I bought my second flip house about 8 weeks ago. I bought for $166k and expected to put in about $7-8k in renovations and then sell it for $199k. The house was a great buy because the previous owners walked away from it with about 80% of the remodel job done. All I needed to do was carpet in the 4 bedrooms, wood tile in the den, touch up paint, new ceiling fans, some baseboards replaced/installed, new toilets, and bathroom counter tops. Because the list seemed small enough, I decided to sub out the work myself.
Looking back, I cost myself about $2k in upgrades that I didn't need and $2k in labor over what a GC would have been. I'm basing the number on my experience with my first flip house. Had I hired a GC, his labor - I think - would have been less than me hiring individual plumbers, painters, floor installers, etc. Granted, this is a guess and I wish I would have at least gotten a couple of bids from GC's for comparison sake.
I personally replaced all of the ceiling fans and toilets. I also installed mirrors in the master and guest bathrooms. The worst labor has been cleaning the back yard and trimming a MASSIVE tree in the front yard. I came to the conclusion that I stink at tree trimming because I am lazy and want to cut big branches at the base without reducing weight. I had a couple of close calls because of this.
The splurges I made were granite counter tops in the master bath and doing Miracle Method in the master shower. They both look amazing but I won't recoup the additional $1.5k that it cost vs. other options I had. I also had to fire my first painter and that cost me about $300 in hiring guy number 2. All in all, this has been a good learning experience.
After closing, I expect to make about $11k for 2.5 months of work. Not bad for #2. I have already bought #3 and will close on it in 2 weeks. It will need much more work so I will not be doing much myself.
Looking back, I cost myself about $2k in upgrades that I didn't need and $2k in labor over what a GC would have been. I'm basing the number on my experience with my first flip house. Had I hired a GC, his labor - I think - would have been less than me hiring individual plumbers, painters, floor installers, etc. Granted, this is a guess and I wish I would have at least gotten a couple of bids from GC's for comparison sake.
I personally replaced all of the ceiling fans and toilets. I also installed mirrors in the master and guest bathrooms. The worst labor has been cleaning the back yard and trimming a MASSIVE tree in the front yard. I came to the conclusion that I stink at tree trimming because I am lazy and want to cut big branches at the base without reducing weight. I had a couple of close calls because of this.
The splurges I made were granite counter tops in the master bath and doing Miracle Method in the master shower. They both look amazing but I won't recoup the additional $1.5k that it cost vs. other options I had. I also had to fire my first painter and that cost me about $300 in hiring guy number 2. All in all, this has been a good learning experience.
After closing, I expect to make about $11k for 2.5 months of work. Not bad for #2. I have already bought #3 and will close on it in 2 weeks. It will need much more work so I will not be doing much myself.
