Archive for the ‘Fixers and Remodeling’ Category:

Basements used to be scary places where we crammed all the stuff we couldn’t find a home for in the main living areas. Many are still scary but others have been converted into livable space that rivals the rest of the home in features and quality.

Like all successful projects, plan and get a permit. Before you start, there are some basic questions you need to address. The best place to start is the City’s guide on converting attics and basements.

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In 2001, we decided that we wanted to buy a fixer and flip it (resell it) when we were done. We knew that the properties that we were interested in could not be financed because of their condition. Banks won’t lend on something in critical condition. Our plan was to find a seller that would sell the house on contract and use the equity line from our home as the source of cash.

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The concept seems so simple. Buy a house. Do some work. Sell the house. Make some money. Repeat. The devil is in the details. Skip some of the steps and you could find yourself staring into a money pit with no end in site. This will be the first post regarding the matter since there are whole books written on the subject. I’m going to write based on a home in Portland (each city has its own requirements). Let’s start with permits and licensing.

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