From Cocky Ghostbuster to Tired Forrest Gump

Before the Financial Crisis and this real estate cool down, it had become routine for me to be feeling pretty triumphant as I left a closing after selling one of my resurrected properties...like Bill Murray and the Ghostbusting team shown below.

 

However, The Bungalow with it's Detached Garage and The Duplex have been different.  I bought it all as one property at the start of 2008.  Two Pig's Ears, one gigantic sow, and the worst property on the street by far.  You know what they say, "Go big or go home."  Well, I did just that.  In the worst economy since The Great Depression, I subdivided the land...so I owned the two worst properties on the street.  (see Subdividing the Bungalow and The Duplex).

While trying to be a husband, father, and step-father, I juggled; stacks of water, electric, insurance, and tax bills, credit card and credit line payments, and the schedules/needs of contractors, tradespeople, inspectors, and vendors.  And on top of those usual challenges, I also had to deal with drug dealers infiltrating part of the property, someone trying to steal a pricey air conditioner for copper, the loss of a new friend in the neighborhood who was cheering me on until he went to be with The Lord, the eviction of a pair of Waffle House waitresses who weren't paying rent, and an irritating medical issue that's too personal to share (but pretty funny for everyone else when I do).  Then to add to my neurosis, I was borderline OCD about keeping twelve different doors closed and locked when I wasn't there.  (See It's An Adventure.)  So I signed my name over and over again today and then let out a sigh while my daughter sat next to me at the conference table with her coloring book and crayons. 

I came, I saw, I finished my mission.  I don't feel like the Ghostbusters.  I feel more like  a worn-out Forrest Gump and I'm glad I have a Jenny of my own to give me a comforting hug and tell me she's proud of me even though I have nothing to show for it but my pictures, lessons learned, and some stories.

I didn't make any money on this pair, but I got back what I put in.  Some may see this as a loss.  Others may look at it as a tie.  I worked pretty hard to get there and I'm glad I made it.  I think I'll see getting back to where I started as a victory and begin looking forward to the next chapter.         

Attention First-Timers: Double Your Estimates from the Start

Some folks will be thinking about their next renovation project before they're finished with their first one.  Others understand that one home restoration undertaking is all they'll ever do.  This advice is for first-timers.  If you're an experienced renovator, this may be helpful, but more than likely you'll be reading along while nodding in agreement as you'll know the advice I'm recommending is valid.  I love to renovate and I want to encourage others to experience the process of fixing up a house as I have.  This advice is to serve as an aid, not a bucket of cold water on a prospective home renovator's dreams.  We have a saying in this industry: if you don't get the foundation right, you'll be fighting the building the whole way.  Think about my advice as a cornerstone for your adventure, keep it in mind from the beginning and you'll have a much better ride.  

Your schedule and budget should be at the forefront of your plans to take on a house renovation project and they should stay with you like a pair of guardian angels until the end.  The duo work together and can drive your project efficiently in unison.  However, if you lack in either (time or money) your project will grind along and be harder than necessary.  If you approach the bank for a loan to buy and/or renovate, one of the first things they'll want to know is how much and how long it will take.  That should reinforce the significance of time and money in construction renovating. 

Be realistic and honest with yourself when you determine the cost and time it will take.  You may be able to roll up your sleeves and put your tool-belt on, you might be in a position to hire most of the work out to others, or maybe it's a solid combination of both.  It doesn't matter, when you renovate it will take time and money so give both of these serious enough attention that you can write the specifics down on paper.  This advice applies to redoing the entire house, remodeling the kitchen, or adding a master suite.  If you're a first-time renovator, acting as your own general contractor, take your time and money estimates and double them before you start.  It's that simple.  If you honestly and sincerely think it will take 5 months and $20,000 then make sure you're ready for a ten month project and have $40K ready for action.  No matter how thoroughly you may prepare beforehand, there will be things that you'll unknowingly leave out of your plans. You'll tear into walls and discover challenges you didn't expect.  Also, you'll likely discover certain tasks are easier than you anticipated and find yourself saying, "While I'm at it I might as well..."  As I described previously you're going to make some errors (see Vinny Had the Right Idea), and quite simply, renovating is a marathon and not a drag race and you're a person, not a cyborg.  You're going to get tired.  All these are factors that will impact your pace and your bottom line so double your allotted time and money from the beginning.

The pair at the end of the clip is a Canadian couple that's renovating a triplex together in Montreal (see Just Two Weeks).  You probably understand it's going to take you longer than two weeks and realize it's more complicated than doubling that and planning on a month.  Really make a wholehearted effort to estimate your time and financial commitment.  Furthermore, don't be mislead by the 30 minute or one hour long reality shows you can watch from the comfort of your living room.  A skilled team of experts with a production crew and corporate sponsorship play a big part in making their schedule and budget more palatable than it will be for a first-timer.    

Finally, work hard to stick with your original estimates.  From the start, be diligent about working to get done using your estimated time-line (i.e. 5 months) and be vigilant about completing things with your initial budget numbers (i.e. $20K).  Give it everything you have.  However, keep in mind that things will happen as they always do, your schedule will stretch out, and you'll get further from that original figure you felt so good about.  It's okay.  That's just how it goes.  Be ready for it and understand that in the end you're going to be closer to my numbers than yours.  I may be wrong, but I doubt it. 

Step 7: Shift Into Salvage Mode

          After you get the keys and make the home secure, you need to get busy emptying it out so it’s wide open, ready for you to spread your rehab wings and fly.

Circumstances may allow others to skip this step, but my pig’s ears have all come with more than their share of left behind stuff. It’s been the rule rather than the exception to find clothes in the closets, dishes in the cabinets, and helpful things in the junk drawer. 

This is when you should call for a dumpster delivery or come up with some other way of hauling trash away. You don't need to spend time on unusable things more than just once. As a rule, I always find out what I have in the house before I let any contractors inside, because I don't want everything to be thrown out. The things I usually save from the dumpster fall into one of two categories: sellables and useables. 

Sellables are anything valuable that folks would like to buy if they know you have it and are willing to sell it. Sometimes I turn these treasures into cash, selling them online or to people who will resell them in a shop or store. But I’ve also saved some interesting finds like special books, sports collectibles, fun chotchkes. And I always pocket any marbles I find—on last count, my cache came to over five hundred. 

One of my favorite salvaged items is a vintage milk bottle. I was a toddler in the Midwest when the milkman was becoming a thing of the past. Yet I still remember Mom going to the metal box outside our front door and pulling out the cow juice. Not only can I tell the kids about this pre-school memory; I can show them an example of how the milk used to be delivered to our porch. What makes my quart container even more special is that it still bares the label of the dairy farm once located in the town where my wife was born.

Next are the usables; things you suspect will be able to help you in the renovation. These are left-behinds like tools, pieces of hardware, miscellaneous materials, and anything else that might serve some purpose during the project. Think along the lines of Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Remember how his character kept those ice skates? He didn’t save them for figure skating, but just in case… which ended up having important uses; a tool to open coconuts and also pop out his abscessed tooth. It's simply practical to hold on to your usables.

Moving something throughout the rehab may still be better for the budget and schedule than driving to the store to replace a usable that you casually threw away. Gas is expensive, and you can take this from me; your time and money will be better spent if you make the most of anything valuable that’s been left behind. However, if you find yourself moving something a lot, something you’re not using, take that as a sign that you probably aren’t going to need it, and get it out of there.

Jump to Step 8: Clean the House Out