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April 1st, 2009
Investing: The best days to buy
I have found that I get my best bargains in one of two times: Either the first day that a listing hits the market, or after many months. First response has worked well for me, as has being the first one in after a price reduction. So the maxim is true, “The early bird gets the worm.”
On the other end of the spectrum the listing that has sat around for a long time can be a good deal as well. Maybe it was over priced at the beginning. I buy mostly foreclosures to do my Energy Wise Renovations and it seems that some banks are having difficulty coming to terms with what has happened to the value of all that collateral that they have foreclosed on. Sometimes 6 or 8 or 10 months is needed for them to get reasonable. Not only has the market gone down further in that time, the property may have sustained vandalism, graffitti and at least more deferred maintenance. Add to this the pressures that go on inside a bank REO department and you can see why sometimes these old listings sell at half of their original listing price.
The other reason that a listing will stay around a long time is that it may be a really ugly house. Really beat up. Boarded up, broken windows, graffitti, illegal additions, meth lab, mold, etc. And a lot more work than a normal “carpet and paint” investor is willing or capable of doing. These are where I have found my most profitable deals of all. It’s all about value added. If a whole lot of value must be added, and you and your team are willing and able to do it and the others aren’t, you can leave the competitors behind and charge a lot for all that value that you added, assuming that you can buy it right. Today I visited the ugliest house I ever bought. It’s in its final weeks of renovation and will turn the biggest profit I’ve ever made. I’ll post about it soon with some before and after pictures.
So I like the first day and toward the last day of a listing. But there is another time that I am learning how to find. That is before the first day of MLS listing. It depends on relationships and I am beginning to build them. I will post here for fellow investors when I have developed some successful systems at this.
March 31st, 2009
Call The Cops! Sometimes it’s the best way to raise the value in your neighborhood.
Recently we bought a home to do an Energy Wise Renovation in one of our targeted neighborhoods. Kind of spotty actually, some really nice blocks and then some not so nice areas mixed in. This neighborhood is in the “Valley of Decision.” The burst of energy it had when it was new 45 years ago is gone. Everything is worn out and being replaced, the roof, the appliances, the air conditioner. The first owners have raised their kids and moved on. More renters have moved in. Now the neighborhood is in the Valley of Decision. It’s either going to go up or it’s going to go down. As investors, we have opportunity to influence that decision and at GreenEarthEquities, we are committed to do our level best to see that the neighborhood improves. It’s not just philanthropic, it helps our sales and appraisals and a rising tide floats all the boats.
So imagine our dismay when we found our new next door neighbor was dealing drugs! Two big men who should have been working, sat in lawn chairs drinking beer and welcoming many guests who came and went during the day. It was so bad it actually cost us a sale. (We pre-sell our renovation projects) A client who had verbally committed to the home changed their mind after seeing the drug dealing.
We discussed doing our own surveillance and turning it over to the police, but it wasn’t necessary. Someone knew a police officer and a phone call was made on a Friday. The next Monday, our workers looked up and saw 4 police cars and a Paddy Wagon. Suddenly the marketability of all the homes on my street just went back up! Yahoo! and Kudos to our police chief, Jerry Dyer. (Fresno, California)
As investors, we have a vested interest in helping all neighborhoods be the best they can be. Sometimes, they just need a little help. And a call from a concerned citizen might be all it will take.
March 29th, 2009
A Tale of Two Foreclosures (Different Investors, Different Results)
It was one of my first offers as I was getting into Energy Wise real estate investing. I was learning to negotiate and I asked for too much in my due diligence phase. The bank sold it to another investor…. but I was successful on the one next door for the same price. I knew everything about both houses so I watched with interest as the other investor proceeded on his project. He got done a lot faster. He patched the roof, I replaced mine. He jury rigged a used air conditioner, I put on a new one with new ductwork. He did nothing to the windows, I replaced with new vinyl dual panes. He cleaned up the worn out appliances, I replaced all of mine. You get the idea……. He did put in new carpet (FHA minimum) and painted inside and out.
