Rental Property number 2

We finally finished the renovations on the property we bought in September. I didn't document this one like the first because of many things going on over the last 2 months.

We bought this one in the same "complex"as the first. I use quotes because there are actually three different HOAs in this condo complex. Our first place is actually across the street at an angle but different HOA. Unfortunately we paid more for this one, however I did have a maximum amount that we could pay and still make money. Happily we stayed under that line and will make some money, just not a lot. But more than we could with it sitting in a bank account.

We were happy that this place did not need nearly as much work as the first condo, or so we thought. In the end we spent 3/4 in renovations on this one as the other. We didn't have to replace most of the floor, kitchen appliances, kitchen cabinets/counter top. However we did have to replace carpeting in the bedrooms, washer and dryer, closet doors, remove the popcorn ceiling, bathroom counter tops, and spend a fortune in trades (plumbing/electrical/painting).

We installed the closet doors (yep they didn't have any), paint and reface the bathroom cabinets, install the bathroom lights.  We had to get creative with the master closet doors because the opening was GIGANTIC. We installed two 96x96 mirrored doors and then use a 4x6 on either side as "trim" to fill in the gap. It looks really nice.

None of the electrical boxes were centered, so I had to MacGyver the bathroom lights. Speaking of MacGyver'ing something, when the plumber pulled off the guest bathroom shower handle the previous owner used a 14mm socket to fit into the cartridge stem. Pretty ingenuous, except I had to have it fixed.

"A" was the designer and most of what we did were her ideas. At times I thought we were over spending and doing unnecessary work but in the end it did pay off and she was correct, as usual. We put it on the marked and in less than a day we had it rented out. There are two other places that have been listed for over a month. One is $80 more and the other is $155 more but they both have garages while ours does not have a garage. In the end it was "A"s design and willingness to put in good quality work that made the difference.

Kitchen

Guest Bath

Master Bath

Refacing all the doors in shaker style.

MacGyver the lights

4x6 "trim"

4x6 "trim"

4x6 "trim"

4x6 "trim"

This was how the shower handle was "fixed" by the previous owner.

Rental property part 2, DENIED!

We got word that a higher offer was accepted. Oh well I guess we will just wait for it to fall out of escrow for a fourth time :)

Rental Property part 2

So we finally decided to start looking for another condo.  The prices seem to have stabilized but we are finding that lower end property is still generating multiple offers.

We found another unit for sale in the same complex as our other condo but with a different HOA. The funny thing is that this HOA is less than the other one. The unit also has a different layout but still 2 bedrooms and 2 baths with just over 1,000 sqft and this one really does have a garage.

This place has fallen out of escrow three times and we are not completely sure why. We do know that the first time it went into escrow "mold" was found in every room. Now keep in mind that we live in California and it seems that any thing you can think of is "Found by the state of California to be harmful to your health."  Whatever!!!!

So this time we decided to take a look at it and I have no idea where this "mold" is. I am thinking that some first time home buyer drank the kool-aid and wanted to do all kinds of tests and miraculously they found "mold". I was thinking that the stuff was growing all along the walls. I didn't even smell mildew and it was raining that day.  But if we get the property we will now have to run our own test and probably have someone come out and "remove" 5 mold spores at a cost of $1K.

We placed an offer, below asking of course, and the bank notified us that there were 3 other offers and to come back at best and final. We went back with the same price. Then two days later our agent said that two more offers came in and the bank kicked all offers back AGAIN for best and final. We then went up $2,500 more to make it look like we were trying. So right now we are waiting but we don't think that we have a chance, so we are not holding our breath.

Renovations part 5: completed and condo rented

We finished with the final preparations for the condo on September 1st and it was listed on the 5th. I got word today that it has now been rented. It was actually a little faster than I expected so we are happy. In the end we rented it for $1,345 with a one year lease.

It was a long haul and took much longer than I expected but I am glad we did it. If we ever buy another rental property I think we will try to get a move in ready place. Then again maybe not :)

Below are the before and after photos.

Renovations part 4

Where to start? I wanted to write a post this weekend but I worked every day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday). By the end of the day, I was so mentally and physically exhausted, that I had no desire to write.

Everything has been a battle with this condo. I had to call in a plumber because there were old “spaghetti lines” used for the water supply to all the sinks. I purchased the new hoses and the valves but couldn't remove the old ones because they were frozen in place and I was afraid to ruin the copper pipes.  Also when I tried to connect the gas range I found that the supply nozzle was incorrect and I could not get a tight fit and the gas line was too high so the rage would not sit flush against the wall. If the range did not sit against the wall then we couldn't open one of the drawers.

When the plumber came out he moved the gas line and installed a correct nozzle.  It also seems there are two types of copper pipes used in residential, “L” and “M”. When the valves are installed on “L” pipes it does not affect the end and you can just install the new valve. With “M” pipes the valve will compress the end and this causes the pipe to leak when the new valve is installed. Take a wild guess on which type I had?

He initially tried to use the old connection but it kept leaking so he had to go back and cut each pipe and then reconnect the valves. Thankfully he had enough pipe available to cut, barely.
The blinds we ordered did not fit because each of the damn windows are either not standard sizes or are different by ¼ to ½ inches. So now we will need to go and have custom windows cut.
It is finally looking like a livable place and now we are left with the small things that seem to take so much time.

Living Room/Dining room

Hallway looking to 2nd bedroom from laundry

2nd bedroom

Master bedroom/Master bath on left

Kitchen from dining room

Dining room from kitchen

Kitchen

Guest bath

Master bath

Renovations Part 3

The Electricians did their thing and the painter kind of did his. I got word that the work was done and all that remained was to clean up. Mmmm maybe not so fast. The guy said to take a look and if I noticed anything then to write up a punch list.  They were suppose to use flat paint for the entire condo except the kitchen, bathrooms and doors. It turns out that everything was done in flat (actually eggshell).

Then I discovered they painted over the bath fixtures. Not sure why they did that, but not good. And it continued downhill, because someone used the toilet in the guest bathroom and did not flush it. Now granted the handle was broken, so it would not flush, but is it that hard to lift up the tank lid and pull the flapper up? I mean C'MON MAN!!  I guess the guy figured out that something was wrong when his turd didn't magically go away. He must have thought that the water was off so he turned the water supply "off". Guess he never heard of "righty tighty, lefty loosey".  So if you turn the knob and you turd still doesnt go away, LIFT THE DAMN TANK LID AND TAKE A LOOK!!!! Nope "I'll just leave it and hope no one notices".

Moving on they also painted over the vents, which is actually a good thing, because they were pretty nasty and we were thinking of replacing them.

There were other smaller discrepancies and so I made the punch list and also texted Elmer. He is the guy in charge and I am pretty sure he did not do this painting job.  I got a text back this morning and he was not too happy. He left the painter on his own to do the job trusting that he would do a good jobe. It turns out the semi-gloss was there but the guy he used to paint did not "notice" it. So today he is sending over another painter to repaint using the semi-gloss and fix all the over spray.

Speaking of over spray, I mentioned that one of the toilets handle was broke? Well we bought two new toilets (which we will get a rebate on due to the high effecincy) and placed them in the bath tub for the floor guys to install. Damn if the painter did not get paint on it when they washed their stuff in the tub.

Apparently my dry wall patch job and texture work sucked. Once the paint was up it really stood out. More work for me, yea!  These are the photos before the painting.

Thursday the floor guys should begin their work!