KLD Homes Readington Rd House Flip

December 18, 2018December 18, 2018 / Lauren S / Leave a comment

In this post we will cover all the renovations in the KLD Homes Readington Rd flip. This home was a For Sale By Owner purchase. The owner could not keep up with the maintenance of the property. Home had fallen into disrepair with many major issues from the foundation to the septic sytem. This was not a paint and list type of rehab, nor was it quick. From start to finish the project took 12 months months to complete.

Flip Timeline

The old adage time is money is still very pertinent in the flipping industry. The faster the flip the lower the holding costs. Taxes and payments to lenders still need to be made during the renovation period. Making sure there is enough capital to cover holding cost is vital for a successful flip. The purchase of the Readington Rd house was a For Sale By Owner. The lead came across via Craigslist. After 2 weeks of negotiation and number crunching a contract was made. Do not discount the real opportunities that present themselves on Craigslist, it is still a viable source for investment leads and opportunity. From the first contact with the seller to close was 40 days. The actual rehab of the house took 8 months. The closing after completion also had a few hangups causing the total flip to take about 12 months. Even with a longer than average flip time profit was still made.

The Major Issues

The faulty foundation is one issue that makes most investors run. KLD Homes went ahead with the deal. Below are pictures of the foundation repair. The foundation project itself went very smooth. If a foundation is not fixed properly the house would not pass inspection. Floor sag and weighty floors are signs of foundation issues. Since the foundation had sunk and lost its structural integrity the basement floor had begun cracking everywhere. The basement floor was taken up and replaced. Along with foundation issues, there was also extensive termite damage that required a new sill plate, rim joists, new flooring joists, and new wall studs. The septic issue was a disaster and really slowed down the entire rehab. The key to a successful and quick septic removal is having a great septic engineer who understands the local health codes and how to work efficiently with the municipality. Also making sure to plan ahead with the amount of time it will take to get the septic removal and re-installation finished.

Basement Floor Repair
Basement Floor Repair

Other Structural Changes

The KLD Homes team added an extra 100 square feet, including another full bathroom. To create an open concept floor plan, a wall was removed and an I-BEAM was installed. The picture below shows how the entire side of the house was taken down and re-framed using an I-BEAM for structural integrity. All the windows were replaced, the house resided, and a new roof put on. Brand new electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC was also added. Insulation was updated and the house is now fully insulated. Other outside changes include two new driveways, new garage door, poured concrete steps along with general landscaping. Essentially the entire house was gutted and rebuilt.

Kitchen and Bathroom Remodel

Nothing in the house was salvageable and this includes the Kitchen and Bathroom. Both were gutted and given the KLD Homes remodel treatment. The open concept floor plan demanded a bright white kitchen complete with granite countertops, recessed lighting, brand new stainless steel appliances, and a giant center island. The bathrooms received similar treatment; granite counter tops, mosaic shower tiles, and Smart mirrors to bring it all together.

Open Concept Kitchen

White Kitchen
White Kitchen
White Kitchen

Addition Master Bathroom
After Bathroom

Lessons Learned

The hardest part of this flip was the septic removal and installation which took an entire 4 months to complete. Due to established health code the planing of the septic removal was the longest part of the process. This is why finding an experienced Septic Engineer is pivotal. The foundation repair was also tricky but finished quickly in comparison to the septic tank. Every rehab is a learning experience, whether it’s your first or your last. Each comes with ups and downs, but the key is to see it though. Always make sure you make your payments to lenders, and deliver a solid house.

Yellow Front Door
Open Concept Entry Way
Open Concept Family Room
Open Concept Floor Plan
Open Concept
Master Bedroom
Open Concept
Dining Room
New Basement Floor
Family Room
Open Concept Family Room

See Slide Slide Show of House

Stay tuned for upcoming flip in Milford NJ

My Old House

December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 / Lauren S / Leave a comment

I love old homes; the character, the thick wood molding, and the giant windows are some features that made me fall in love with our current house. While the house leaves something to be desired (the kitchen is scary) it is everything I wanted in a house. We are currently finishing the dining room up. Below is a picture of the wallpaper currently decorating the walls, and the “chandelier” that hangs proudly in the center of the room. In this post I’ll touch briefly on antique finds, polishing turds, and even a couple ghost stories.

Gold Floral Wallpaper Circa 1980s
Antique Light Fixture

The chandelier is definitely going. The wallpaper though is a love-hate. I love the charm, but it is a lot. I guess you could say I love it, just not in my house. I have some people come over and exclaim how beautiful it is, others comment on how heinous it is. I stand in the middle, which is why I’m going to try and leave an accent wall of it. According to the inter-webs, this is trendy, so I’m going to go with it. I have an odd affinity for old wallpaper and just old things in general. I get so excited when I come across 1950’s kitchen wallpaper. The first picture below is my first charming wallpaper find. There is a certain charm about it that can not be replicated. Where this particular piece was, a kitchen cabinet was going, so incorporating into the design wasn’t possible. I asked my Facebook friends if they had any vintage wallpaper finds they would be willing to share with me. A few of them had a couple of hidden gems. You can also buy rolls of vintage wallpaper from online retailers. I’ll keep this in mind when we renovate our kitchen.

