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exsdgalParticipant
Like the saying goes… Time, Cost, Quality and one can pick two!
When it comes to remodeling my tendency is to sacrifice on time. The range is typically the costs involved for almost turning the interiors brand new by purchasing products off the shelf from HD/Lowes/Costco/Amazon/…. without any professional discounts. The costs does include materials and hired labor. What it does not include is the time spent by one, and possibly any expensive tools purchased for the diy remodel.
As for painting, that is one of my favorite aspects of remodeling so am not certain about the labor costs to paint the house professionally.
Regarding the faux painting there are couple of options to try –
1) if the surface has rough texture, use an orbital sander to level the surface, reskim, prime and paint. (http://www.amazon.com/Makita-BO5041K-5-Inch-Random-Sander/dp/B003M5IWM8).2) if the faux painting is just a mix of dark high gloss paint then the repair might be simpler. Clean the walls with TSP solution to remove the dirt and
grease. Finally prime and paint.As for painting (a) 1 or 2 coats of Zinsser bullseye interior/exterior primer followed by (b) 2 coats of Behr Semi-gloss Paint in Kitchen & Baths (or) 2 coats of Behr Statin Paint in rest of the house.
The paint +supplies cost about 1.5K, but it is worth the expense and efforts. The statin/semi-gloss finish do not show dirt/finger prints, and can be easily cleaned with mild soap and water.
Hopefully you work it out with the bank. GL.
exsdgalParticipant[quote=spdrun]And by “best”, you surely don’t mean “most expensive”, but rather “most wear-and-tear-tolerant.”[/quote]
yes, thanks for the clarification.
exsdgalParticipantAssuming a typical SFR around 2000 sqft in north county, in a worst case scenario it would cost about 30-40K to replace everything.
a/c, heating, minor electrical upgrades, plywood cabinets, granite kitchen, bedrosians porcelain/12mm laminate flooring, $400 toilets, water efficient fixtures, water heater, painting, insulation, minimal low maintenance landscaping. Another assumption is the roof is intact, and there is no additional plumbing or duct work for the heating/cooling units.
Here are the caveats in the pricing – some of the work needs to be done by you, tons of research to find the materials, right contractors to do your flooring, and other installation. It is possible to remodel the house for the costs above, by doing some self work, and trading instead for above mid-high quality name brand materials. If the remodeling will be completely hands off then the costs can be higher.
If the intent is to keep the property as rental, my suggestion would be to get the best materials one can afford for the budget. Good luck with your project.
exsdgalParticipantRoyal Gorge @ Colorado?
exsdgalParticipant[quote=earlyretirement]Do you have a large nest egg (7 figures +) to plan on taking this early retirement?
Or do you have any assets that will generate cash flow each month/year like rental properties?
[/quote][quote=flu]without a balance sheet (even in vague terms), hard to tell if you’re ready for retirement.
I guess what are your liabilities, what are your assets?
Also, realistically how good is your investment returns? <5% or >5%…
[/quote]Fair questions. We have a ballpark figure of the expenses and are working to generate 3-5x as near-passive income to provide some buffer in case of emergencies. As for liabilities it is mostly the mortgage and should be paid off in about seven years.
The stocks and retirement accounts have decent returns. With kid and family obligations taking up time, lately we have reduced our non-retirement stock portfolio significantly. Will venture back to actively managing the stocks in a year or two, but have to see what happens then.
I am aware this is not the typical situation. Was not ‘lucky’ to land a job in established companies to just settle in and ride the wave into management. It will be difficult to change jobs in 50’s and will have to forget about finding one at 60’s. Paranoid perhaps… but probably not too far from reality.
Our idea of retirement is to buy time. In the sense do what you want to do and not because you have to do it. Like one of the suggestions, we plan to start a business that will keep us engaged and hopefully contribute towards the 3-5x cash flow.
Couple of things I would like feedback on are – 50s is too early to traditionally retire. What should one do in terms of health insurance? Are there products/insurance to consider? In our assumptions 401k/roth/ss/medicare/etc are mostly supplemental… I guess my question becomes what are the available tools to replace the traditional retirement funds?
