The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges for this project from the initial acquisition to dealing with existing tenants. The property required a timely renovation after nearly 20 years of neglect, but the major obstacle was the existing tenant of 4 years. Immediately after acquiring the property, we talked to future plans with the tenant in which they discussed future plans of moving with timeline set. Immediately, we were concerned with displacing the family during this time, but both parents maintained their jobs.
Even with a 45 day notice, the tenant decided to not pay their last month of rent and neglected to fix any issues with the house. As an initial experience for tenant turnover and dealing with a month of no payments, we still pushed through to renovation right on schedule. This project focused on balancing contractors to do 95% of the project. Our budget threshold was set at $25K to include a new roof, new floors, interior paint, and upgraded kitchens/bathrooms.
One bridge loan and one tenant later, we sat prepared for another renovation project. After getting estimates from various contractors both previously used and new ones, we settled on new contractors. In late summer 2020, we are still facing the top of the real estate cycle in the Fayetteville, NC area. This is highly likely due to Fort Bragg military base, but either way prices remain high and contractors aren’t short on work. With a 5 week reno timeline, we initiated reno.
We focus on renovations similar to fix and flippers. We do this to insure we maximize the appraisal during refinancing. This approach affords us to find the best tenants at the highest market rates. Walkthroughs are a breeze and tenants are typically motivated to have a practically brand-new house to call their own. This project we carried the same approach: Luxury Vinyl Planks throughout, carpets in the bedrooms, light gray wall paint, updated vanities and cabinets, and new fixtures throughout. The property easily will last the next 10 to 15 years with minimal maintenance.
Overall, the project went smooth. The flooring company worked seamlessly with the General Contractor of the project and met the project timeline. The modern update totally revamped the look and feel of the house and gave it the contemporary upgrade the house deserved.
The project exceeded our expectations and we knew from the beginning it would be a smooth project. With a hard deadline set to have it rented by 1 November, we placed Jefferson on the market and under lease in less than 5 days at the top of the market for rental rate. After a professional cleanup and professional pest control, the Jefferson Dr project looks to be a viable addition to our portfolio for the foreseeable future.
