a lot of homes and prefer not to have a robust brokerage business.\u00a0 My business partner (and wife of 22 years) and I make our bread by funding residential and commercial loans, the former in California and the latter nationwide.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Enduring Interest&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Enduring Interest","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/enduring-interest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/frank-mckenna-OD9EOzfSOh0-unsplash-480x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":971,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/971\/the-savvy-investor-watchouts-for-new-market-investing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1055,"position":5},"title":"The Savvy Investor: Watchouts for New Market Investing","author":"Cooksquared","date":"January 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"You may have noticed my absence Thursday and Friday, while I was in sunny Greensboro, North Carolina (sunny as oppose to Ithaca, NY). While the trip was a short four days, I met tons of contacts and had a very interesting introduction to the market. There are so many things\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blogging&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1055\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}