Diary of a Newbie Real Estate Investor

Hi folks, I feel like we might need to change the title of this blog post!  Mike and Jacqui are quickly moving past the newbie real estate investor stage to the “Got a Rehab Under our Belts” stage.  I love seeing people become successful in real estate investing!  Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than seeing folks rewarded for their effort.  I know the hours have been long and hard between work and the rehab…but, I just got this latest post from them for their 26 McAdams, Framingham rehab project:

2 weeks to go!

Hi Boston AREIA,

Thanks to everyone who made it out to our rehab tour a few weeks ago. We had a great discussion about how to find deals, working with hard money lenders, creating a scope of work, and managing contractors.

The work at 26 McAdams Rd, is “knock on wood”, moving along right on schedule. As we are rounding out week 7 of the 9 week renovation timeline we have passed all required inspections and are moving forward with the remaining work items. To give you an extent of what we have completed and what is still to be done see the list below:

Completed Work Items

Pending Work Items

Demo/remove sellers belongings Clear landscaping Update plumbing for first floor full bath and half bath Add basement bathroom Update plumbing from water main Install replacement windows Build deck Install vinyl siding, soffits, fascia, and gutters Increase opening, install steel beam Create vaulted ceiling in living area Frame out basement living area, bathroom, bonus room, and storage area Blueboard all walls first floor and basement Plaster all walls first floor and basement Update insulation Install tile in first floor bathrooms Install hardwood floors in kitchen Install cabinets Template kitchen countertops Install first floor vanity Pass all inspections except final

Install countertops Install vanities and Finish recess lighting Finish electrical Finish plumbing bathroom fixtures Install tile and carpet in basement Install new interior doors Trim out all interior doors/windows/floor Paint interior and foundation Refinish and stain hardwood floors Finish exterior lights Install exterior doors Finish landscaping Pass final inspection Other punch list items

Some Lessons Learned So Far:

• Make sure you have money available to pay contractors as banks and hard money loans typically only pay when the work is completed, not started.
• Know the difference between replacement windows and new construction windows. Don’t buy replacement windows if you are going to be replacing the siding on the house.
• Network with other investors for recommendations on vendors and contractors. Peg from JEM Property Group shared some great contacts for us when it came to finding a contractor for the windows and cabinets. We also got our Granite reference from another flipper working on a house down the street from ours. These references have no doubt saved us time and money!

We are targeting the week of 22 Sep to have the rehab work completed, stay tuned for an invite from Bernadette for an upcoming rehab tour where we will provide more details about the McAdams Rd project.  To check out some of the pics of the project and the last rehab tour visit – http://fitzproperty.com/2-weeks-to-go/

Hope to hear from you soon,

Mike