ShortSaleWealth.com

By: Pete Young

In my latest deal that closed on Friday, there were many things
that happened from the inspection that most of the people doing
rehabs might have overlooked. Part of my teaching style in my
systems and live events is to teach you things that you would
not have realized on your own.

Sometimes you must look very hard at a property to find the little
things that will add up and may cost you thousands of dollars
you had not intended to spend. I teach how to do property
inspections…one of the most important tasks that will save you
big bucks if you know what to look for. See, the buyer will hire
a property inspector to list the defects of your property as a
tool for getting a discount on the deal or will attempt to
get you, the seller, to pay for these repairs. Here’s what we had
to recognize on my last deal.

First, the gutters did not have a nice line to them. They had
sagging areas that made the property look as if it would be best
to replace the gutters,which would have cost around $800.
But for under $20.00, I got some gutter brackets that attached
with a screw gun and had a helper use a 2 x 4 stud to push up on
the gutters to get them back in line as I screwed the brackets
tightly into the fascia board. This made the appearance 100%
better and saved about $780.00.

Next problem was something that most would have missed seeing,
unless you have a trained eye. Some siding had been replaced
due to moisture rot on the bottom of the house around the entire
exterior. (Probably from the gutter situation). An inspector would
have picked up on this and made a big deal out of it. You see,
siding must not touch the ground around the house. This makes for
easy insect infestation, such as termites, and also stops some
loan institutions from financing a deal with this situation.
Commonly, siding must be about 6 inches from the ground to be
considered correct. To save money, we did not tear out the siding
and start over. We got on both ends of the side portions of the
house and measured up six inches from the ground, and then snapped
a chalk line that marked the siding all the way across each side
of the house. Then we adjusted the blade on our skill saw to _
inch and used it to trim the bottom six inches off the house. This
now was acceptable for the inspection.

The toilets in the house seemed as if they could be kept if they
were given new working parts on the inside. I put newspaper around
the bottoms and flushed a few times, then left the newspaper
overnight. When we returned the next day, we found that the paper
had absorbed some water. This indicated that the wax ring in both
toilets had been seeping a little. So by the time we added
up the moving parts or guts to be replaced, then the wax rings and
then the plumbers labor cost per hour, it was actually cheaper to
just buy new toilets. The new ones came complete with all new
parts, most installed already. Therefore, it takes the plumber
less time at his hourly rate to install new toilets rather than
rebuild the old ones. It also looks good to the buyer to see
brand new fixtures.

The cabinets were stained dark brown and had a thin layer of poly
on them. They really needed a fresh look to avoid replacing them.
I have written previously on how to prep and paint stained cabinets
for a nice white look but this is a also a great way to give a
brand new look for under $5.00. In most any store that sells
cleaning supplies you can find a product called “Old English Scratch
Remover”. Pour this dark oil onto a white terry cloth rag and
rub it over the entire cabinet area. This will not only blend in any
light and dark areas but will also give the appearance of freshly
stained and varnished cabinets. This one tip will save you easily
about $1000.00 and is one that you will use over and over in your
investing career.

Last, was the big killer. If overlooked this could easily cost you
several thousand dollars and, in many cases, it’s a deal breaker if
you do not replace it. It is also something you should use as a
discount when buying the house as an investor. Either way,
somebody is likely to have to pay for this replacement. I am
talking about polybutelyne water piping. Usually identified by
its blue coloring, this piping has a reputation of breaking and
leaking, causing thousands in water damage. Though many houses may
have it, nobody wants it. Not only is it unpopular, it’s expensive
to replace. But using the techniques I teach in Rehab 101 we got
our estimate to replace the entire pipe in the house and the
underground service from the street down from $7995.00 to about
half the cost at $4200.00. That’s a great savings on just that
item alone. So be careful not to overlook a house’s “fine print”
when you do your initial walk around. Look beyond just what you
think you see and learn to look for the less obvious repairs that
could make or break a good deal.