The other investor’s contractor told me that the whole rehab had cost $10,000 and it became a rental. Probably makes a minimum cash flow. My Energy Wise Renovation cost more like $45,000. It sold before it was finished. Two good deals. Maybe it’s just different strokes for different folks….
But let’s project each of these concepts down the road a ways to see why I think the common preference for buying, minimal fixing and renting and holding for the market to go back up is misguided. The buy and hold strategy depends on the market going back up. Who knows when that will happen. In our area it is still going down. But for the sake of this discussion lets just say that in 5 years it will go up 50%. The other investor put in $80,000. He’s renting but lets say he could have sold it for $100,000. In 5 years he’ll sell for $150,000. Not bad. If the market regains 50% in 5 years.
Now consider my Energy Wise Flipping approach, which isn’t supposed to work in this economy. I spent 50% more but sold for 145,ooo and netted only $10,000 because “things happened.” But I was done in 90 days and have already bought the next one down the street. So I will turn the money 4 times a year. And as my team gets better, fewer things will happen, & we’re buying smarter, so that $10 will go up. But let’s say we dont get any smarter and it doesn’t. And we only turn the money 4 times a year. Just to be safe let’s say only 3 times a year. That’s $30,000 per year, $150,000 in 5 years. $150 is better than $50. I think my plan is 3 times better than his.
Which approach is a more risky gamble? The buy-rent-hold investor is really banking on real estate regaining 50% in 5 years. We can point to several times in our history when that did not happen. My fast green flip strategy, on the other hand puts $10 to $15K in the bank every 90 to 120 days. Each step I take, my sales get more secure as I am concentrating in a neighborhood. So I’m generating my own comps and appraisal validity. I like my odds better.
If you are a realtor, which type of investor would you rather have? (My realtor does both ends of my projects.) I suggest realtors stop passing on the same stale advice that they heard from some expert and start cultivating investor clients like me. Invite them to read this blog, that’s what it’s here for.
If you are an investor, what do you think of the math I presented above. I tried to be conservative. We are really faster than that. And I know my team will improve as time goes on so we’ll earn better than those numbers. We’ll get even faster too. I think all investors, especially those of us buying foreclosures, should look at Energy Wise Renovation and Resale rather than Buy, Rent, and Hope. It’s a good thing to do for our community, our nation and our planet!
If you are the neighbor, who would you like to see in your neighborhood, the quick fix, convert it to a rental guy, or an investor like me who does everything they can to raise the values and really does raise the values? Just a question. If the foreclosured home was next door to you, which of us would you prefer? If you would prefer it on your street, why not promote it on other streets that your clients invest in? I think they call that the Golden Rule.
March 27th, 2009
Two House Flipping Rookies compare notes after 3 deals.
Today I had lunch with my long time friend, Ron Roberts, at Boston Market. About 5 months ago I had convinced Ron that it was a perfect time to start buying and fixing houses. I had dragged him to one investing seminar and that’s all it took. We’re both contractors who had been away from real estate investing for many years, but it didn’t take much for each of us to see what a great opportunity real estate in this economy was for an entrepeurial, creative type person who knew their way around home improvements and remodeling. That describes us, so we both borrowed some money and bought several houses. We had chosen different areas, and different approaches, so I was looking forward to comparing notes.
It was a great lunch. When we arrived, I had him beat with my first three homes sold at a profit, whereas he had already sold two but was worrying about his third. During lunch he looked at his phone and took the call…… “Sell it,” was all I heard. His broker had just received an over full price offer. (but with seller paying some of buyers costs, we’re finding a lot of that in our market) So two grateful new house flippers, each with our first three houses sold, returned thanks for the food, our friendship and the opportunity that we had been presented with.
