Day 6

Today we had to swing in to the power company first thing because there was an issue with our request for power at Sugar Pine. Come to find out the previous owner had an outstanding balance due and we needed to provide our deed to process the request. Got that handled and drove on to our 24 Day Challenge... 

The house and fence were covered in mildew, bugs' nests, and moss. We needed to remove all of this before starting paint so I tackled pressure washing while Dave took down the busted garage door and cleaned out the shed. He also was able to tackle removing the rest of the formica counters along with taping up the door knobs, taking down all the kitchen/bathroom cabinet doors and hardware, removing the shutters and other odds and ends. He's very anxious to get the power on...it's hard for him to do his job when there's no outlets to plug all of his tools into!

Luckily I had enough daylight to finish pressure washing everything but the shed today and it all looks awesome! The bricks are a different color than we realized...just were covered in so much "uck" you couldn't tell! And the fence looks new again :) Love easy projects such as this...instant gratification!

Everything was still pretty wet when we left so I'll add pics of it all tomorrow!

Now heading off to bed early - I'm beat.

"By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination."

- Christopher Columbus 

...18 days and counting...

Day 5

First thing this morning we headed to The Beauty to drop off 25 more info flyers. So far, 76 flyers have been taken from the box! That's pretty impressive! Happy that we are able to get the info out there to interested buyers in such an easy way...between this marketing method, our Google Voice call-in number containing a recorded message regarding the property, directional signs, Facebook marketing, Craigslist, and MLS, it's only a matter of time before the info finds its way to the right buyer...

Next we headed to the Port City REIA (real estate investors association) meeting featuring 2 speakers who discussed buying HUD homes. We got some practical info and got a chance to talk with our fellow investor peeps...

 

After this we headed to Sugar Pine and got to work painting the old ugly swing set in the backyard. We realized that it was too big to remove and haul away as we originally had planned - and a young family may see it as a great place for their child to play. So, we decided to give it a face lift. It cost around $40 and definitely helped it's appeal...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Look how high the swing set it! Dave is 6'4" if that helps you at all!

Hey guys! It's me in my work "uniform"!

We loaded up the truck with the last of the tree limbs and trash (yay!) and headed home at dark (still waiting on the power to be turned on).

Tomorrow we start pressuring washing and repairing siding. Can't wait to start painting - gonna try out a new color...

"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary." - Cecil Beaton

...19 days and counting...

Day 4

Today was more of an office day. I had to get the utilities turned on at Sugar Pine and balance the books, which took all of the morning. We cleaned up the house a bit & Dave unloaded yesterday's Sugar Pine trash (Lol, I'm sure our garbage men hate us!). I finally caught up on the dishes - ugh, they are ever present! I can't wait to have a dishwasher again! Will definitely not take it for granted ever again! After this headed to the store to grab some groceries. Sick to death of fast food...it's so convenient when you're working weird hours but it definitely all starts to taste gross after awhile!

We decided to not head out to Sugar Pine because it's quite a drive and by the time we made it out there, we couldn't get much done without power before it was too dark to see. It's frustrating there aren't more hours in the day!

Still no offers on The Beauty. Tomorrow is the 1 week mark since putting it on the MLS and the 2 week mark since we put a For Sale By Owner sign in the yard. We are trying to sell this one without hiring an agent but instead negotiating a commission to the buyer's agent, if they use one to submit an offer. Usually we hire an agent to sell our houses but we are trying a different method by paying a $269 fee to get it on the MLS via www.valuemls.com in order to increase the profit margin on our deals. This way our properties get the same exposure for less cost. We shall see...We've had several showings and over 100 flyers have been taken from the info flyer box posted on the sign over the past 2 weeks. I've got on my To-Do list to contact more of the agents who have shown the house. We want to get some feedback on what the buyers thought and/or what they may have had issues with. One agent told us we did a great job on the house but the bedrooms were too small for her clients who have a growing family. We dropped the price today by $500 and increased the selling agent commission to 4%. Not a bad payday for an agent when our asking price is $244,500. Hopefully this will drive some more traffic to the property...

Tomorrow is our local real estate investor association meeting. I'm excited and hoping to learn something new from the featured speakers and talk to some other investors we haven't met yet.

We are heading to Sugar Pine afterwards to finish up stripping the house and hauling the last load away. Excited for the week ahead and all we hope to get accomplished! 

"It's not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?"

- Henry David Thoreau 

...20 days and counting...

Day 3

We started off the day unloading all the debris from yesterday and then headed off to a few auto parts stores to see about getting the trailer's lights hooked up - but to no avail. Gonna have to shop around a bit more. After this we headed on out to Deerwood to get all of our tools that we need for the 24 Day Challenge...

When we got to Sugar Pine, we got straight to work ripping out the disgusting carpet and padding in the bedrooms and bathroom...and tried to hold our breath as long as possible! Yuck!

After this, we stripped the house of the old counters and sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms as well as whatever was left over from the previous owner...curtains, blinds, and random odds and ends.

