OK, I'm going to make a resolution (albeit a late one) to Blog every Tuesday so here we go...
I've included a photo of the completed bathroom in Colorado. It is terrific. The photo doesn't do it justice. You can view the website for the house at www.vrbo.com/135018. Most likely the kitchen is next. I will definitely plan that one ahead of time!
Other news, both construction calls and interest in real estate purchases seem to be picking up. If you are planning to renovate or to buy a house, now is the time. Prices are excellent on purchases interest rates are low and contractors are hungry (yes, that includes us) but this too shall pass. Keep in mind it takes from 1 to 6 months to PLAN a project and you can not lock into a price until planning is complete. We would love to do your work but are also interested in our industry bouncing back from this slump so call us, or someone else, if you are considering a renovation in the next 6 months or so.
The other opportunity in the market now that will be gone very shortly, I hope, is the glut of foreclosures and short sales. Most of these need work. No matter what the listing says, I have yet to see one that was really "move in ready" and I have looked at a lot. Until now, investors were buying these properties and "flipping" them. Since that market has dried up, home buyers with some vision and an appetite for construction can really capitalize. I have seen houses in ALL the Intown neighborhoods that are screaming for a buyer willing to partner with a contractor and turn a hovel into a home. We are working on a couple of deals now and completed one in Reynoldstown in November. It takes some trust and patience but at the end of the day you have a great house with equity out of the gate if you do your homework.
I am also going to try to include one item of general interest on each Blog. Today's is an organization that was featured on the Today Show this morning. The website is http://www.uniteforsight.org/. They send used eyeglasses to countries in need. Their next shipment is to an ophthalmology office in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The deadline is Feb 15 to have the glasses to them. It sounds like a great cause and can put to use something that many of us have lying around in drawers. If you are in Atlanta and want to include any old glasses or cases that you have with my shipment, drop me an email at dlandau@environsresidential.com and we can figure out how to get them to me.
Until next Tuesday....