We had done a lot of things differently and a few things the same but had wound up with very similar results. I’m all about Green and Energy Savings and Saving the Planet, so all my houses have every green and energy efficient thing you can think of in them. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I know I have to do a superior job at curb apeal and Wow! factor to get the client to buy all that Green. Ron, on the other hand just focuses on the curb appeal and Wow! factor. I’ve tried to convince him to join me in saving the planet with no success yet, but I’ll keep trying. That’s what I do. You’ve been warned.
Ron sold in the 100 to 125 range, whereas I had chosen a neighborhood that sold from 140 to 190. One thing that we both did was surprise our buyers with over the top finishing touches in the kitchens and baths. I chose granite counters and glass tile backsplashes. Ron made a custom vanity from a nice piece of furniture. We both listened to clients who were so tired of looking at cheaper bank owned homes. They were cheaper, but they came with a long list of fix up before they would be anywhere close to what they bought from us. It was a breath of fresh air for them to walk in to homes that looked like brand new model homes on the inside.
I bought all my homes within a half mile radius. Ron’s were all several miles apart. It is turning out that staying in a tight radius has lots of benefits. Saving time and fuel is obvious. But even more important, now that I am making sales and appraisals are coming in at way over the median price in the neighborhood (which is being brought down by the REO’s) we are creating our own comps for the next ones that sell. Ron is convinced of the tight radius approach so he is using his market testing to choose the area to camp out in. Surprisingly he got by far the most phone in the area that he had expected the least.
All of our homes were simply “off the shelf” bank owned homes listed in MLS. There are lots of other ways to find homes that may be essential in different times but right now it’s too easy to just buy the listed REO’s. I used one broker for purchase and sale. Ron used a broker for all the purchases and worked jointly with the same broker to make his sales.
We both made some of the same mistakes. We paid too much for our first houses. But not too, too much and we learned quick. We both took too long. But we’re getting faster each house, as the team and the systems come together. This business is at least a little bit forgiving and allows you to make a few mistakes.
Surprisingly we made about the same percentage, around 10% after they averaged out. Not the 20 that we would like but hey, you have to pay for education one way or another. House Flipping 101 taught us some lessons and still let us make money and have a whole lot of fun while going to school. We’ll shoot for 20 on the next round. I think we may make it. We’re a lot smarter than when we started. We’ll have lunch in a few months and I’ll let you know how we did and how I’m doing at talking Ron into going Green….
March 26th, 2009
Are You Dumb Enough To Be Rich? Book Review
One of my favorite real estate trainers is Bill Barnett. I attended one of his three day trainings and he and his wife, Kris put on an excellent event. Bill’s background is finance so he’s very good with the numbers, but his biggest strength is his ability to tell a story to get his point across. Us humans learn best with stories. This carries on in his book, Are You Dumb Enough To Be Rich?, and I read it straight thru.
One chapter that is worth it’s weight in gold is the one on soliciting private money for investment. Bill outlines a plan and a script that makes sense and really works. He says, dont modify it, but you are getting to know me by now, of course I modified it, and it still works! If you are wanting to start investing and cant get a loan from a small local bank (my favorite source) buy this book and follow the instructions. It will work.
The book has only a small section on fixing up and flipping, and almost nothing on Green or Energy Efficiency. There are other books that cover those subjects that I’ll review in other posts.
Another excellent chapter on “Hot Mapping” shows scientifically how to make sure you are buying in the right area. It is the old school way of color coding a heat map, similar to what is done on Trulia.com and Hotpads.com. The advantage of doing it Bill’s way is that you have a huge visual wall map and can narrow the pricing, specifically to your area, unlike the quicker online tools. The exercize is laborious but it will definitely keep you from buying in the wrong area. I have followed his advice to a tee on the the price ranges to buy in and it’s worked for me.
I am recommending this book as a basic textbook for anyone desiring to get started in real estate investing. Bill covers the whole gamut of investing including lots of things that I dont need as an Energy-Wise House Flipper in these special times. He explains how to buy pre-foreclosures, use bandit signs, direct mail, present multiple offers on a property, sell real estate on eBay, buy tax leins, and lots of other techniques that I dont need right now because there are so many great deals simply listed on MLS. When times change, and they will, Dumb Enough will be the first book coming off my shelf.
