Types of Foundations

1. Block

Block foundations, especially where we do business are notorious for having foundation issues. When homes were constructed back in the day with block the walls seem to bow, crack, and shift more than your typical fieldstone wall. This means that foundation companies have to be hired to cure this issue. 

The cost of repairing your foundation can be quite significant. In most cases, you are looking at spending $10,000+ if you are dealing with multiple bowing, cracking, or shifting walls. 

The reason for such a cost is because the foundation company has to excavate next to the house in order to push the wall back straight and then backfill with a gravel mixture. 

There are several methods to repairs a foundation which include beaming the wall or installing a metal plate system. Both are quite common in areas where foundation issues occur. 

2. Poured Concrete - What all new construction homes are built out of

Poured concrete can have the same issues as a block basement and what is extremely important to note is that a poured wall can crack even further after braced. Unlike a block basement, poured walls don’t have mortar joints to take the brute force of the earth pushing against the wall which leads to hairline cracks in your concrete walls. Below is a few pictures for your reference. 

Again, foundation companies can remedy these issues, but it is quite costly. (Below I go over the cost estimate guide) 

3. Fieldstone 

Although fieldstone foundations are considered ancient in today’s standard of construction, they are some of the best-constructed foundations in history. Back in the early 1900s, the idea was to build thick solid foundations that would stand the test of time. In most cases, the old fieldstone walls are 14-20 inches thick of rocks, gravel, and mortar. However, back in the day, most masons did not account for the fact the ground would shift during the warm & cold months. Leading to the older construction homes to have some slope in the floors which is fairly common in any home 80-90+ years old. 

Foundation Summary: 

The age of the house will determine whether the house has a stone, block, or poured concrete foundation. Today, the standard is poured concrete, but when houses were constructed 100+ years ago fieldstone was the way to go. 

Be sure when you are walking through a property where there is a basement that you look at every wall closely. If the wall seems to be bowing, pushing, or cracking you will want to budget for a foundation repair. 

Most foundation inspectors will make the recommendation for excavating next to your foundation wall if it is bowed more than 1 inch. If it is less than that, they can typically brace the wall or use the ground anchor system. 

When we are evaluating deals, I typically estimate $5,000 PER foundation wall. So on a standard house where the entire foundation is bad, you can estimate at least $20,000 in repairs. 

If you are unsure on the cost of a foundation repair, reach out to a local foundation company and get an estimate! They will teach you all the information you need to learn. 

Selling a House that's Out Dated

 If you have ever walked into Grandma or Granpa's house and thought..."how can they live here?" then you will know exactly where I am coming from. Years ago I walked into a house that a lady built back in 1977. She was meticulous about cleaning and preparing things so the house was in pristine condition. 

But, You Should Have Seen the Carpet...

I walked in and was instantly greeted by the original 1977 construction. The same avocado green carpeting was lying throughout the living room with the orange carpeting in the kitchen and bathroom. She had kept up the house so well that it didn't show it's age besides the cosmetics. 

So what do you do in a situation like that when it comes time to sell? Well, my opinion would be to either list it on the market and try to find someone wanting a project, or to sell to a real estate investor. 

The first option of using a Realtor will give you the most amount of money. But, the tough part about selling a property like that is the individual needs to have $30,000-$50,000 saved to stick into the house. The renovation will cost a significant amount of money & unless they are well-capitalized it might be more than they are anticipating. 

If you own an outdated property and need to sell feel free to visit us online or give us a call 920-215-4201

How Long Does it Take to Clean Out a Property

When we purchase property from individual owners there is a good chance that most of the items will remain in the house. For whatever reason, people do not like to take a lot of stuff with them & accumulate a bunch of junk over the 5,10,15 years that they have lived in the house. So how do we mitigate this? Well, we have to offer a bit lower to account for the trash removal process & dumpsters needed. 

The average cost for us to get a 30 yard dumpster is about $450 when it is completely full. Depending upon the size of the items left behind a 30 yard dumpster can be completely full in 1 days worth of work. So how do we determine how many dumpsters a property will need? 

A general rule of thumb is for a light trash out of a 1000 sq ft house and some of a garage you will fill 1 30 yard dumpster. Then you will most likely want to order another 20-yard dumpster for your contractors to use during the remodeling process. A 20 yard dumpster should be sufficient for any scrap material leftover or misc. items being removed from the house. 

Depending upon who your dumpster provider is you will want to see how they charge you. If it is a flat cost this next section doesn't matter - but we pay by weight. So when we consider throwing carpeting or other absorbent objects in there we need to make sure no rain is in the forecast. If a full house of carpeting gets soaking wet it'll add $60-75 worth of cost to each dumpster. Over the course of 30-40 houses are year with multiple dumpsters per house that can add up! 

