Plan ahead...?

I just has to chuckle a bit today when I got to the new site.  The crew I'm working with, (a very good crew by the way), decided to use the space in front of the door for the pile of torn out pipes and floorboards.  This is the same door needed to get all of this stuff out.  I could have much worse problems really, but just a little bit of planning would have saved some time in the end.  

Random, interesting shots..

some old termite damage

some fine looking electrical

an interesting find...

Mini-vans make good trucks!

This pattern happened after the floor was leveled with floor leveler.
 

Not sure what to do here...?

Ok, so this is a common area of a little house I bought at auction in 2013.  I will refer to this house as the "Markes House," but I really should call it the "dog pee house" since the dog that lived there seemed to use every corner as a urinal - for years!  It was an estate sale and, when you do this for a few years, you will run into many a sad situation.  Seems the old guy that lived here seemed to overlook certain flaws or habits in his beloved Fido and I was the "winner" of the clean up prize!  Floors were removed down to the joists and that was the start.  OK - on to this specific change.  This cabinet wasn't in horrible shape, but as I moved through this reno, the adjacent kitchen and the walls became lighter and this built-in began to look worse and worse to me.        

before

                                                                                                          One thing I did in this hall was to skim the surface of the paneling with Durabond 90 to fill in the indentations an make it look smooth (like drywall) after painting.  I was assured at the local builders supply that this product would stick to anything and do the trick - and it did.  In retrospect though, I wouldn't do it this way mainly because of the time involved, and I won't be sure of the long term wear/cracking until a few years from now.  However, 2 years in, it's still in good shape.  What I'll do in the future is just rip out the cheesy paneling and drywall it.  

      

Here is a shot of the cabinet in the middle of the transformation.  I ripped out some shelves planning to take the entire thing out, but I left it like this while working in other areas and ended up getting opinions from curious neighbors and other passersby.  They all seemed to think a desk was the right thing for this space - so I left it.   

The last shot is the finished product after paint and my tenant moving in.  I drilled a hole in the back corner of the desktop for wires and installed an outlet in the bottom right corner of the underside, making it practical.  My tenant loved it!  

after

A small bath before & after with the worst "before" ever!

Sometimes you come across a room where you really don't know where to start.  This is the before picture of a half bathroom actually being used by a small business in a building I bought.  The business had no complaints because they are good people just trying to get through their day and really didn't have time to think about this.  I can't believe they actually used it.  The ceiling had caved in years before due to water leaks and everything, including the light, (which I use as my profile picture), was rigged up in some way.  It was embarrassing to be the landlord.  

Here is an after shot of the almost finished bath.  The box in the middle of the room is there to cover steps on the outside going to the basement, so that had to stay.  The board on top is just sitting there in the picture, but was later attached.  The toilet is new and I did get an actual light fixture that works.  I hope people in the business appreciate it, but regardless, I can go about my day knowing my building (product) is top quality. 

   

The Devil is in the details.

They say the devil is in the details.  Some folks have told me I'm crazy, wasting time and money on things that, "don't make me any more money."  They say, this is just a rental... right?  Meaning, don't spend a penny more than you need to on these renters.  First of all, I like when my properties to look nice and second, I'm a proud property owner and long term investor.  The fixes I make add to the quality of the property, and the good feelings my tenants get every day when living there.  

Here is a small example of what I'm talking about.  The last thing on my to do list with this property was to add siding to the back half of the building.  It was neglected and in bad shape.  The meters were on par with the rest of the exterior so I bought a can of spray paint for $5 and painted the meters prior to the installation of the siding. 

The finished product looks clean and finished.  I also went back and painted the power wire to match the siding after I took this shot.  The concrete porch in the background was also painted with concrete paint.

    

   

    

Predicting the future when buying.

When buying an investment property, it's important to have a crystal ball and be able to predict the future. What?!  Ok, I know this is not realistic, but, if you know your market and the other people that are active in it, it is not impossible to see into the future.

The before picture here shows my property (brick building) after a fire destroyed a building that stood where the courtyard is.  This courtyard sat in this state for 8 years, making it an eyesore and political hot-button in our town.
A local businessman bought the building to the left of the courtyard from the town and planned to fix it up.  The courtyard was included with his purchase.  I know him and the quality of the work he does, so I bought the adjacent building that had been sitting on the market for 10 years.  People told me I was a fool, which is sometimes true, but not in this case.  My crystal ball was my connection to him.  He told me what his plans were and even helped with some work on my building so his courtyard was better looking overall.

   The after picture shows the fixed-up version of the courtyard as well as the re-pointed wall of my building. It 's beautiful and dramatically adds to the overall value of both properties.