March 25th, 2009
The Perfect Storm with Green Clouds
I’d been disillusioned about real estate investing for about 20 years. I remember the phone call that took me out of the game. About 11:30 one evening I learned that a tennant’s water heater needed to be lit. On my way across town to light it, I remember saying, “That’s it, I’m done, let’s sell all this stuff.” And we did. It may have been a bad decision, maybe it was the best for raising a family…. It was what it was. But now the family is raised, grandbabies are wonderful, and last July I got hit in the head with an idea that was like the proverbial apple hitting Sir Issac Newton. Real Estate Investing for someone who could fix up properties had matured into the Opportunity of the Century. Complete with a “Perfect Storm” of factors that makes this the best time for Flipping Houses EVER. For the right person with the right mindset.
Consider this: 1. Inventory is high for what you’ll be buying. 2. Inventory is low for what you’ll be selling. 3. Interest Rates have never been lower and it looks like they’ll stay down for a while. 4. Craftsmen and contractors are hungry and will work reasonably. 5. There a tons of buyers. First time buyers abound and all the foreclosed owners would like to buy again (for the creative). 6. Rent rates are staying up. For the creative person, with an eye for design and customer service, it is indeed a Perfect Storm of opportunity.
I saw an additional Golden Opportunity that was close to my heart. Could I do Green Renovation on all these foreclosed homes and make them energy efficient and put a great product back on the market in the process of the flip? Taking blight, the eyesore of the neighborhood and turning it into the best house on the block, Now that sounded like fun! If I could make it work, I’d be getting to do what I love and getting paid for it. How great is that?
So I jumped in. Being 58, I decided I was too old to learn everything I needed to know in the School of Hard Knocks (my previous favorite method) so I enrolled in lot’s of Real Estate Investing Seminars and bought dozens of books and CD’s on the subject and called a Realtor friend and got started. We’ve successfully bought and renovated and sold 5 homes and they’re all Green Energy-Wise Renovations. And I made some of that other green stuff too. Yahoo!
But, you say, “To do that, don’t I need to be a contractor?” No actually you don’t. Many contractors get too wrapped up in the way they’ve been contracting for so many years. They don’t see the forest for the trees, and miss all kinds of opportunities One of my favorite teachers on the subject is Robyn Thompson, known as the “Queen of Rehab.” Her background was IBM accounting and waitress. She’s now flipped several hundred houses and retired to her Florida horse ranch. So if an accountant-waitress can successfully rehab houses, I say anyone with the right mindset can do it. More on that mindset in future posts.
The main skills that are needed to be an Energy-Wise House Flipper are: 1. Team Building, Assemble the expertise that you dont have. 2. Creativity, Think outside the box. 3. Learn Green Building and Whole House Energy Basics. I’ll be sharing that on this blog as well as providing a list of books and websites that will be helpful.
That’s it. Team building, Creativity, and learn Green Building. You can hire the rest. You can do it. Your community, your country and the planet needs someone to do this. The “Paint and Carpet” house flippers are doing nothing for our country or our neighborhoods. Come on in, the water’s fine. Energy-Wise House Flipping is an idea who’s time has come. In the past selling Green was difficult, but the current perfect storm has made green the color of choice, especially since you get to keep some of that other green.
March 24th, 2009
Hamburger, It’s essential when feeding a dog a pill and…
Have you ever tried to feed a dog a pill, a pill that was going to be good for him? It was a really good pill, I knew that, but he wouldn’t believe it, and was ready to do me bodliy harm to maintain his position. Until I brought out the secret weapon. Hamburger. I even let him watch me put the pill in the hamburger, then he munched it right down, pill and all.
