The Lazy Investor - But, it IS my own house, now...
This is turning into a project - one that I'm enjoying, yet, not my typical investment, that is for sure!
What I've found is something that is rather typical when investing in and beginning rehabs - the 'onion' problem...
You know what I mean - once you start one thing, you just peel back that 'tiny' layer, and all of a sudden, you find there is yet something else that now needs fixing... and, it is thicker and more solid than the one 'simple' thing!
Oh, yeah, you get the idea...
For instance, our electric stovetop - now, there's an ONION for you!
We started with the simple issue - the stovetop was too high, as well as being electric (neither my wife or I like electric cooktops - just never learned to cook on them).
Oh, we could have learned to cook on it, but as it was built on top of a 30 inch cabinet (and, you'd have to see these cabinets to believe them - they are METAL, right out of the '50s!) and then, with the stove being another 6" higher, it was simply too high - for my 5' 2" tall wife....
So, we decided to take the electric stovetop out and replace it with a gas one (layer '#1'...)
We looked around for a replacement stovetop - something simple that would work in the same place - an 'easy' rehab item, right?
What we found was that,
1. The house has no gas connection (all electric)
2. To get natural gas, we have to get it brought in from down the street (this house is in the 'country' - located in a subdivision established in the county which has yet to be annexed into the city - great for taxes and some other political garbage)
3. It would cost $4995 to get natural gas to the house (the property line only - not into the kitchen!)
So, we fretted with the electric stove again...
Finally, we took it out...
To my amazement, it was pretty simple to remove - a few screws, a couple tugs and it was out - along with the tile border that was holding it in.
Actually, it seemed simple enough...
Well, now we had a hole to fill - - - -
So, it was back to the store, looking for gas tops (still no idea of just how we were going to get gas in the house, but we had already called a couple of propane dealers that said it should be a lot less expensive than the natural gas).
We found one we liked, but it was not a stovetop, it was a full range - with an oven built into the bottom (you know, a 'standard' kitchen appliance...).
OK, we'll simply take out the cabinet - the 30" x 30" x 24" metal box - nothing too strange - just remove that and put the range in the empty hole, right? (layer #2...)
In fact, that is so simple, and with the new range, why not go ahead and get the latest in 'modern day' appliances and install an overhead, matching microwave? Heck, it saves space, and in the tiny kitchen of this 1958 house, space is at a premium! (layer #3)
So, out came the overhead vent and cabinet. Again, simple enough, with a few screws and a yank, viola! it was out!
And, so was the vent pipe - dropping all the way to the floor...
(layer #4...)
Now, I had a 7" hole, and a vent way up in the crawl space (there is no 'attic' in this house, just about 3' of space filled with air ducts and insulation... - a small boy might get around, but this 6' 2", 220 lb. LAZY man won't!) No clue how to get this pipe back into the hole it came from - and hit the vent shaft that hung idly by, so very far away...
Well, that was an issue for another day - we now have a huge hole in the kitchen that needs to be filled!
Back to the store, we went to another store and found (surprise, surprise) another kitchen combo that we really liked. Of course, it was more expensive (aren't they always...?) but, it gives value to the house in appraisals (in fact, the ONLY appliance manufacturer that I know of that does!), it looks great, and is just what we want, so why not?
They'll even install it for us! GREAT!
Now, we just need to get gas to the area and we are set...
We got a couple of quotes for the propane, but only one that would include the install all the way to the kitchen (of course, that's the one we wanted!) So, he began working.
The quote included us 'helping' run the pipe from outside the house to the kitchen - certainly a 2-man job (about a 65' run through drop ceiling tiles and several rafters, around corners and such...). He quoted 2 hours, and, with my help (layer #5), it would cost $950 to get a full propane tank and connections to the kitchen stove, our gas dryer and - he'd even toss in a full-time connection to the BBQ grill!
This work got started - I pulled out the ceiling tiles and ran a rope through to make the pipe job a bit easier, he brought in a huge roll of flex tubing and left it on our freshly cleaned and polished, wooden living room floor...
Then, something happened and he couldn't get back for several days. So, not only did we have the kitchen torn up with all the loose tile, empty hole for the new stove and nowhere to cook, we now had ceiling tiles removed and scattered all over the living room - along with a big roll of flex pipe! Yes, and in the house we are trying to make a home!
OK, remain calm (we are trying to...)
Layer #6 comes when he doesn't show up and I'm doing all the job myself...
Well, he did drop by and bring the drill bit that was needed to run the flex pipe, but he had another job that was pressing and just couldn't stay...
OK, so I did it - all myself. 4 HOURS of drilling, pulling, drilling, pulling, shifting insulation around, drilling, pulling and so on - until, finally, the pipe arrived at the kitchen wall - just above the place it should go (HURRAY!)
