Let me share something funny but “enlightening” with you today. Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with lame stuff. I just want to tell you how a little “oversight” cost my friend hundreds of dollars and lots of wasted time while doing a fix and flip project.

It happened a couple of years back, when my buddy was just starting his rehabbing business. I didn’t really know what possessed him to make his first fix and flip project an experiment but while that incident produced disastrous results, it did teach him a lot of things.

My rehabber friend, you see, has little background on doing construction work so he decided not to hire professional contractors. In addition, the fixer upper home that he has purchased looked like it didn’t need too much work, just a little paint touch-up and some new fixtures. That gave him the confidence to do the rehab on his own, with the help of his friends, of course.

To make the long story short, we were having a break after putting finishing touches on the paintjob when my friend’s seven-year-old son started telling us that the “walls are melting.” Well, to say that we were fairly surprised was the understatement of the year. The kitchen walls, which happened to be of the same color as butter, were indeed melting.

It turned out that one of the pipes behind a wall got busted and my genius friend “forgot” to check if the piping system was still in good condition before applying the first coat of paint. He just relied on what the realtor told him. Despite that disastrous day, we were quite thankful that we got to discover the house’s dirty secret before my friend sold it to the buyer.

So the moral lesson of the story is to always do your homework when rehabbing a house. Give the property a thorough checkup and don’t take the words of a realtor at face value. And even if you do know something about fixing and flipping a property, it wouldn’t hurt to seek the assistance of professional contractors.

Building a solid team is important in the real estate investing industry, especially if you are involved in the business of renovating homes. Like a colony of ants, or any other social insects for that matter, it is easier to accomplish a huge project if you have extra pairs of hands to work with.

But what if those extra pairs of hands are doing something else when the “eyes” are not looking? You’re probably going to end up with a poorly rehabbed home, bigger expenses, and a badly bruised sense of self. Therefore, if you’re going to build a rehabbing team, see to it that all of them can be trusted.

Trust is vital in any relationship. Do you trust a business partner who’s double-crossing you? Do you keep a lover who’s cheating on you? Of course you don’t because only a masochist of the highest caliber would do that. If you don’t want to be duped by your contractors, you’ve got to nip the problem in the bud.

When building a rehabbing team or hiring contractors for a fix and flip project, always conduct a background check. With tons of con artists and opportunists running around, you can never be too careful. Don’t forget to ask for an ID when a certain contractor is offering you his services. You should also ask for references so you can ensure that that person is indeed capable of doing his job.

As the saying goes, no man is an island. You cannot survive on your own, no matter how hard you try. However, you should also be careful when choosing the person you’re going to trust. With your real estate investing business on the line, choosing the wrong members for your rehabbing team is akin to making a bad real estate investment.

There are mornings that are simply so good they make you forget that you have a rehabbing project waiting for you after you have your breakfast. Some mornings are just too good, the sun’s just warm enough to wake you up and the wind’s just fine to keep you refreshed. Ah, Tampa. Sipping homemade coffee on a very fine morning like this one makes you contemplate a bit about your future and how things will change when you grow a bit older.

Looking back a bit, back when the job was the order of the day, thinking about the future was somewhat scary. Will the cycle go on until kingdom come? Wake up, rush to the shower, rush to work, “be one with the cubicle,” look at the clock, stare at the monitor, look at the clock again, play games on the Net discreetly, look at the clock, go home tired. You sleep and wake up the next day and the vicious cycle continues. Thinking of the future is just scary. Good thing rehabbing and real estate investing changed that.

Things didn’t change overnight; not after endless efforts to learn real estate and become an entrepreneur. Today, contemplating on the years to come is exciting. How many more real estate deals will come to the table before retirement finally is considered. Probably grandchildren will come? At the very least that future is somewhat, and to a certain degree, secure. Rehabbing indeed changes a person’s mindset and life – often for the better.

This statement is very subjective in the same way that this entry is somewhat awkwardly emotional. You won’t take an old man to court for sipping coffee and contemplating about real estate investing, will you?

It amazes me how a turtle’s shell can protect the animal, even from some of the deadliest blows of larger predators. A leopard can chew and chomp on the turtle all day long but the smaller animal is still safe and secure inside its built-in protective “body helmet.” And when the turtle dies, the shell remains intact for hundreds of years even if the body has long decayed.

