My husband, Todd, and I started Harper Properties in 2009 in hopes to slowly transition into the real estate investing lifestyle. We enjoy architecture, restoring the old to new, and designing so real estate made complete sense. Although it is hard work, we have decided to start slow and build up our network, equity, and cash funds.
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| Todd and I enjoying our home of the DC area |
We have cautiously walked through a shell of a home, terrified of what we would find upstairs. We have time traveled from the 1940's through the 1970's and bored ourselves with new construction. However, it was a 1958 split level that won us over!
When I walk into an older home, walls collapse, wallpaper disappears, bright green carpet turns to hardwood, and I find the best characteristics of the place. I get excited for the potential end result and profit.
Which leads us back to our 1958 beauty!
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| The kitchen is getting a complete makeover! |
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| Love the curb appeal! A new porch, front door, and landscaping will bring her back to new! |
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| Green carpet? The sofa can stay with some reuphosltering |
So she needs some work... but we love it! First, we can't stress the importance of having a great realtor who understands what you want, your budget, timeline, and personalities. If you are looking for a realtor, we would be happy to share Jeff Welesko's information with you.
Our mission- get a great deal, gut her, and rebuild her with a new floor plan and our design style. We then look at renting or selling her in 2-3 years.
Get a great deal- CHECK! Note to self (when extremely wealthy), use cash for everything! With the ratification of our contract and construction loan, came a heap of paperwork. Proof of funds, tax returns, investment portfolio's, hazard insurance, and so on....
As we gathered the information and worked with our contractor Jim Stepka on his requirements, he suggested we begin picking out our kitchen cabinets as they can take up to 3-4 months to arrive. I love to design and decorate but now we have to choose a kitchen? Pillows and drapes can be removed and changed but a kitchen is relatively permanent and is a big chunk of our budget!
Get a great deal- CHECK! Note to self (when extremely wealthy), use cash for everything! With the ratification of our contract and construction loan, came a heap of paperwork. Proof of funds, tax returns, investment portfolio's, hazard insurance, and so on....
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| This was just the half of it! |
Do we go with light cabinets?
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| I love white! So fresh and clean! |
Do we go with dark?
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| Dark wood is modern and we love modern too! |
We also have to keep resell value in mind. We can't go over the top with our style. We can't go too modern or extreme since we want this house to appeal to a wide-range of buyers. It's very hard as Todd and I have unique design ideas but we are thinking the below designs are safe.
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| Master Bed- I'm in love with greys, pale purples and pinks, and white! |
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| Spa-like. Yes, please! |
Inspection rolled around and gave us an excuse to put the kitchen on hold. Unlike a normal inspection, we had to use a Home Specialist. This gentleman had to provide a quote for all of the upgrades we planned which had to match our Contractor's quote. We ran into mold but was able to negotiate the sale price down to cover the mold remediation.
The next step was the appraisal. We needed the house to appraise at or above the value of our loan. This includes all of the upgrades. We were very disappointed to hear the Apprasier took off $20,000 because she considered the first floor a "basement" level and also removed the downstairs bedroom as viable. We worked with Jeff to plead our case to her Manager. This brings us up to the present day and we are still waiting to hear from the Appraiser's Manager. As our closing date of September 28th nears, we are pushing for a decision quickly. We need to regain some of that $20,000 and get this loan finalized!