Dave got to work on the roof, blowing off huge clumps of leaves that had built up in the eaves...it had been neglected so long plants were growing on it. Thank God my hubby has no fear of heights cause Lord knows I'M not getting up there!

It started to get dark on us so we had to call it a day and load up Gringo and trailer with the day's throw-aways. Think we can get the last of it in 1 more load.

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then we shall find the way." 

- Abraham Lincoln

...21 days and counting...

Day 2

Today was a busy one for us. We got Gringo (our beloved and dependable Chevy Colorado) all cleaned out this morning...I think I recovered half of my work wardrobe! Love when that happens! Had to jump over to Demouy at 1:00 p.m. for a showing at The Beauty... a family of 5 who, we found out after the showing, weren't even ready to buy yet. So frustrating! In our business, time is money...and there seems to be a definite shortage of it between managing Demouy, wrapping up Deerwood, and beginning Sugar Pine. The longer it takes to get the jobs done, the more money that flies out of our pockets. So, I HATE when people waste our time! Wish we had screened them better prior to setting up a showing - but, we brushed it off and headed over to little ole Sugar Pine. Finished the yard clean-out...here's some pics of the BEFORE'S and AFTER'S!

Before

 

After

Before

After

Before

After

BEFORE'S:

AFTER'S:

We have to squeeze out every dime we can to get this property done on budget...sooo to save $300 on a dumpster, we decided to tackle hauling away everything ourselves. Gonna take a few loads to haul it all off but so fun to try out our new addition to the Phoenix Avenue family...our TRAILER :))). It's the little things, people. ;)

And this wasn't even the worse angle! Fun timessss :)

Love it!

Back at it tomorrow!

...22 days and counting...

The 24-Day Challenge

Well, The Beast is officially THE BEAUTY!!!!! Dave jokingly called it my self-employment "boot camp". I can say flipping that property was one of the hardest things I've done in my life. There were soooo many challenges and I'm proud of us for staying committed to the project - especially at the end, working for 30+ straight days to get it done (which resulted in my totally neglecting the blog!). I should have taken a picture of my overflowing kitchen sink...it definitely would have reflected our absence from home! We are extremely happy with the product we delivered and estatic the eight month renovation is OVER! We have had 3 showings in the past week and 2 scheduled for tomorrow...check out the final pics on our Facebook page!

www.facebook.com/phoenix.avenue.5

Okay, so we are now working on 2 other properties, Deerwood & Sugar Pine...Deerwood is coming along nicely! Demo is complete, tile floors are in, all new sheetrock is hung, roof is complete, AC is installed, front gable is built, and paint is going up. The brand new kitchen cabinets and granite will be installed in the next few weeks. I can't wait to see it all come together! While this is going on, we are hopping over to Sugar Pine which leads me to The 24-Day Challenge...

Our goal from start date to finish date for this property is 24 days...pretty ambitious I know but we thought it would be fun to challenge ourselves. Plus, we could REALLY use a payday - so we gotta bust hump getting it finished and on the market! Sugar Pine is gonna be a fun one though since it is mainly all cosmetic work - needs some paint, siding repair, flooring, countertops, and a little sprucing up. Don't get me wrong...the place is pretty nasty - but not for long!

Today was Day 1, consisting of a massive yard clean-up. Out with the old!!

Our weapons of choice!

...23 days and counting...

Hurricanes Ruin Everything!

Well, our deadline for the completion of The Beast has to be pushed back another week due to the storm. Of all weeks for this to happen, whyyy does it have to be this one??

We will be working inside over the next few days. We still have to lay all the floors, finish painting, install tile tub surrounds, set the bathroom vanities, and a host of other things. Luckily, we were able to finish the wooden porch and arched driveway gate before all the rain. The crazy neighbors have actually started to come around and be very complimentary of the Beast and it's recent transformations (landscaping, arched gate, new porch, lattice around the bottom, install of the last of the new windows, and the Widow's Peak upstairs getting painted). It's nice for a change...I'll take it!

Beautiful arched gate...soon to have a lamp posted on it!

Painting the lattice...

Time to build a wooden porch!

Ahh, pretty!

Finished product...stained a beautiful black!

The original front door has been refinished and looks AMAZING!! The guy we hired did an outstanding job and was even able to salvage and polish up the original door hardware. He installed a custom copper kick plate and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

There is one man who has come by 3 times over the last few months and seems very interested in The Beast. He didn't bat an eye when we told him our asking price ($230k-$240k). He came by last week and brought his realtor. Fingers crossed we can close this deal before we even put it on the market! His realtor was very complimentary of The Beast, especially the kitchen, which he said would sell this house...

I'm in love with this kitchen and it's not even done yet! David's custom butcher block counter was the perfect addition. It's dark, rich tone plays off the light-colored granite beautifully and adds another wonderful texture to this kitchen.

I can't believe we are in the final days of this project. Now if only we can get through it without another hurricane we will be sitting pretty! ;-)