1. Giving the property and grounds an industrial strength cleaning.
2. Applying a cosmetic facelift to the exterior of the property and grounds.
3. Applying a cosmetic facelift to the interior of the property.
A word to the wise: If you're thinking about doing the fix-up yourself, first ask yourself this question: Do I have the knowledge, skill, and experience necessary to do a top-notch, professional quality job? Be honest with yourself. I've seen a lot of money wasted by so-called weekend handymen who didn't possess the skill levels necessary to achieve a first class job, and they had to call in a professional at a great expense to bail them out and redo their handiwork. Know your limitations and abide by them. Don't try to save money by doing repairs, which you aren't qualified to do. In other words, know what you don't know about property repairs, and never attempt to fix stuff that you know absolutely nothing about, regardless of how many times you've seen Norm fix it on reruns of This Old House! The often-heard refrain of, "don't try this at home," should be applicable to all amateurs for any repairs.
The trick to having a fast property fix-up that's on schedule and within budget is to be well organized. In order to do this, you must make certain to include the following seven key elements in your property fix-up plan:
1. Budget: Establish a bottom-line budget before you start the job.
2. Total job cost estimate: Estimate to within five percent how much the total fix-up is going to cost.
3. Labor: If you don't have the knowledge, experience, and time to do a first class professional looking job,
4. Job supervision: If you don't have the knowledge and time to supervise the job yourself, hire a competent professional to do it for you. 5. Quality control: Have all of the completed work inspected to make certain that it has been done in a professional manner in accordance with acceptable construction methods and building codes. 6. Work schedule: Set a coordinated work schedule to complete the entire job. 7. Completion date: Put completion dates in all your contracts and hold everyone accountable. Here are three ways that you can avoid being ripped of by the many unscrupulous repairmen, tradesmen and contractors who make a living taking real estate investors to-the-cleaners on a regular basis: 1. Hire only properly licensed and insured repairmen, tradesmen and contractors. 2. Require written estimates for all jobs. 3. Require that everyone who provides labor and materials on your job sign your state's version of a waiver and release of lien upon final payment form. In order to avoid being duped into 1. Require that all repairmen and contractors provide copies of their license or of competency, occupational license, workers” compensation insurance certificate, workers” compensation exemption certificate for sole employees, general 2. Require that all repairmen and contractors provide four verifiable customer references. 3. Contact each customer reference provided and ask them if they would hire the repairman or contractor again. 4. Conduct an online search of your state's contractor license database to verify that the contractor has a valid license. 5. Contact all of the insurers listed on the insurance certificates to verify that the policies are valid and in effect. 6. Contact your local city and county building departments to check if there's a history of complaints against the repairman or contractor. 7. Contact your local Better Business Bureau to check if there's a history of complaints against the repairman or contractor. 8. Log onto your state attorney general's consumer investigations Web page to check if the repairman or contractor is under investigation. How do you find competent professional tradesmen and contractors? Start by looking on the Internet and in your local newspaper under the professional services section. Or, better yet, visit construction job sites and ask tradesmen if they're interested in side-work. In most cases, they will be. Ask them for references from people they have done work for. Also, try to see previous examples of their work. A little investigative work on your part could pay handsome dividends, especially if it helps you to avoid being stuck with a less than professional looking job. I've had good luck hiring retired tradesmen who are looking for part-time employment. In order to avoid being ripped off by unscrupulous repairmen and contractors, require written estimates that include the following information: 1. Detailed description of the scope of all work to be performed on the job to include cleanup. 2. Detailed work schedule with commencement and completion dates. 3. Specifications for all building materials to be used on the job. 4. Listing of all building permits required to perform the job. 5. Detailed payment schedule outlining the amount and time when payments are to be made. 6. Warranties covering workmanship and building materials used on the job. You need to know that under most state construction lien laws, anyone who provides a service, labor or materials for the improvement of real property has a right to file a lien against the property for nonpayment. Furthermore, if you do pay a contractor for a job, and the contractor fails to pay the subcontractors who supplied the labor and the materialmen who supplied the materials, you're still financially responsible for paying them even though you've paid the contractor in full. In other words, you could end up paying for a job twice if you don't have legal proof that everyone was paid in full. In order to avoid paying for a job twice, require that everyone who works or supplies materials on your job sign a Waiver and Release Of Lien Upon Final Payment when they're paid. This way, you'll have legal proof that everyone connected to your property fix-up was paid in full. The first step in the property fix-up phase is to thoroughly clean the property's exterior to include the roof and all walkways and parking areas. You can apply an industrial strength cleaning to any type of property by using a pressure washer with a minimum capacity of 3500 PSI at 3.5 GPM. Pressure washing will remove all dirt, grime, soot, oils, and other pollutants from all exterior surfaces. I recommend