When equating to a house, a turtle’s shell probably serves as the roof. It protects the occupants from the rain and snow. The roof also shields them from the glaring heat of the sun. Just imagine what will happen to your family if you live in a house with no roof as a category 4 hurricane or a summer heat wave approaches.

So why all that talk about the roof? Well, if you’re a rehabber, one of the things that you should prioritize is the roof. Even though most veteran rehabbers explicitly state that you should start the renovations on the interior of the property to prevent unwanted attention, all your efforts will go to waste if you leave a gaping hole in the roof.

Think about it. You paint the walls, install new fixtures, and lay down the carpet. And then came a sudden downpour. You remember that there’s a huge hole in the roof and voila! You see a water-logged carpet and a ruined paintjob.

Let’s relate the situation to the mighty turtle. Mr. Turtle thinks that he’s invincible with his shining and shimmering shell. However, he didn’t realize that there’s a teeny crack on his armor. And then, a hungry bear comes along… You probably know where the story’s heading so I’ll skip on the details.

The point I’m making is this: don’t be afraid to break the rules when the roof is concerned. You should patch up the main armor of your house ASAP to prevent further damage to the property you’re rehabbing. If you don’t, you’ll end up repeating all the repairs and blowing your budget.

For men who want women to chase them and not the other way around, rehabbing is the job for you! Just imagine that blazing hot lady walking down the street. She’s wearing a burning red tight dress matching the color of the lipstick delicately splattered across her bee-stung lips. She stares at you and see’s your Hercules biceps lifting a piece of hardwood for the floor. Your body’s bathing with sweat; your sleeves rolled up. She will surely stare at that manly creation that is you!

Seriously though, women, or even men, are looking for some sense of security when choosing whom they’ll date for long. Not that this blog is about love counseling or relationship tips! Rehabbing, from a very biased point of view, can be a plus point for you in finding a mate. Because women are attracted to those who have the financial freedom – although not entirely the financial form of liberty – you’ll be able to draw the women you want if you are into the fix and flip business. If you are paid handsomely, you are handsome, remember that. If women knew that rehabbers rake in around $30,000 from a single project, they’d come after you because they feel that they are secure with you.

Just a little warning though: fix and flip should not be used as a substitute for being a good man overall. Nor should it be your No. 1 tool to draw women. Although come to think of it, that could be a good motivation to keep on performing better with rehab deals. A real estate investor after all needs motivation (as if the huge return isn’t enough motivation) to keep on hunting for deals.

Want women? Start rehabbing for goodness sake.

Let’s admit it, we all love to eat. Most of us can’t resist the captivating aroma of mom’s special pot roast or the scent of chocolate chip cookies sitting in the oven. And whenever an ad on the latest munchies at McDonald’s pops on the television screen, we’re itching to get off the couch and drive to the popular fast food chain to grab a bite.

Man’s inherent love for culinary delights is something that you should take advantage of when fixing and flipping properties. According to a survey, majority of the American population spend their time in the kitchen when not watching the boob tube. So if there’s one part of the house that you should give special attention to when rehabbing, it should be the kitchen.

The kitchen is usually moms’ favorite part of the house. It serves as their sanctuary and it is one place that dads don’t usually venture into, unless they want a quick fix for their hunger. And who do you think has a big say when buying a new house for the family? Yup, you got it right. No offense meant to the man of the house but it is usually the mother who gets to decide whether to buy a particular property or not.

As a real estate investor, you should be mom’s BFF and present her a kitchen that she can’t resist. If she falls instantly in love with that part of the house, she will bug dad and talk him into buying the property. And we all know how persistent moms can be if they want something, don’t we?

By making the kitchen a major selling point of your real estate investment, it would be easier for you to sell the rehabbed home and make tons of cash. So when rehabbing a fixer upper home, see to it that you give mom’s sanctuary a big TLC.

If there’s one activity that I hate the most, it is probably cleaning a messy and filthy bathroom. Imagine all those dirt and grime clinging to your skin and that unpleasant smell overpowering the floral scent of the detergent you’re using to clean the place up. The thought of seeing such an untidy and mucky room is enough to make me shudder.

Real estate investors got it bad because part of their tasks when rehabbing a property is to give grimy bathrooms a makeover. They have no choice but to deal with this particular part of the house to make the property a looker. But once they manage to give the bathroom a new look, it would be easier for them to make thousands of dollars from the rehabbed home.

I’m not really aware of the reason why most home buyers are very choosy when it comes to the bathroom. It baffles me that some buyers won’t purchase a property, even if it is perfect for their family, because the restrooms are not giving them “positive vibes.” So if you make money rehabbing fixer upper homes and handyman specials, you should be prepared to satisfy this particular quirk of home buyers.

