As far as networking, some of you already know that going to lunch or going to coffee after a general meeting can open up conversations that give you more to work with than the meeting did. It can give you the resources you need to do what you intend to do with your investing. Remodeling investors.

Education comes in the form of experienced people who show up to pass on the information that they have acquired doing just what the new investors are about to do. They offer what they have learned through experience; some of it good experience, some of it not. Personally, I call it a good day when I can be the observer and learn from someone else’s mistakes without having top make them myself.

All that learning takes time though, and you need to start getting educated pretty quickly. After all, if you want be successful in this industry sooner or later, why not sooner? We’re going to look at some things that will keep you from making painful mistakes in the purchase of investment real estate.

Now learning everything about a house is a pretty big undertaking. What you will get here today are a bouquet of things that will make it much easier for you to decide whether the house you are looking at will make a good investment or not. It’s all in the numbers, and the more you know about what you will have to fix, the better offers you will make. The better the offers, the more profit you will be able to put in your pocket. So, heads up, and we’ll take a look at some of the things that can hurt you if you overlook them. They are in no particular order, and even the newest investor can make sense of these tips.

Roof: Look up in the attic. Look at the bottom side of the roof. Is what you are looking at a smooth plywood deck, or are there 1 X 4’s at right angles to the rafters, and individual wood shingles nailed to them? You may have a composition (shingle) roof on the outside, but if it is laid over a wood shingle roof, it will cost 40 – 60% more when it is time to replace the roof. Reason? All the wood shingles have to come off and then plywood has to be cut and nailed onto the rafters before we can put the new roof on. More material, more labor, more money.

Service panel: Also called the breaker box, this is where electrical power comes into and is distributed throughout the house. If you are planning to add central heat and air where there was none before, you will need to make sure you have enough electrical capacity to do it. You can put central air onto an existing 100 amp service if you are going to have a gas furnace. If the house is going to be all electric, you will probably need 150 amps. If you open up the service panel to see the breakers, look at the inside of the door covering the panel. The manufacturer usually glues a piece of paper to the door telling you how many amps the panel will accommodate.

Old service panels that have Edison fuses (those old screw-in glass fuses), it will have to be replaced. If it is about 6 inches wide and 9 inches high, it is probably one of the old 65 amp services that used to be the standard. We live differently today with all of our appliances and electrical conveniences, and our taste for energy is greater. 65 amps is not enough to supply central heat and air. Cost to replace the service panel? Between %850 and 1,250 depending on who you use.  Remodeling investors.

Rotten wood: Look for rotten wood. No, really get close to the wood trim, window sills, siding etc, and have a close look at it. Is there obvious deterioration of the wood? Are there black stains? Is the wood spongy or punky? Is the wood missing? Begin to notice more about the house as you look at more of them. It will have you making better offers in no time, no kidding.

Gas meter: Notice, please, please remember to notice if the gas meter is there or if the only thing left is a pipe sticking out of the ground. If the gas meter has been removed, you may have to pass a gas test before you can get the gas turned back on. Gas test means a licensed plumber and a city permit. Cost to you? Gas tests run an average of $180m to 250 for the test. If you pass, you get the gas turned on. If the test does not pass, then you have to chase all the leaks down and fix them. This could run into hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

The meter belongs to Entex, they can get it when they want to. If the gas service has been cancelled, they like to take the meters into the shop and rebuild them. The reason is that the as the meters age, they wear out and do not measure all the gas they are delivering, so Entex is giving their stuff away.

Drains: Try to run the water in the house when you look at it. No, not like that, I mean RUN it. Turn on every faucet in the house and let them run for 10 – 15 minutes. If the drains are backing up it could be soap and hair in the drains. If the house has had settlement problems, then the drains may be broken under the house or the pipe may be so old that it has just collapsed. Cost to you to repair drains under the house? Thousands of dollars.

Attic: Look in the attic. If the house has been left vacant for awhile, the HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) equipment may have been removed form the attic. Check for ductwork too. While you’re at it, look for an air conditioning condensing unit on the outside of the house. This equipment has a habit of turning up missing in unoccupied houses. Cost to you? Replacing the heating and air conditioning system end to end will set you back $800 to 1,100 a ton. (remodeling investors)

While the tips you see here will not make you an expert in evaluating the condition of the property, they will take you a long way in gaining the education you need to make the right decisions. I’ll help you. I’m Kevin Smith, and I’ll see you out on the property.


Kevin Smith
Forward Assist Inspections
(713)858-1330
Texas Real Estate License #3234