Wallpaper discovered in our first kitchen renovation.

Facebook Friends Charming Wallpaper finds

Vintage Tin Cans

Among some other awesome vintage finds are old tin cans. I know the garbage dump is probably full of these, but to me these are treasures! A quick browse through eBay and you can find listings for “vintage cans” with starting bids as low as $3 all the way up to $200. In this lot, the Renne’s Magic Oil rings in the most value at $50. I can still remember when band-aids came in tin boxes, and Vaseline in glass jars. I suppose being a product junkie might have more to do with my affinity for packaging than the actual product. Besides old tins and wallpaper, we have also found vintage tin toys, old book collections, and old furniture in our various properties.

Royal Baking Powder, Renne’s Magic Oil, Maxwell House Coffee, California Walnuts

Antique Furniture

Check out these amazing antique school benches that were found in the basement of one of our Reno Properties. I plan to polish up the wood and clean up the cast iron base. Refinished school benches like this can fetch up to $89 off of eBay. Another awesome way to refinish cast iron bases is to place cut of polished granite on top. This Singer Sewing Machine table is my all-time favorite piece of refurbished antique furniture. A refinished piece like this can go for $150, and if found untouched and in great shape, they can go for over $400!

Antique Children’s Desks
Refurbished Sewing Machine Table

DIY Chalk Painting

Not every piece of furniture you find is going to be great quality or a true antique. These pieces are the kind I DIY chalk paint. While you can’t turn a turd into gold, you CAN polish it. Here are a couple pieces of furniture that I DIY chalk painted while making my own chalk paint. I got these pieces of furniture for five dollars or less and gave them all a couple coats of DIY chalk paint and a wax. To make chalk paint I mixed 1 cup of the desired color paint, 1/3 cup Plaster of Paris, and 1/3 cup water. I painted the furniture, waited a day, distressed it a little bit, and then waxed it. It was easy and I love the way each piece turned out.

Historic Layouts

Older houses come with other challenges besides aging sewer lines and drafty windows. The simple layout can be hard to work with. Many older homes need smaller furniture and don’t often have space for large console tables or TV stands. I know that some people think the TV over the mantle is passed, but I’m a function over form kinda gal so up above the mantle the TV went. Everyone can see it and the windows are not blocked off by the TV and Console nor is it stuffed in a corner. Another issue with our fireplace in our current house is the flue for the furnace was routed through it from the basement, leaving an ugly pipe going right through our now unusable fireplace. Since safety is always a priority we wanted to make sure whatever was covering it up was fire resistant. We decided to go with concrete board and painted it black. This covered up the flue pipe and still left enough room for a decorative candle holder. This one was purchased off Amazon along with the fake candles currently sitting on it. The garlands draping either side of the DVD player were found at hobby lobby along with the candle holders. I love the way it came out and am happy I can keep the character of the room, but also enjoy an updated aesthetic.

Furnace Flue
Decor Sans Concrete Board
Concrete Board in Place

Keeping Chestnut Molding

I know that bright and white is all the rage right now, but I have fallen in love with our dark wood molding. It feels so grand and historic. In fact, I am so obsessed with it I refuse to put curtains up. Much to my mother’s dismay, I have completely given up on curtains. I let the big beautiful molding take the spot light. The staircase is also another feature I adore about this house. It is grand and has such an easy slope to it. However after 100 years, some balusters broke, and paint started to chip. In order to preserve the integrity of the house, we replaced every spindle with a custom turned replica of the original spindles. My husband hand measured each baluster and carefully fit them into place. It took over a year to finish but the results are amazing, and now historically accurate.

Each Entry Way is Adorned with Thick Molding
100 Year Old Solid Paneling
91 Custom Turned Replica Balusters
Upstairs Spindles
100 Year Old Solid Wood Paneling

Ghosts and More

No old home would be complete without a resident Ghost. Now I don’t have any sweet pictures to show, but I do have a few freaky stories. Our ghost is not benevolent, but he is a jack ass. He’ll turn on the TV at 4 am, and not just the TV he’ll cast Youtube off the tablet. Which means I get to fumble around finding the tablet, and turn it off, then turn off the TV all while trying to shake that creepy feeling. He also likes to kick the poor dog. Benny will be calmly sitting in the room and then jump as though he’s been kicked. Lastly, the creepy way my daughter tells me about the guy just looking at her in the night. All of this could be chalked up to an electrical impulse, a flea biting the dog and a three-year-olds imagination, but what fun is that.