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Tuesday’s Tip #47: Be Resourceful

By
Real Estate Agent with Land Chasers

If you’ve ever been in the rental business, you know how expensive it can be to rehab a property after a tenant moves out. You try to fix things well and put in nice things and tenants destroy them. You put in something cheap and end up replacing it four times before the nice one would have worn out. Sometimes it feels like a lose/lose situation.

Your goal is to maximize cash flow by creating a comfortable environment for a renter without putting in a ridiculous amount of money in to rehab it. That can be challenging. Sometimes, it can seem down right impossible.

This is when it’s important to be resourceful. How can you find good deals on windows? What about doors? Cabinets? Stop running to Lowes or Home Depot. Start thinking outside the box. Again, your goal is to maximize your cash flow by saving where you can.

So, why not talk to a local carpenter who remodels homes? Ask him if he ever rehabs nice homes and has extra materials that he wants to sell at a discount. Better yet, ask him if he ever has good materials that he pulls out of homes when he’s replacing them. Does he have any good old doors, cabinets, windows, or flooring? If so, is he just going to throw it away? If so, tell him you’ll haul it for free. If not, how much would he be willing to take for it?

What if you could buy that new exterior door you needed for your single family for $50, instead of $150? Could you use an extra $100 right now?

What if you talk to a local landscaper about buying his extra mulch, plants, or mulch at the end of the season or after a job where he didn’t need them? How much could this save you on materials?

I’m getting free flooring for a house I’m rehabbing and most of the materials will be free for the job. How? I asked a rehabber.

Tuesday’s Tip: It’s not brain surgery. It’s called networking and resourcefulness. Do it.

Tracy Riba
HomeTowne Realty, Johnston County NC - Clayton, NC
Residential & Commercial NC Real Estate Broker
Have you ever checked out your local Habitate for Humanity ReStore.  This is where those rehabbers take items for a tax donation credit.
Feb 26, 2008 07:00 AM
Hanh Brown
Canton, MI

Hello!

Would you like to become part of our community, network, learn and teach others about what you know.

Please come and introduce yourself!

Investors Lounge Online is networking communities where like-minded people gain knowledge, share ideas, information, and resources and help each other achieve financial success through real estate related investments.

We would like to know about your interest and learn some thing from you!
 Respectfully
 Hanh Dang Brown
Feb 26, 2008 10:12 AM