BuyRenovatedForeclosures.com » renovation

Finished vs. Unfinished Basement

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:11:28 +0000

I just can’t help but brag about the amazing transformation going on at Colebrook Road. Take a look at how the unfinished basement looked before we started:

And take a look at this progress photo of our finished basement!

Even the darkest, dingiest spaces have potential if you know how to look at things!

New Property in Fredericksburg

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:20:33 +0000

255 Colebrook Road, Fredericksburg VA 22405

When we found this property it had been neglected for long time, both inside and out (see for yourself below). But the all-brick house has great bones and we have some great ideas about how to clean everything up, improve the layout, and modernize it for current homebuyers.

We are already at work on the renovation, and are making good progress. I know the pictures look pretty scary, but just scroll down the page to the before-and-after results of our last project at Mount Pleasant to see what an incredible transformation is possible. I’ll be posting some in-progress pictures in a couple days so you can see how much of an improvement has already been made.

Everybody out there who’s looking for a great deal on a great home can get details about this property before it goes on the market by signing up for our mailing list to the right.

Renovation Progress Pictures: 14111 Mount Pleasant Drive

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:59:24 +0000

This house will be in beautiful, clean, modern, move-in condition when we’re done. But how’d you like to live there now, during the renovation? Yeah, me neither.

Case Study Part 2: Buying a Foreclosure

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:53:43 +0000

After five months of looking, Jan and her family were at their wits end. Complicating the situation, the loan amount she was approved for as a single person was in a range where she could only afford the lower-priced houses in her area. The few deals on reasonably good conditioned homes she did find were bid up by other buyers who had the means (maybe) to do the fix-ups needed to the properties. Seeing as many houses as she had, Jan — and even some of the agents she came across — felt that people were overpaying for these bank-owned properties, even though they were discounted from the high-priced market at the peak of the bubble.

While out looking for homes one day, they stumbled across my street sign and website. When the parents came by the house and it was still under construction, they immediately called Jan and told her “We found your house.” They called me and asked what seemed like a million questions about all the renovation work we planned to do. They were good questions, particularly from people not in the construction business. They told me their story of seeing so many properties, and the poor condition the banks were trying to sell them in.

Once Jan and I talked, we struck a deal for a little less than what the neighborhood homes were currently selling for by owner-occupants. She even paid me more than the negotiated price in order to get the appliances upgraded to exactly what she wanted. With all the work we did, it was still an older home. But, the place was in true move-in condition and fixed up just as she wanted.

Jan, as a single owner with no renovation experience, did not have to worry about plumbing issues, appliances, windows, bathrooms, flooring, the hot water heater or heat pump…the list goes on. The house was a true deal for her, unlike all of those other nasty foreclosures she saw. Since it was already well-renovated, she was able to get over the first year of so of being “house poor” before deciding whether or not to change other things in the house — which would then be optional and not major repairs.

Check back on Monday for Part 3 of Jan’s buying a foreclosure experience: The Closing