Giving special attention to the bathroom is a great way to increase the profitability of a property. Because you want your fix and flip project to leave a lasting impression on the buyer, you have to ensure that a prospective client will fall in love with the house the moment he sees it. So if you have a buyer who has a “bathroom fetish,” then you should do your best to stage the restrooms.

I’m not saying that you should disregard the other parts of the house and focus your attention solely on the bathrooms. The point is that you should give restrooms some TLC, even if you’re just like me who hates scrubbing grimy tiles, sinks, and toilet bowls, if you want to make big bucks when rehabbing houses.

The completion of a rehabbing project indeed gives birth to reflection. It should be as automatic as rejection sparking self evaluation or necessity giving birth to innovation.

The cashing of a pay check is a time that rehabbers must use not only in spending the money they had just earned but also in reflecting on what had just transpired during the last few months. Although perceived as a trait of the inactive, reflection brings many benefits to those who do it. It is only through pondering and letting the mind wander to the recent past that we discover things we would otherwise miss during a busy day.

When rehabbing houses, we are often preoccupied with the specific needs of the property. The HVAC probably needs intense cleaning or the windows need new frames and panes. The front door probably looks terribly dull it will force a mime to shout in protest. These are the things we keep in mind when working on a property. As for what we have achieved and how we conquered problems that appeared insurmountable at first – these are often forgotten.

Little do rehabbers realize that there is great value in looking back and thinking at how many hindrances were cleared. When you look back, you’ll think of what you did right, what you did wrong, what you didn’t do, and what you did too much. Knowing these things (and writing them down if possible) will make your next rehabbing project easier. It is possible that you’ll meet these problems anew. This time around though, you’re better prepared because you’ve already reflected on them. So after you pull out that yard sign, make sure to find a quiet corner and reflect.

It is very dangerous for a heated rehabbing dispute to break out inside a property that is currently being repaired. Just imagine all the tools just lying around. There’s a hammer on the right, an electric drill on the left, a portable ladder behind, a Philips in front, and a hi-powered stapler just beside your right foot. Imagine if, in the middle of an argument, one party picks up any of the tools. The next thing you know, the distressed property is a crime scene.

Gory as it may sound, but precaution must always be practiced by everyone in the business. Using a carpenter’s tool for an act of violence is of course an exaggeration but is nevertheless a possibility, a remote possibility.

For that reason, dialogue should be the rule of thumb in settling all rehabbing disputes. If your electrician punched a hole in the wall you had just refinished, talk to him calmly. If your careless plumber scratched the new toilet sink you just bought, have a chat with him. Some workers make mistakes that may be settled peacefully. Sometimes, you, the investor and head rehabber, can also make mistakes. They must talk to you calmly as well.

The importance of clear and calm communication is important in any business, be it real estate investing, making hotdog carts, or selling DVDs. In rehabbing, problems will be ironed out faster if you maintain an open line with everyone who’s involved in the process. From the painter, to the electrician, the plumber, the marketer, and everyone else (assuming of course you don’t do all of these jobs yourself), conversations must be clear and calm. Try practicing this and you’ll see an improvement in your turnaround times.

There is indeed one single question rehabbers often ask themselves all the time, especially those who have the skills in repairing and improving properties. This question is so classic it beats the “chicken or egg” dilemma big time and the “original or spicy flavor” debate by a mile.

Neophyte rehabbers have asked themselves this question. Investors of five years have tried to solve this puzzle. Seasoned house flippers who are staring at the compulsory retirement age still spend time just thinking of the right answer to this question:
Should I do the rehabbing work on my own or should I hire a contractor?

Sorry to disappoint you after all that anticipation. You might feel it was overhyped, but really was it? (OK maybe, but just a bit overhyped) Handymen love improving homes but sometimes there are other more pressing matters – say finding a buyer or marketing the house – they need to attend to. Sometimes, the rehabber has the skills set but he just doesn’t want to handle that hammer. In other cases, the project needs to be finished in a month so additional workers are hired. The situations vary but the question stays the same.

In any case, answering this question is really the discretion of the rehabber himself. To help you decide though, you might want to weigh on these factors: your health, skills, time, and budget for labor. From this list of factors, answering the eternal question rehabbers ask themselves will hopefully be a bit easier.

Happy rehabbing!