A house with a face so ugly only a mother could love it!

This post to the blog has been a long time coming, but (said in my Bones voice) damn it – I’m a real estate investor not a blogger.  My student, Prencella “PJ” Hall; a wife and full-time employee at Johns Hopkins, pulled the trigger on this monstrous beauty a few months ago.  I actually found the house through a local wholesaler – and was able to immediately help PJ make a decision because I had already done several successful rehabs in the immediate area.  In fact, my partner and I sold 2817 Violet; just one house to the left of PJ’s house at 2901.

REAL ESTATE INVESTING TIP: Folks – you ‘gotta know your target area.  This is some pretty elementary stuff, but seriously, it works!  You’ve got to pick an area.  You’ve got to farm it, work it, cultivate it – and make it your baby.  Being intimately familiar with your target area will allow to to react with lightening speed when you find a deal.  I just hosted a Club meeting with my good buddy Mike Hurley.  Up until about a year ago, Mike would take deals ANYWHERE in Maryland. One day he had an epiphany as he was riding to Chrisfield for a deal – he said to himself, “Why am I riding 1.5 hours just to get to this deal?”  Long story short, Mike decided that he could find more deals in his own back yard then by chasing his tail all over the state.  The result?  The guy is killing it by focusing on two very small zip codes.  He knows every house on every street – and he’s making deals.  So pick an area, and focus!

Here are the numbers of PJ’s deal:

Purchase:  $17,000
Rehab:      $85,000
ARV:         $165,000

This house will be completely gutted and will be transformed from a functionally obsolete “hot-mess” into a 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath magnificent, and luxurious mini-mansion.  These row-houses are some of the biggest in Baltimore City.  With great porch fronts, soaring 10+ foot ceilings, massive basements with equally incredible ceiling heights, and with the exception of the occasional shooting in your front yard – this neighborhood has it all!  Oh, how I love me some Charm City.  Seriously, my student Prencella will turn this motha’ out.  And, we will once again transform an extra-crappy vacant, non-tax-producing house in an otherwise marginal and forgotten neighborhood into a super-sweet party palace.

So check out the pics – and yes, VIDEOS (Look at me getting all fancy-pants on ya.  There will be many more videos to come).  You will not believe how crappy this house looks!  There was so much junk left in this house, we actually discovered an extra bathroom several days after we started the demo!  Top that.

Click the picture below to see all the “before” pics!

Post from: Craig Fuhr

R.E.I. Coaching Student Rehab: 2901 Violet Ave, Part 1