Well that was Quick!! Ravenwood Finished

So I posted a semi-before video of the property at Ravenwood on Friday…. and now I’ve already got the after pictures for you to see. This renovation went real quick, and believe it or not it’s already sold and our new buyer has moved in.

We purchased this house as a short sale on January 21, 2010, had the renovation complete by February 12, and had our new buyer moving in on February 20th. That is lightning fast… but we did cheat a little bit. See ,we actually started working on the house about two weeks before we even owned it, a little risky, yes, but the rehab business is about taking risks. Also, we had been working with this buyer for a few months. She had wanted to buy our Plumtree Rd house and Lasalle St house but missed out on both those… so she was very determined not to miss this one. She saw Ravenwood before we were even done with the work and said she’d take it…. so it was an easy sale!!!

The house came out real nice… I’m not a huge fan of the color of the roof, but one half was brand new shingles (reddish brown color) and the other half of the roof needed to be replaced. So rather than tear off the brand new section we just matched what was there (the reddish brown shingle). My first choice is always a blackish grey shingle, this color looks awesome no matter what color the house is. The only time we really deviate from this is when we have to match an existing shingle… and honestly, I don’t know what some of these homeowners are thinking when they are choosing a roof color??? Shingle color is something I am very particular about, almost like a pet peeve, but I realize I am probably boring most of you so let’s get on with the pictures; (you can see the before pictures HERE)

Ravenwood St Springfield MA

Ravenwood St Front

So I just realized you can’t even really see the roof in these photos… just take my word for it.

Kitchen 1

Kitchen 2

Kitchen 3

Kitchen -- Again....

I took alot of pictures of the kitchen, I think it came out nice!! Check out the appliances, top of the line GE Profile… yes that is a Double Oven!!  We went even more over the top on the Fridge….

GE Cafe Series French Door Fridge

If you look hard enough you can see the little GE symbol on the Fridge is Red… this is the Cafe series…. and supposedly it is a step up from the Profile Series… which means it’s a real bad-ass fridge, almost better than Electrolux!!! Plus it’s a French Door Fridge… so that makes it even more awesome.

Kitchen Looking in from Living Room

Living Room

Dining Area -- Nice 18x18 Tiles on the Floor

Living Room from Kitchen

Bathroom

Tiled Tub Surround with Glass Tile Border

Shower Panel w/ Glass Tile Inlay

 We did the bathroom a little different here… We used a glass tile inlay and I think it looks real Sweet. You will see this in all our houses moving forward. Also we added one of those curved Hotel Shower Bars… a nice little upgrade.

Bedroom

Finished Basement

So, that’s about it for Ravenwood… In and Out in the blink of an eye, a real text-book flip. On to the next one!!

Bessemer–Finishing Up

Work is almost complete at Bessemer St. We have started showing the property and have received very positive feedback… we actually may be getting two offers before the house even officially goes on the market.

The transformation of this property has been amazing and the finished product is looking great. Have a look at the house now:

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New Roof, Windows, Siding, Gutters, Garage Door, Landscaping, Etc...


New Kitchen w/Stainless Steel Appliances

New Kitchen w/Stainless Steel Appliances


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Tile Backsplash and Countertop. French Door Fridge. Lots of Recessed Lighting

 

Brushed Nickle Hardware, 18x18 Ceramic Tile Floor, Over the Range Microwave

Brushed Nickle Hardware, 18x18 Ceramic Tile Floor, Over the Range Microwave


First Floor Bathroom with New Fixtures and Ceramic Tile Floor

First Floor Bathroom with New Fixtures and Ceramic Tile Floor

 

Tile Tub Surround

Tile Tub Surround w/ Accent Border

 

Living Room w/ Fireplace and Hardwood Floors

Living Room w/ Fireplace and Hardwood Floors

 

Front Entrance/ Stairway

Front Entrance/ Stairway

 

Refinished Hardwoods

Refinished Hardwoods


Second Floor Bath

Second Floor Bath


Second Floor Bedroom

Second Floor Bedroom


Master Bedroom w/Front Load Washer/Dryer going in Second Floor Bath

Master Bedroom w/Front Load Washer/Dryer going in Second Floor Bath

 This one is turning out as nice as Hartford Terrace. Once it is completely finished and staged we should have buyers fighting over it.  We’ll be putting Bessemer and Brooks St on the market over the next week. I hope all the buyers aren’t on summer vacation and we can move both of these quickly.

Five Closings and Stainless Steel Appliances

It’s a gorgeous day here in Springfield, MA. Right now the thermometer reads 80 degrees.  My partner Dominic just made me aware of something I didn’t realize, we could have five closings this month week. If it happens it will definetly be a record for us. A few years back when I was starting this business I would have been happy to have five closings in a year!!!  Things tend to come up last minute which may delay one or two but what should happen is; we sell two of our finished rehabs, we purchase one pretty house sub2, we purchase one rehabbed house at 70% of ARV, and we purchase the fire damaged three family. We’ve been FLAT OUT BUSY this whole year…. I love this depressed RE market.  

  One little tip I wanted to share is about Stainless Steel Applainces. We have been adding them to all our finshed rehabs, even the lower end starter homes… and the feedback from buyers has been awesome. It is an added detail that puts your finished rehab way ahead of the competition, and is one of the major reasons why I think our houses have been selling so quickly (less than two weeks on market).  Now stainless steel can be expensive so what we do is frequent Lowes and buy all the open box/ display models/ returns that they put out on the weekends. The key is to make freinds with the appliance workers and get them to call you when any good ones become available. We’ve made freinds with associates from both the Lowes near us and they will call us when they’ve got something good. We usually pick up stainless or clean steel appliances for a little more than the brand new white appliances.

Check out this kitchen:

Arnold Ave Kitchen

Arnold Ave Kitchen

This is an 864 sq. ft. ranch. We sold it in one day for above asking price at $121,000. We kept the original 80’s style cabinets that I always like to replace. However once we added the stainless appliances and staged it you don’t even notice the old cabinets anymore!! 
Well I’ve got to run to Lowes, they have a stainless steel Bosch dishwasher that retails for $540 dollars that we are picking up for $315. This will be going into the house on Bessemer.