that you hire the services of a competent professional pressure washing service that uses state-of-the-art equipment and the proper chemicals. The main objective in having your property's exterior thoroughly washed is to be able to see what is beneath the last five year's worth of dirt, filth, and grime. It's really amazing what a professional pressure washing can do to a property's appearance. Plus, pressure washing eliminates a lot of labor-intensive work such as scraping paint. In most cases, the only things necessary prior to applying the finishing coat of exterior paint will be caulking and priming the surfaces. Lastly, a thorough pressure washing will expose any rotted wood and other building materials needing replacement. Rule number one in the fix-up of any property is to always complete the exterior facelift first. This way, the property looks enticing from the curb and helps to lure potential buyers inside for a further look. Don't scrimp on the quality of paint or the cost of a quality paint job. An amateurish looking paint job done by an inexperienced painter with cheap paint, sticks out like a sore thumb, while a professional looking paint job will literally add thousands of dollars to a property's resale value. Fact is, there's no greater return on investment than the increased value brought by a top quality, professional looking exterior and interior paint job. I am constantly amazed at how a good quality paint job can drastically upgrade the appearance and resale value of any property. It's extremely important that you choose an exterior paint color scheme that will enhance your property's curb appeal. I use a three-color exterior paint scheme that my wife, Barbara, came up with in 1995. It incorporates three tropical colors that people generally associate with Florida. For example, I paint the body of the building one color, the fascia and exterior doors one color and the drip edge around the roof and window shutters one color. Go to paint related Web sites online or visit your local paint store for suggestions on the exterior color schemes that will best accentuate your property's character and charm. The interior walls and ceilings should be painted in light neutral colors, using quality interior flat latex paint. The interior trim and doors should be painted with latex semi-gloss enamel paint. For example, I use a two-color interior color scheme: flat white paint on walls and ceilings and antique white semi-gloss on trim and doors. Please keep in mind that a professional interior paint job using quality paint will enhance a rental unit's appearance and increase the property's resale value, while a shoddy paint job using cheap paint will detract from a rental unit's appearance and do nothing to contribute to the property's resale value! You can avoid the cost of replacing interior walls and ceilings that have rough surfaces by applying a textured coating to them. A professional looking texture job will greatly enhance the appearance of your problem walls and ceilings. In most cases, the best and least expensive texture to use is premixed joint compound. Joint compound will bond to most wall and ceiling surfaces such as drywall, lath and plaster. And, pre-mixed joint compound is less expensive and easier to apply than conventional plaster mixes. Being a parsimonious Yankee from New Hampshire, my property fix-up motto has always been clean, repair or replace as needed. In other words, first try cleaning it, and if that doesn't do the trick, try repairing, and if that doesn't work, replace it with a pre-owned replacement from a reputable source. The following is a listing of items that must be cleaned, patched, repaired or replaced when fixing up a property: 1. Walkways and parking areas. Clean, repair, patch and seal all walkways and parking areas as needed. 2. Mailboxes. Clean, repair or replace all mailboxes as needed. 3. Exterior doors. Clean, repair or replace all exterior doors, hardware and locksets as needed. 4. Windows. Clean, repair or replace window frames, glass and locks as needed. 5. Exterior lighting. Clean, repair or replace all exterior light fixtures and bulbs as needed. 6. Interior doors. Clean, repair or replace all interior doors, hardware and locksets as needed. 7. Kitchen cabinets. Clean, repair or replace all cabinet doors, hardware and countertops as needed. 8. Interior lighting. Clean, repair or replace all interior light fixtures and bulbs as needed. 9. Plumbing fixtures. Clean, repair, or replace all sinks, tubs, showers, faucets, commodes and vanities as needed. 10. Heating and cooling systems. Clean, repair or replace all heating and cooling systems as needed. 11. Floor coverings: Clean, repair or replace all carpets and floor coverings as needed. 12. Exterior and interior paint. Clean, prepare and paint all exterior and interior surfaces. 13. Landscaping. Prune, cut, trim and mow the property”s landscaping and lawn as needed. 14. Gutters and downspouts. Clean, repair or replace all gutters and downspouts as needed. 15. Roofs. Clean, repair or replace as needed. Conduct Final Walk-Through Inspections Before Making The Final Payments Lastly, prior to making any final payments to tradesmen and contractors, do a walk-through inspection of the property to determine if all work has been satisfactorily completed. When doing your walk-through, check the quality of the materials and workmanship. Make lists of all the discrepancies you find during your walk-through and give them to each applicable contractor or tradesmen to correct. In doing this, be fair and realistic, but don't let anyone take unfair advantage of you. When making your final payments, be certain you get a release of lien form signed by each contractor or tradesmen which states that they've been paid in full for all labor and materials used on your property. Lastly, please don't get carried away during the fix-up and do foolish things like putting up expensive vertical blinds, installing expensive floor coverings, or mirroring bedroom ceilings. When doing a cosmetic facelift on a property, never lose sight of your fix-up objective, which should always be to maximize the property's curb appeal and resale by giving it an industrial cleaning and cosmetic facelift. |