For the last 30 years, I have made my living persuading customers that my energy conservation pills would be good for them. I’ve had varying levels of success. Most dogs didn’t want the pill at all. Some decided they’d try half a pill. Rarely have I had a customer who said, “Give me the whole menu!” Of course the whole menu would have been good for them. And it is exactly what our country needs if we want to be able to stop buying oil from people who bear us ill will.
So when I semi-retired and started the Energy-Wise House Flipping Adventure called GreenEarthEquities, I knew needed Hamburger. I knew that if I wanted to sell my houses full of energy saving features, and achieve my neighborhood building and planet saving goals, I would need the best hamburger available. Hamburger, like granite counter tops and crown molding which my buyers can see. So they’ll buy the energy features that they cant see.
We include our Energy Package in every project. It’s the pill. New HVAC system, new engineered and sealed ductwork, lots of additional insulation, shell sealing top and bottom, new Lo E2 windows, new ventilation system, photo cells and motion sensors etc. It’s about $20,000 worth but none of it can be seen (except the windows). So we’ve developed the other two packages that are all about being seen. They are the hamburger.
The Wow Package is the granite counter tops, deep sinks, the crown molding and chair rails, ceiling fans in every room, designer paint inside and out, (bolder than you would expect) custom tile at showers and floors, brand new kitchen cabinets and appliances. And some pretty nice staging if we get that far before selling the project.
The Done Package includes landscaping front and rear, new garage door and openers, new 2 inch faux wood blinds, all new lighting, switches and plugs, all appliances are new with warrantees. It’s just all Done.
That’s a lot of Hamburger! The big question was, “Will the market allow that much expense? Aren’t you in danger of over improving the neighborhood? Wont you price yourself out of the market?” All good questions, but here is what we found: The realtors report back that their clients are blown away by the packages, they just dont see anything like it in the market. Many buyers just dont want a 4o year old foreclosed REO property, or even 40 years of deferred maintence of a non REO property, no matter how well-loved it was. The buyers love the Wow Package and the Done Package. They just “like” the idea of the Energy Package. They dont understand all the details, and dont know how much it cost, but they know it’s an idea who’s time has come and because it’s wrapped in those other hamburger packages that they love, they go ahead and offer on the property.
But will the projects make appraisal? That would be the next question, wouldn’t it? Happily, the first two have indeed appraised at or above the sale price. The good news about that is that these houses now provide comps for future sales. Since all our homes are in a tight little radius, we are creating our own comps. What a country!
So with the Hamburger approach everyone wins. I get to do my part to save the planet, one house at a time. I also get to be a neighborhood builder. So the neighborhood wins. A lot of people have jobs and that’s a win these days. My Realtor wins. She works hard but I’m really a pretty easy client, and one she didn’t have before we started this adventure. And the new homeowners win. They get to spend time with their family and friends instead of working on a long list of the projects they see on HGTV. Our country wins because these projects dont need any bail out money or grants, so there’s more left for other more difficult projects. So it’s all good. I wish more investors in neighborhoods all over this country would become Energy-Wise Renovators and do the same thing. Maybe if you tell them about this blog, some of them will.
March 24th, 2009
The 5 Olympic Rings of Energy-Wise Renovation
In a previous post I said that if you were careful, you could go against common wisdom and do Energy-Wise house flipping in today’s market. At a profit. And sell quickly. Dont hear me wrong, I didn’t say it was easy. To win the Gold in this contest, we must do a lot of things right. I liken it to the 5 Rings of Olympic competition. Here are 5 areas that an Energy-Wise House Flipper must master. Failure at any one of them can take you out of the gold category.
1. Buy It Right. This may be where more money is won or lost than any other. It is an uphill fight doing the whole rest of the project perfectly if we’ve paid too much, or bought in the wrong area. In other economies we had to have many strategies to find enough good deals. Today there are plenty of good deals listed in the MLS. Of course we dont pay the asking price. And rarely do we pay the accepted offer price. That’s what the due diligence period is for. I’ll elaborate in a future post.
