Abandoned Home - Unbelievable Whole House Remodel

Abandoned Home - Unbelievable Whole House Remodel

It is finally time to call this project completed. it has been a long 12 month process. Working with the occasional helper, this ugly duckling has been turned into a beautiful home.

For those who don't know the backstory, I'll tell it here. This home was abandoned by the owner in 2010 and the taxes had been left unpaid for many years. Tax certificates were purchased by a corporate entity and during the tax sale in 2014, the property received no bids. The property was then awarded to the certificate holder who refused to accept it, opting instead to take a loss on the whole deal.

The property reverted ownership to the county government in 2017 after tax certificates failed to be purchased for unpaid back taxes. The property sat on the unclaimed property list for 12 months and was subsequently listed as surplus property by the county government in early 2019.

When I found the property for sale on the surplus property list, I put pencil to paper, and decided that I could make this project work if everything would work in my favor. My goal is total cost divided by expected rent cannot exceed 48. Initial expectations were purchase price of $5200 + $30000 in renovations and $850 rent. This gave me a gross ROI at 41.4 months. I decided to purchase the property.

Total cost breakdown is in the final credits of the video. Total all in cost was $29,240 and estimated market value is $77,000 on the low end and $82,000 on the high end. Fair Market Rent is $1151, significantly higher than the target of $850. Gross ROI on this project is 25.4 months! To quote my old friends Ted Theodore Logan and Bill S Preston Esq., that is "Excellent!"

Please leave a comment below and any questions you might have. I am always ready to answer questions and I really enjoy the feedback. It helps me improve.

#WholeHouseRenovation #ExtremeRemodeling #AbandonedHouse

*EDIT*
For those of you still reading, I have had many people suggest that I didn't actually do this work that it was somehow staged. I assure you I did the vast majority of it with the exception of the things that I was required to hire an outside contractor by the permitting authority. No, I did not film the outside contractors.

Yes, I did all the framing myself, trim/doors, flooring, ductwork, plumbing, most of the electrical, tile work, cabinets, countertops and painting (oh how I loathe painting).

No, these aren't high end finishes ... you don't put high end finishes in a rental property. You use mid grade and durable finishes. When the tenant moves out, it will have hopefully held up and repairs will be a minimum. If repairs are required, I can be satisfied that the cost will not be terribly high.

Also ... no I will not tell you exactly where I live.


Did you miss our previous article...
https://trendinginrealestate.com/where-to-buy/15k-down-payment-assistance-for-buying-distressed-neighborhoods-in-chicago