My recommendation would be to talk with the dumpster provider you use & see what they recommend for the amount of stuff if the property. If you have extra room, start cleaning out your personal residence & get rid of the clutter! 

Buy for Cash Flow or Appreciation

This question was most common back in 2006-2007 before the real estate market crashed. Everyone was a house flipper & was able to profit on deals. Values were going up 4-12% in a few months time & you were able to make a quick profit. That is what ultimately lead to the real estate bubble & total economic meltdown of 2009. 

Then the question presents itself, do I buy based on cash flow or appreciation. My recommendation to anyone reading this article is to always buy on cash flow. If you do, then you can typically make it through the rough patches as the property is still producing income & you are able to service the debt. If you buy based upon the value going up over the course of the next 2-3 years you could be in for a rude awakening if the market tanks. 

Cash flow is the one guarantee that you should be able to withstand any sort of economic contraction as long as you have decent tenants who are paying their rent. Establish your criteria you are looking for in properties, identify it, & don't go off the path. It is important to have a game plan in place prior to getting into real estate investing. 

If you need help or have questions on the topic please feel free to contact us! 

What Do I Expect on a Phone Call With a Cash Buyer

You inquired on our site & now you are wondering what to expect... Well, the first thing I would say is make sure to have your phone with you as Carter always tries to reach out right away to chat on the phone. But what will that phone conversation consist of? 

Questions from a Cash Home Buyer

In a typical conversation I like to get an idea of what you are wanting to sell the property. If there is absolutely no motivation to sell & you are just looking to get numbers thrown your way there is a good chance we will not be willing to help with that. Along those lines, it is also important to know why you reached out to a company like ours that buys houses for cash in Appleton WI. 

Typically, most people know that we buy houses companies can't pay retail value for a home in the area. Why is this? It is due to the fact that we need to make some sort of profit & also that we have to typically spend thousands of dollars on remodeling the property. Sure, you can always list it with a Realtor. 

But, then you will deal with 10-20 showings, inspections, repairs, & the list will keep going. 

Another question we like to ask is how did you hear about us. This one is pretty straight forward as we could have either reached out to you directly or you may have been searching for we buy houses Appleton wi. 

How can we help?

Wrapping up this article, a typical phone conversation will last anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending upon the situation. If we can be a resource in selling your Appleton wi house fast for cash please give us a call on our office line 920-215-4201. 

Using a Self Directed IRA to Invest in Real Estate

Something that is rarely talked about at the financial advisor or the brokerage level is the ability to invest in actual real estate with your retirement account. Most brokerage services such as e-trade, or fidelity, or vanguard will not allow you to do it. However, there are "custodian" brokerage services that grant you this ability. 

The custodian is essentially the watcher of your IRA account & they will grant you the permission to invest in an alternative investment other than your typical stock, bond, or mutual fund. It is achievable through the process of rolling over some or all of your IRA into one of their programs. 

Don't worry, if you have a ROTH IRA it will still remain in that category as well as a normal IRA. 

Now, the biggest stipulation with a SDIRA is that it needs to be completely passive or hands-off for your the owner. This means that you can't go buy a vacation house with the money & have it as an AirBNB. You need to invest your money in some sort of real estate asset that is either part of a syndication or that is managed by a property manager & they take care of everything. If the rules are not followed the IRS could target your entire IRA & tax you on the total amount. 

Of course that is the worst-case scenario. But, the reason behind people investing in real estate with their IRA is the following reasons: 

1) Real Estate is a Physical Asset that will NEVER go down to $0 in value

2) In most cases the "right" real estate will outperform the returns of the stock market. 

3) Real Estate appreciates in value over time

4) Rental real estate provides monthly cash flow

If you are wondering how you can diversify your portfolio reach out to us & we can set up a video or phone call. 920-215-4201

Easiest Way to Update a Kitchen or Bath

When you are looking to do the most cost-effective repairs, where do you start? Typically, you will get the highest ROI from kitchen & bathroom remodeling. Those are the two favorite spots for every house! But what is a cost-effective way to make your home stand out?

First things first, what is your budget you are working with to remodel your home? Are you working with $1,000-$5,000 or more? If you are working with the smaller budget then the best thing to do is spruce up, not completely replace.
I would recommend painting your kitchen cabinets, replacing counters, & installing a backsplash. These are all things that you can do on your own that will transform the look of the kitchen!
I wouldn't go overboard with installing quartz or granite counters, I would just go with a nice looking laminate counter that costs $400-$600.

If you wanted to go the extra mile you could even install new flooring in those areas. Flooring is something that may take a professionals help, but normally in small areas, you can get by doing something for fairly cheap. We have had great luck with the luxury vinyl plank floors & that is what I would recommend anyone to do!

If you need assistance or ideas on what to do to spruce up your kitchen please feel free to reach out! We would love to provide you with some FREE resources you can use.