2. Design It Right. Here is where we choose the things we are going to do and not do in the project. At GreenEarthEquities, we do almost everything there is to do Energy Wise. We call that the “Energy Package” and it costs about $20,000. Then we add the “Wow Package” which allows us to grab the buyers attention because they aren’t seeing these things in the competitor’s offerings. Like Granite, Hardwood, Crown Molding, Chair Rail, etc. We finish with what we call the “Done Package.” Once again it is to stand above the competition with things like front and back landscape with automatic irrigation, new garage door with openers, new faux wood blinds. The weekend after they move in, our buyers can go to the lake, not start in on their project list.
3. Build It Right. Here we assemble our team of contractors and suppliers. They must understand that we need two things, Wholesale Pricing and Velocity. In return they know that we will be providing a lot of jobs this year. For the gold level in this ring, we need to beat Home Depot pricing. Significantly. More on how we do this in a future post.
4. Market It Right. Our marketing is multifaceted with a goal of selling a large percentage of the projects before they even hit the MLS. We work in conjunction with our realtor, doing some of the things she cant. Like planting a construction sign on the property during renovation. Canvassing the neighborhood introducing ourselves and our project. And advertising on Craig’s List and other venues. When we are about two weeks from done, we open it up to our “Preferred” group of realtors. Although not officially listed, they know they will get full commission if they bring the buyer. At this early point, only one home of the first five has gone all the way to full listing. The others have sold before that. The realtors who have seen the three packages mentioned above, want to be alerted of the next foreclosures we buy so they can get their offers in immediately.
5. Sell It Right. This means that we have our exit strategy(s) planned before we even start but have a good level of flexibility to dance with the circumstances that life brings. We have 8 exit strategies in descending order of preference. Of course selling at full price FHA is our first choice. We’ve been blessed and the first three sold that way and the next two are under contract with loan approvals to sell that way also. We are ready to do Rent to Own, Lease Option and Owner Carry financing if necessary. We dont want houses around more than 30 days after they are done. And we prefer not to rent. Part of who we are is “neighborhood builders” and we believe that putting an owner into a home does more to build the neighborhood than putting a renter in that home.
So if we pass successfully thru all 5 Olympic Rings we reach the Gold! Not only do we make some money, we really are doing our part to “Save the planet, one house at a time!”
March 24th, 2009
Energy-Wise Renovations: Will they sell in this market?
What is an Energy-Wise Renovation anyway? To be an Energy-Wise Renovation, which is the main focus of this blog, the renovator must take the “whole house approach.” At a minimum, that will include: Dual Pane Low E2 Windows, Big insulation in attic and walls, R38 to 55 depending on your climate zone, Attention to “thermal bypasses,” Shell sealing of the floor and attic, New HVAC system, New engineered and sealed duct system, a ventilation scheme, because the house will now be tight enough to need one, and an air quality and CO test to ensure safety. The best jobs will be “tested in” and “tested out” to ensure that performance is actually delivered. At a minimum the contractor will test out. If no testing is done, it cant be called Energy Wise and may even be unsafe.
Obviously, not all contractors are qualified to do all these measures. In California, I recommend contacting the CBPCA, California Building Performance Contractors Association. CBPCA.org In other states ask for BPI certification. Building Performance Institute. In future posts I will elaborate on these energy efficient and green measures and how they work together.
In Central California, where I live, the package mentioned above costs about $20,000 on a 40 year old 1500 sq ft tract home. So the question remains, can you buy a foreclosure, install a green energy retrofit for 20k plus all the normal rehab expenses and sell the project at a profit? Most people would say, “No, not in this market.”
Having recently sold 5 such projects at a profit, I say, “Yes it can be done, but be careful.” Actually, if you are careful, and master the ART of Energy-Wise Renovation, your houses will sell faster than your competition’s. If you follow the steps that I will outline in this blog, you will have no competition. You will begin building a brand and your houses will sell before they are finished, and some will sell over full price. At least that’s what I’ve been experiencing, and that’s what I’ll be sharing in this blog.
