Seaside Onset Property

Flipping Houses in Onset, Massachusetts

We just purchased this three bedroom single family home in Onset, MA and have thus far not done any work whatsoever to the home.  If you are just getting into flipping houses then this post is a must read - you'll get to see exactly what condition most of the houses we rehab are in when we purchase them.

First thing I noticed about this home was the smell.  The previous owners were big time cigarette smokers and it was apparent that they had no qualms about smoking indoors.  On top of that, the smell was compounded by a reasonable amount of trash, rotting food and even fecal matter left over from pets.

However, that smell is really just the smell of opportunity!  If you plan on house flipping for a living then it is inevitable that you will run into homes like this one.  To be honest, this home is just the tip of the iceberg.  Many houses that we flip are much more run down, smell even worse and are chock full of garbage.

It's these rundown homes that present the most opportunity for making a lot of money. Check out the video below to get a better sense of what I am eluding to.

You'll notice as I enter the home that there is a fairly spacious living room with a bedroom off to the right.  The bedroom contains a small half bathroom that is, to put it nicely, very messy.

The plan at the moment is to break open the opposite wall of the bathroom and turn the half bath into a full bath.  We'll also add laundry to the bathroom and obviously spruce up the design.

These days open space is more important than dining rooms.  Therefore we are going to turn the existing dining room area into a nice big kitchen/sitting space.  The existing kitchen is way too narrow and small and will serve as a future breakfast nook.  We'll add some glass sliders to the future breakfast nook for easy access to the back patio.

This home is 1/10 of a mile to the beach so we want to definitely capitalize on the outdoor living space.  It's not a huge lot so having glass sliders that open up to a patio area is a nice bonus for the future homeowner.

To further increase living space we will be removing the old chimney.  I was originally thinking about removing the entire wall behind the chimney, however there are too many structural issues in my opinion so we are going to hold off on that for now.

I think it is very important to understand that some renovations will reap a return on investment while others will not.  Being able to distinguish between the two is crucial, in my opinion, for success in real estate investing.

It did not surprise me when I realized the second floor of this home needs just as much work as the first floor.

I find it very sad that people were actually living in these difficult conditions.  However it makes me feel better knowing that this house will someday, in the very near future, provide an individual or family with a wonderful place to call home.

Plus we were able to work out a deal that helped the previous owners avoid foreclosure which is a nice aspect of this particular house flip.

The current second floor bathroom configuration is quite unique with a 3/4 type wall separating the bathroom from the hallway.  We will expand and gut the bathroom completely and thus create more space for the future bathroom.

Down the hall are two more bedrooms.  We're going to do some serious work back here and remove the wall separating the two bedrooms.  It just does not make any sense to have to work through one bedroom to access another.  Once we remove the wall this space will become the new master bedroom.

Click here for details on how we plan on turning two small bedrooms into one spacious master bedroom.

Right now the leaves on the trees block views of the water, but there's a good chance that the master bedroom will have a slight water view during the winter months.  Any sort of water view provides a unique selling point when it comes time to show the finished home.

All in all this house will require a complete gut job and won't resemble the old home in the least bit once we are 100% complete with renovations.

The outside of this house is actually not in terrible shape.  Although it may be hard to notice the positives with the heaping mountain of trash in the background...

The trash really is expected and is just a common aspect of many of the properties we buy.  As I mention in the video "trash is cash" in my book!

Moving the trash is simple and relatively cheap.  A 30 yard dumpster runs about $425 which is a minor cost in the overall scope of the work to be done.

Aside from the trash, the outside of the home is not looking all that bad.  The vinyl siding is in good shape and the trim should be OK with some power washing attention.  After installing some new windows and doors, and giving the landscape a little TLC, the outdoor area should be looking very nice.

I'm going to be pushing for 6 weeks on this house flip project.  We are scheduled to start work a mere 4 days after closing on the house so we are already off to a great start!

Be sure to stay tuned for updates and please leave a comment or question below

See you at the top!

Mike