But, then, layer #7...
With no access to the attic, and the way this kitchen was made, we are still 2 feet from the back wall where the pipe must go behind the stove. This is from the original kitchen setup of the counters and cabinets. A quick cut into the sheetrock, a bit of drilling and cutting to gain access and it is in (although, now, there is another big hole to patch up later.....)
However, the pipe is in - YEAH!
Well, now that we have a plan for the new stove/oven combo, and since we have found 'the' microwave/oven combo that goes above the stovetop, what do we need that original (from the original house - all electric, turn-knob, very 'retro') double oven for? (layer #8...)
Heck, let's just tear that thing out and put up something else - the tile on it is horrid, it sticks out too far and so on - let's just rip it out and go with some storage cabinets, a worktop or something...
About an hour of pounding, pulling and twisting and it is gone - another 30" hole from floor to ceiling - with the floor tile being cut just a bit larger than everything else (making a noticible 'L' shape in the floor... layer #9...) - it should be nothing to fix....
So, the propane guy shows up, puts in the tank, the connection to the dryer, the BBQ and the kitchen - all is going well...
We go to order the stove and microwave, and something has happened to our credit cards! (layer #10)...
We tried several and none of them would work - still not sure about that, but we went home to figure it out - the store closed anyway (we like to shop just before closing time - it keeps us moving through the store and not buying too much - a LAZY habit that keeps money in your pocket!).
The next day, we simply pulled out cash and went back to the store (we like to buy on credit cards but pay them off every month - keep the 'Yield' as high as possible in your pocket, but use the 'Leverage' of the credit cards to pay for stuff and keep records simple.) and ordered the appliances.
'D-day' is 4 days away - we will get our appliances and can cook again!
The store clerk is great - he even gave us a plan for the installation so everything could be ready for the crew to come in.
OOOPS! The microwave REQUIRES a cabinet to be installed (layer #11) and the power and gas connections for the stove MUST be on the LEFT side, no higher than 12 inches from the floor (layer #12 - we had installed the gas pipe near the old electric panel - on the RIGHT side of the stove and about 18" from the floor!.....)
With some twisting, shoving and several 'choice' words, I moved the power and gas connection to make it work for the stove. So what if it wasted a few hours -what else is a LAZY investor to do??? ;)
On to the microwave. The installer took one look at the area and said "NO WAY" - well, we knew that - there was no cabinet installed and the power was a cord hanging out of the wall...
So, it is off to my dusty tools and woodworking begins. Taking some of the wood from the cabinet we ripped out from the double oven, I hacked and sawed my way into a box cabinet that should fit just right into the hole (is this 'lucky layer #13'?). I put it in and to my shock, I had built it wrong.... Off to the shop again, and about 4 hours after starting this, I had built a 30" x 24" x 8" box to mount as a cabinet insert so the microwave could be installed (now, to my credit, I did have to consider the vent for the microwave, the power to the unit and the house vent connection (still just an empty hole at this point...)
But, first, we must get the power plug installed!
Have you ever been to an older house? Have you checked out the electric outlets? Many of them don't have grounded outlets - nor grounds! Now, I'm not talking about a third hole - I'm talking about the real, safety of a GROUNDED outlet! (layer #14, and it is a thick one!)
We knew there were a lot of two-pronged outlets in the house - certainly in the 'older section' that was built in 1958. The 'addition' that came in 1979 has the three-pronged ones, but several of our things we need to plug in (lamps, notebook computers and such) only need the two prongs, so it hasn't been an issue - until now...
No way was the installer going to allow a two-pronged outlet to be installed, and they use a tester to make sure they have a good socket before doing any work, so we decided to test the outlets in the kitchen (some of them were the three-pronged types, so....)
NONE of them have ground! In fact, we found that the entire 'old' portion of the house has what is called 'open ground' and getting that fixed won't be simply (nor cheap!)
Thank goodness I've got an electronic background - I can at least do some of the work myself (I think you are getting the picture now - yeah, that's another 'layer'.....)
Well, this is turning into a book, and I certainly have my work cut out for me today - more 'tasks' around the house.
Good thing I'm good at making enough deals that I don't have to have a 'job' - I don't know what I'd do if the money wasn't there already....
Just a friendly reminder about rehabs - don't get into them until you are really ready - and can afford to mess with them!!!
In The Lazy Investor's Guide to REAL ESTATE, I go through many scenarios to avoid having to work on rehabs - ways to make CA$H for your pocket, not work for your body!
If you don't have a copy yet, get yours today at http://TheLazyInvestor.com/TLIGTRESL.html
Happy Investing,
Steve
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