Many readers of this blog will have no inclination to become an “Energy Wise House Flipper” like me. But if you’re a realtor and not too busy for another client, can you see the benefit of finding a client like me. I use a broker to buy and sell my houses for 3 reasons: 1) I am busy doing what I do and I will do 25 houses this year. 2) My wife is a travel agent, and somebody has to go on those trips to protect her. 3) I hate paperwork, and in California, we have a load of it. Who do you know that should be reading this blog?
March 20th, 2009
GreenEarthEquities: First Post
I founded the company as a demonstration project to prove that energy efficiency is an idea who’s time has come and that it can and should be done in a big way in our existing housing stock. Of course dealing with new housing, the ones not even built yet is easier, just change the code and then enforce it. And we’ve been doing that for about the last 25 years. But did you know?…. That of the homes we will live in in 2050, Two thirds of them are already here. And they are pretty bad, energy efficiency wise. So if we ever want to reduce our energy consumption, and get free of Saudi Oil, we must tackle our existing housing stock.
There are many obstacles to just getting all these houses greened up and energy efficient. In my experience as a contractor, selling energy efficiency to homeowners over the last three decades, I rarely found a person with the knowledge, the will, and the budget to do what their home really needed to become energy efficient. Most of our efforts at retrofit energy efficiency have been peicemeal at best. Salespeople have sung the praises of the particular peice of energy equipment that they happened to be earning a commission on. But to do retrofit energy efficiency right, it takes a “whole house” approach. When this whole house approach has been applied, excellent results in both comfort and energy savings are achieved. When peices and parts of a whole system have been applied the results have been predictably unsatisfactory.
When I realized that my construction company was under good management, and that I could “retire,” I looked around for a while before I realized that I was in a perfect position to do what I always wanted to do. Really fix houses and do everything that I wanted to do with them. No concern for budgets, no concern for utility rebates or lack thereof, I could just do my perfect retrofit. Now I have a 100% closing rate selling all the energy efficiency items to the home owner. I’m now a great closer. I sell everything I propose. Because I’m selling to me.
About 6 months ago I started buying foreclosed homes with the intention of greening up every house with a whole house energy retrofit. The retrofit would include everything you’ve ever heard of and some things that you probably haven’t. My wife was concerned, My friends were concerned, My real estate teachers said now is not the time to do that, Everyone doubted that I could do all that I wanted to do to these homes and get my money back and make a profit…. especially in this economy. It’s not a flipping market, Dave, It’s a buy and hold and rent market. I heard it from every direction. You may think that too.
Well the houses are finishing up. They look great. By the way, one thing I knew from the beginning is that I couldn’t just do energy efficiency, The houses had to have good real estate basics, good location, good bones, curb appeal and Wow! Factor and Conveniences as well. And they have started to sell. First one that wasn’t done yet sold for full price. Then another. Then another for over full price. Those three are in escrow and the other two are under contract. Oh, no, I’m out of houses! Well I did just close on another one today and we have about 7 or 8 more offers working
So I decided to blog about my experiences in “ENERGY WISE RENOVATION” I’ll be sharing what I find that works and why I think it works. I’ll also share about my blunders and what doesn’t work. I’m not selling anything and intend to be pretty much an “open book.” Am I worried that people will copy me and be competition? No, no, no. I hope they do. We need thousands of energy wise home renovators across our country to make an impact. So that is the purpose of this humble Blog. To prove that energy wise retrofitting can be done, to share it with others and To save the Planet, One house at a time. Really.
Solar PV System for 3405 N. Miami
Interior 3405 N. Miami, Fresno CA
Exterior 3405 N. Miami, Fresno CA
3332 N Ezie $165,000 PENDING
5967 E Fedora $160,000 Pending
3328 N Purdue SOLD
145 Gettysburg SOLD
5741 E Bernadine SOLD
5664 E Bernadine SOLD
4440 N Eddy SOLD
3915 E Townsend 135K Pending
