Mobile and Baldwin County Market Trends - Aug 2007

Download the PDF file with the latest market trends for Mobile and Baldwin County. This is for Aug 2007.

562 Clarke St completed product

Yes I have been slacking on updating my blogs. We completed the rehab of 562 Clarke st a few months ago. I am happy to say the house is rented, refinanced, and doing well. Here are some photos of the completed project:






In the kitchen we re-used some of the original cabinets from Houston St (we refinshed them of course and repaired them where needed), moved the range, added a window above the range, and relocated the refrigerator.



All the cracks in the plaster were fixed, new paint through out, new lighting and bath fixtures.





We re-built and framed in the back porch area to create a laundry room off the kitchen



Thanks to Dale Mims of Mims Sales and Development for helping to get this project completed. And to Mark Keith of Keith Realty for finding and placing the tenant as well as helping with the rehab of the project.
Thanks to all those that worked hard to get this project completed.

Houston St is Done!

Its been a while since I posted anything here and I apologize. I must admit that I had one hell of an experience rehabbing the house on Houston St in Mobile. A lot of contractor horror stories for this one. But I am happy to say that the house is done and under contract to be sold.

Here are some photos of the finished product:















To see all After Photos, go here:

Before Photos and construction Photos

Thank you to all those who worked so hard on this house.

http://153houston.com

153 Houston St Finishing Touches

The finishing touches are what sell a home. Here are the proposed finishings for 153 Houston St.

The bath 2 Vanity will have a custom built vanity top with open shelving for storage. Polished chrome fixtures and brushed nickle towel bar.

Master Bath Vanity. Double door with drawers. Custom vanity top. Polished chrome fixtures.

The kitchen will feature a deep stainless steel sink, solid surface counter top, stainless steel appliances.

Seperating the kitchen from the dining area is a bar top counter with built in shelving for storage.

Recessed lighting will illuminate the kitchen.

Seperating the Living room and the Dining area is a number of builtin display cabinets and book shelves.

New Floorplan

Clark St floor plan

Clark St Floorplan Changes

I've come up with the modified floor plan for Clark St. No drastic changes, just suddle ones that will improve the storage in the home and adds a utility room.

In the bedrooms we are framing in a standard size closet with bifold doors. The small existing closets will be closed up on the bedroom side of the wall, and opened up on the bath side to create linen closets.

The bathroom window is in the way for a shower, so we are removing it and installing a small window. The bathroom window will be re-used in the kitchen.

The kitchen window on the North wall will be removed and replaced with the bathroom window. This will allow space to install a range under the window. The kitchen window will be installed in BR1 on the North wall.

The back porch area will be framed in. This will create a utility room.

562 Clark St Rehab

We recently closed on a 2-1 in Southern Midtown that we plan on rehabbing and using as a rental property. The house needs a cosmetic remodel and could also use a Central Heat and Air system. Structurally the home is fine. Oh Yah, the pipes are missing. Copper is currently a hot commodity and someone has runoff with the copper pipes that were under this house. Some new plumbing is also required.

We've rehabbed a few homes in Mobile. Its a challenge when you do not live in the city to meet with contractors, build relationships and find good, reliable, trust worthy contractors that are not going to try and rape you of your hard earned dollars.

A few weeks ago a made the trip to Mobile to meet with a few contractors. Plumbers and electricians were the hardest to get a hold of. I had two AC companies meet me at the property. Both were professional. Early AC impressed me more. Their technician took the time to measure each room, draw up a floor plan and include window placements. They did this to size the home correctly for AC tonnage.

L and S Air Conditioning was also professional. Their proposal was not as detailed and well thought out as Early AC's. The pricing was similar, but Early AC was proving me with better equipment (13 SEER vs 10 SEER) and a more technicaly prepared proposal. Im a tech guy. I like technology and appreciate companies who use it to their advantage.Early will get the job.

The Remodelling contractor I met with, Mark, was all business. He seemed a bit in a hurry and was pressuring me to make decisions quickly. I didnt like that. I'm sure Mark has remodelled his fair share of properties, but I think Mark is used to working for customers who do not know how much a job should cost to have it completed, or he has too much business at this point and priced himself high. His pricing was way out line. The property we are rehabbing is not a large home. Less than 1100 sq ft. Two bedrooms, one bath, a living area, dining area and kitchen.

Here's what it needs:

Plumbing

Replace missing copper pipes with PEX

Replace tub valve with new tub/shower valve

Add drain and supply lines for Washer in new Utility Room

Install new bath and kitchen fixtures

Electrical

Upgrade panel to 200AMP

Install 220V outlet in new utility room

Install GFI's in kitchen and bath

HVAC

Install new Electric Heat Pump and AC unit

Framing

Enclose back porch to make new Utility Room

Expand Closets in both Bedrooms.

Frame wall at end of tub

Sheet rock

Replace mold covered sheet rock

Hang rock for new closets

Tape, float, repair any holes.

Flooring

Remove all carpet, vinyl

Refinish pine floors in all rooms except kitchen and bath.

Install Vinyl in Kitchen, bath, utility



Kitchen

Demo old cabinets.

Install new base and upper cabinets, counter tops

Install new gas range, dishwasher



Bath

Demo wall hung sink.

Install new Vanity, top and fixture

Paint

Paint walls, ceiling with latex eggshell sheen offwhite.

Paint trim, doors with oil-based semigloss

Lighting

Install new light fixtures in kitchen, bath, dining, bedrooms.

More to come ...