So, now we have a property. Where to start?
The floor plan
We decided that the best use of this property would be renovate it and keep it as a rental. Our plan is to rent it out by room to maximize the rental potential. We live in a military town with a lot of flight students, so we decided this would be a good strategy for us as well as provide affordable and flexible housing for them.
We had a general contractor give some recommendations and a new floor plan was developed. A few of the major changes will be to relocate the hot water heater to an existing outside storage closet to free up space in bathroom #2, which is between bedrooms 2 (“yellow”) and 3 (“pink”). We will combine the front living room, bedroom #1 (“brown”), and the bathroom #1 into a suite (with a higher rent) with its own private entrance from the carport. What was the dining room will be changed into a common living room and a closeted laundry area will be added. A large kitchen island with storage will replace the lost dining space. The HVAC unit by bathroom #1 will be moved out and housed next to what will be the laundry area to make more usable space. The kitchen, living room, and laundry will be common areas between all the renters. The side entrance (“deck”) to the house will be the main entrance for tenants in bedrooms 2 & 3.
What stays, what goes?
Mike had a property inspector come and advise on things that needed to be fixed. So, then came the decision for each of these items – remodel or replace? The kitchen, for example. All of it needed work – it was GROSS. The perfect opportunity for a complete gut and remodel. In fact, the whole house was gutted and the wall separating the existing dining room and kitchen was removed.
Scope of work
A “scope of work” is on overall list of everything that needs to be done in the rehab. Below is a snapshot of the SOW for this renovation, but it will become more detailed than what is shown below.
Next up? Demolition!
Big Scope of Work, was most of that made from the General Contractor?
No, I did that. The final one is actually a bit longer and in way more detail. It was a lot more involved than I thought, but the more detail you put in, the less likely the contractor will mess it up.