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exsdgalParticipantOut of curiosity went to a new home sale event, where the builder was opening Phase 1 of the development. To my astonishment, the visiting folks bid up the available lots to about 3 times the opening price. Walked away from the event found an older track home for less than half the builder sale price. Had no prior landlord experience and after convincing SO, took the plunge with a promise if it did not work out… we can always sell the house. Now laziness, lack of alternatives and tax benefits has kept us with the investment.
exsdgalParticipantAs for broken appliances it is reasonable to take action within 24-48 hours of notification. At least that is how a lease agreement can be written.
On one occasion the water heater broke, and this is how I handled the repair. Ordered a new water heater from HD and had them install it. At that time HD had some models that were eligible for life time warranty. This warranty allows for free replacement if the unit were to break again. I haven’t used the ‘free’ unit so unsure how that process works. It took about a day to resolve the water heater and the tenant did not complain. Cost wise I spent about $150 more than the lowest priced unit, but felt it was worth the additional price.
I consider a late night call about a burst water pipe an emergency requiring immediate action, while a broken appliance can wait until tomorrow. Also the agreement requires all repair requests to be emailed, and the contact phone is for true emergencies.
I am ambivalent about the home warranty… and would appreciate if someone can share their experience when a warranty was helpful.
@cube – thx for sharing your ceiling fan encounter. Hope you have fully recovered. I had not thought about such scenarios.exsdgalParticipant[quote=outtamojo]Veggie straws[/quote]
+1
exsdgalParticipantwaterpik flosser
exsdgalParticipantzk,
Rental properties may not be for everyone. However if you love numbers and can slice your mortgage details confidently then tiptoeing to buy investment property can be a good (even fun!) experience…
Buying a rental is no different from buying a primary house to live in. The same numbers/metrics apply. i.e. your monthly costs are below the rental rates, the cost basis is positive/near positive today w/o accounting for appreciation etc.
This forum has more experienced folks who deal with investment properties. Here are few suggestions that has worked in the past – 1) research the prospective rental area thoroughly 2) don’t skip on repairs/ high value low cost upgrades before renting the place 3) set the rental rate slightly below market 4) don’t compromise on the tenant selection process 5) clearly state the terms and expectations
As a caveat the tenants don’t move out unless absolutely necessary, and this gives only brief opportunities to re-synch the rental rates to market.
Recently I watched the movie ‘One Week’ and a conversation about ‘true love’ resonates with buying rental properties. If one has to ask whether owning a rental is good then the individual is not ready to deal with the commitment of managing property. This does not necessarily mean owning rental is bad for the individual, just that it is back to the drawing board for reassessment.
Cheers and Good luck with your research.
exsdgalParticipantGreat to hear from you flu. Happy to learn that your treatments are responding well. My thoughts and best wishes for you and family.
Thanks for sharing the progress. Cheers.
exsdgalParticipantI will second blinds.com suggestion. I have found the prices very reasonable, and most of all convenient.
This will only apply if you are considering the inside mount blinds – take your measurement to the closest 1/8th. blinds.com will cut the lengths to accomodate the necessary hardware. Learnt this the hard way with my first experimental purchase 🙂
exsdgalParticipantThanks for all the great insights in the comments above.
Initially I was interested in porting to GV just to cancel my AT&T bill, while keeping my long time landline number. I predominantly use my mobile and was content to receive email notifications for the GV ported number.
This said, having just heard about Ooma I plan to give this a serious consideration. Thank you flu.
exsdgalParticipantThe cost of the replacement will obviously depend on the type of tub installed. If you were looking for a no-frill basic tub that might be suitable for a DIY project, I can recommend Sterling’s Vikrell bath tub.
The tub costs about $200 at Ferguson’s, and the drain kit ~$30 from HD/Lowes. We replaced two of our tubs. For the first tub, we hired a plumber from Craigslist to redo the drain/p-trap and spent $600. For the second tub we bought materials (<$50) and replaced the old drain/p-trap as a weekend project. Hope this helps.
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