A number of people ask what the best method to use to track expenses during a flip. There are many methods, some good, some bad, and some downright ugly.
The following lists a few methods with the most complex at the top.
- Quickbooks
Utilize Quickbooks, categorize every expenditure, create sales accounts, link credit card and bank account for spending. Provide your Quickbooks file to your accountant at tax time.
Relative Degree of Difficulty: 10
Cost: 6
There is a learning curve to Quickbooks and if you want to do things properly, there will be a number of hours put in for the initial company, vendor, account, and category setups. I peg the cost at a 6 out of 10 due to the cost of the software. Done properly, your accountant will thank you.
- Hire a book keeper/accountant to do the work for you.
Schedule a regular meeting time during the renovation. At that time you can have receipts recorded properly by your bookkeeper while keeping your work on the project.
Relative Degree of Difficulty: 1
Cost: 9
The level of difficulty on your end is minimal. Keep every receipt, provide it to your bookkeeper during your scheduled meetings, and provide fast answers when questions should arise. You will certainly be paying a decent buck for this service, but you will probably sleep better at night knowing that you are prepared and up to date. Read more…
When you are doing a renovation project on an older home that has gone through multiple additions, or been converted to a multiple family home, you are bound to find some interesting things.
We are working on a former 2 family home, located in Lancaster NY, that was built in 1889. When we pulled the entry apart to open the staircase back to the upper, we discovered a nice detail under the stairs. This wainscoting could be from 1889, or could have been added during one of the numerous renovations. In either case, it is a terrific stair detail for us to bring back to life.
1889 Stair detail
It was time for an update in our laundry. Our washer and dryer were both 10+ years old and I wanted to take the opportunity to make the space more functional. The laundry room is small and a side by side washer/dryer (with upper controls didn’t provide us the opportunity to have surface area for folding, etc. I decided to go for a pair of stackable laundry appliances. This way, they could be placed in the corner of the room with about 6′ left over for cabinetry.
Laundry room update - New appliances, Cabinets and Paint
- Appliances: $1,200 (with mounting bracket, shipping, and new dryer vent line)
I found an absolute steal on the washer and dryer. They came from a site called us-appliance.com. They were a pretty well reviewed supplier and have been around since 1963. The day I made my selection of the GE units.
- Washer: WCVH6800JWW GE Energy Star King-size Capacity Frontload Washer – White
The washer was on sale for $498!
http://www.us-appliance.com/wcvh6800jww.html
- Dryer: DCVH680GJWW GE 7.0 Cu. Ft. Super Capacity Front Load Gas Dryer – White
This was also on special and was only $548
http://www.us-appliance.com/dcvh680gjww.html
- If you are buying from us-appliance, consider the Bing.com cash back program. You can earn 6%-7% back on your us-appliance.com purchase!
- Cabinetry: $300
Ikea has some great RTA cabinets (ready t0 assemble) for a kitchen, utility room, laundry room, etc. The cabinets were simple to assemble and perfect for the laundry space. We wanted a flush door so that there wouldn’t be dust collecting, so the lowest cost cabinet was out best option.
- 30″ sink base cabinet
- 24″ single door base cabinet with drawer
- 18″ single door base cabinet
- 24″ double door wall cabinet
- 18″ single door wall cabinet
- Paint: $30 @ Sherwin-Williams. A single gallon covered the laundry and the adjacent pantry space.
- Sink: $70
- Countertop: $40
- Miscellaneous: $50
Caulk, knobs, paint supplies, fabric backer to hide the plumbing/electrical, potted plant.
- Labor: $0
This is where you come in. You will save yourself between $200 – $500 for the cabinet and counter top installation, about $99 – $199 for the appliance installation, and about $150 for the painting
Take a look at the finished product. Simple and cheerful. A huge improvement over the drab room that was there before. Think of how often you head into the laundry. A bright, efficient and cheerful makeover can be money well spent.
Laundry room update with drop in sink
We will be starting a new project in about two weeks. It is a home located in a great neighborhood within the Village of Lancaster. The location is fantastic, the house…. not so much. When buying a home to fix, that is what you want… The worst house on the best street.
This home is located in the Village of Lancaster (off Broadway) and is on a street that includes a mix of home styles. There are even a number of older 2 family homes. Our property was built in 1889 and that will have some challenges. There will be some interesting issues to address with a home that was built in 1889. The oldest property that I have worked on was about 1920.
This was a 2 family home until the prior owner got tired of tenants above him and closed off the upper unit. He pulled the kitchen and had it reassessed as a single family home. We are going to do a full conversion to a single family. This will provide some challenges, but I think we will be able to pull off a modern floor plan with some big changes. We are going to combine the current kitchen with a lower bedroom to provide a modern “open” design. After the redesign, we will end up with a 4BR (3up, 1 down), 2 Bathroom home with a modern eat in kitchen. There are 8 1/2′ ceilings on the first floor and this will compliment the open design.
Home renovation plan
There are a NUMBER of large issues with this renovation, not the least of which is the foundation work that is needed. This will be a big project, but I feel that we will be working with a great contractor who can get things done quickly and properly. They worked on our office renovation and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the work that was done there. They have a motto “We Show up, Finish Up, Clean Up and Don’t Screw Up”
There are a couple of major repairs needed before we can even get started making this property look nice. There is foundation work required and roof work required. There is water leaking now and that needs to be addressed right away. The foundation is a rubble style foundation and needs to be shored up prior to any major work.
Check back for more as we get into this project. We’ll include some pictures and video as we go along.
Are you looking for the typical new build that is more than 2500 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and 2.5 bathrooms? Are you handy, or do you know someone who is?
This Lancaster foreclosure could be the perfect family home. Some minor build out will leave you with $20,000 – $40,000 in equity in this property as soon as you complete the work and move in.
Take a look for yourself:
Lancaster High End Fixer Upper
