1 Price – Before you even go to view the property, you need to make sure that the price is well below the market value of real estate in that area; Otherwise, you’ll be wasting time looking for properties you can’t make money on. So you want to make sure it’s so far below the price of another house that you can fix it up, maintain it, and pay fees and commissions and still make a big profit.

2. Foundation: I buy and sell real estate in Texas and foundation is a big issue here, and it’s the first thing I look at. If there is foundation damage, you need to see how much it will cost to repair it. Many times when I’m looking for a property, I can call my foundation manager and he’ll come over and give me a free quote on the spot. Foundation damage can drain an estimate, so until you’re comfortable with your abilities to judge the amount of foundation damage, call a professional for a quote, and then factor that into your estimate. When you look outside and inside the house, you look for cracks over windows, along brick mortar, over doors and in corners, and you can often feel that the foundation is sagging in certain areas of the house. home. Be sure to walk towards the corners of the rooms and you will be able to tell if the springs have caved in.

3. Roof: I then check the roof by counting the shingle layers. Normally, if there are more than 2 layers of shingles, you will need to replace the roof. Also, as you walk around the inside of the house, look up at the ceiling and look for water spots. This is also a great indicator that you will need to replace a roof. Your foundation and roof are normally your 2 biggest expenses.

4. Walls – Look for holes or damaged plaster that needs to be replaced. Drywall is cheap and not much of a problem, but it does cause many buyers to run away from the property. I love houses with holes kicked in all the walls. Holes = Money

5. Electrical: Look at the condition of the breaker box. If you’re going to add something like an AC unit, you may need to upgrade the electrical system, so keep that in mind. Then, if the house is on, you can check the lights and buy an inexpensive power tester that you can plug into a wall to see if you have power, and you can get an idea if the electricity is having problems in the house.

6. Air Conditioning and Heating – Check the age and condition of the air conditioning unit in the potential change so you can see if it may need to be replaced and allow room in the budget if you think it may need to be replaced. unit.

7. After those cabinets: See if you can use the old ones or if you’ll have to replace them all.

8. Countertops

9. Plumbing – make sure toilets flush and water runs. The water heater is normally off, so you can’t test it, but you can look to see how old it is, and that will give you an ideal idea if you’re going to need to replace it. See how many faucets, toilets, showerheads, and other plumbing fixtures you might need and budget for them. I usually replace almost all plumbing fixtures to give the house a new look.

10. Floors – See what part of the floor will be repaired or replaced. I always, if possible, touch up my hardwood floors and lay down ceramic tile. If there is no hardwood, I will calculate the cost of the carpet.

11. Paint – Don’t forget to quote paint inside and out

12. Appliances – I normally replace all appliances so you need to take that into account as well.