We buy houses in Bithlo, Florida
As a backdrop, Bithlo has been in a steady decline since the city went bankrupt in 1929 and most of the amenities that people elsewhere take for granted ceased to exist. No train stop, no hospital, no bus, no coffee shops… it seemed like it was destined to remain a forgotten patch inside of affluent Orange County.
However, in the last 2 years the average valuation of a home in Bithlo has gone up about 6.5%. The concerted efforts to lift this area out of poverty seem to be working and real estate developers are taking notice. As part of this rehabilitation we are adopting a two-fold approach to doing business by buying houses that are distressed and hiring local labor to fix them up. We are confident that this strategy will hasten the city’s social and economic development.
The images in this post represent the work of a home remodeler who does business on a multi-state level. Interestingly enough, sometimes we will hand off the responsibility of management to people like him or others who can do quality work in certain niches. Although this house wasn’t really distressed as the ones we typically buy, it shows a clear influence of professionalism that allowed it to be sold at a profit.
One might ask why it’s necessary to hire outside people to handle a kitchen remodeling. The reason is that sometimes a remodeling job requires nuances that a general contractor isn’t sensitive to. It goes without saying that a comfortable culinary and entertainment experience for a man can be totally different than for a woman.
For example, a woman can more easily understand that a peninsula is more effective than an island for a small kitchen. Another must-have that’s not so intuitive is space for family and friends. The food preparation area really isn’t just for food preparation and you don’t want friends to feel isolated in another room while you cook.
Statistics show that women are very particular about their work space. About 82% of all kitchen remodeling that occurs after a house sale stems from a female occupant disliking the original concept. A house flipper must be mindful of this and that is why there is so much priority placed on planning as shown below.
The goal of pleasing the future owner in the planning stage of a kitchen remodeling always puts a house flipper in a quandary. He knows that if he plans for a minor kitchen remodeling, 81% of the investment will be recouped when the house is sold. However, for a major job he will recoup only 53%. For this reason the chart above is helpful in understanding the continuum of kitchen upgrades in regards to priority for a house flipper.
Because many houses in Bithlo could be called ugly by market standards, a house flipper knows that changing flooring, doors and windows must be done even though the investment will take away from his profit margin. Not doing these things might cause the house not to be sold. Even changing the electronics like wiring and a breaker board must be done sometimes because the typical house in Bithlo has not been brought to modern living standards.
If one could survey the city of Bithlo, he would find optimistic cultural landscapes as well as neglected parts that were once used for dumping waste. Walking through the less desirable areas, people might ask why house flippers would want to operate there. They know that real estate renovation is a noble cause but why would house flippers buy ugly houses in places where it would be challenging to sell at a profit?
The truth is that Bithlo has been advancing forward for a while and we believe this trend will continue until it becomes an integral part Orange County, Florida. To help achieve this end we are proud to provide architectural enhancements that help the family unit. Unbeknownst to most people, a professionally done kitchen remodeling can have far reaching effects that a typical distressed house can’t provide.
10 Ways How A Renovated Kitchen Can Save Your Family – House Flipping 101
1) More home cooking – Probably the most obvious result of a remodeled kitchen is that a wife would want to occupy it and cook more. Ordering pizza or Chinese food to feed the family has its place but not every day. If a kitchen has a modern feeling of openness then more food gets cooked and eaten there. With new cabinetry and a glossy refrigerator there is a feeling that they need to be filled with ingredients. Pots, pans, plates and utensiles can be easily accessed because there’s no clutter. Drying is simple because of the clever use of space.
2) More family time – When the feeling tones of a kitchen change for the better a family tends to eat together more often. No one likes eating in a small cramped place. Opening a kitchen up by connecting the eating area to the cooking area can change how families commune and gives more time to appreciate one another. Children stay connected even during tense family seasons. They are unable to stay in a silent truce with parents for long periods of time because they are forced to work out their differences.
3) Less takeout – On top of pizza and Chinese food, what are some alternatives that families waste money on? With services like Ubereats and the internet in general at our disposal the options are numerous. It’s amazing how moving into a new home with a remodeled kitchen can limit the bad habit of eating takeout. The money saved by eating at home can be vital for a family’s well being in times of recreation as well as emergency.
4) More conversation – With easy access to video games and social media on cell phones it’s easy to understand why the social skills of Americans have waned. But when a family spends more time together as they eat, the skills that were once normal are used and developed. The old style houses in Bithlo that have kitchens from the 50’s and 60’s that don’t allow people to eat in a comfortable atmosphere. These kitchens were designed to be functional, giving little consideration to the reason why families members commune and fellowship.
5) Stronger family ties – If you as the head of a household were to monitor your family before moving into a flipped house and after, the chances are you would see a big difference. In a new kitchen with modern overtones you would be able to interact with your family members like you weren’t able to before. This creates lasting bonds which are priceless. Every couple wants a kitchen which enables the habits of eating together and growing together.
6) More sit down meals – You know the situation of the refrigerator being Grand Central Station. You and your kids getting in there for a few morsels only to leave quickly to get back to what you were doing. A real modern kitchen promotes the traditional way of eating so that you are not a stranger to your children. For a family with a really busy lifestyle, at least an island or peninsula in the cooking area with some bar stools can provide a quick, makeshift eating area. If you have a kitchen that segregates the eating and cooking areas then your family meal experience has probably evolved into pit stop eating rather than sit down family time.
7) Better child rearing – One day our acquisitions manager came up with a house that was so ugly that we initially refused to buy it. Upon hearing this, he told us that if we fixed and flipped it, he would buy the house from us with his employee discount. We agreed and years later he can attest that because of that decision, he has been able to spend more time eating with his children at night. He also credits this to being able to raise them better. I guess he saw the potential of the house better than we did. Maybe this is a long term lesson for those who are on the fence about buying a house to accommodate a growing family.
8) Less time watching TV – We can all see how having a modern, upgraded kitchen can reduce time in front of the TV. Interestingly, if someone challenged you to do this on your own, you probably wouldn’t be able to do it if you had an ugly kitchen. The only way to break the habit of lengthy TV viewing is to allow your new kitchen to create another habit of lengthy eating. By adapting your lifestyle to a beautiful kitchen, you and your children will be less likely to use the TV as an escape. All you have to do is institute a rule prohibiting cell phone use at the table and your family will be totally shielded from outside influences.
9) Better hosting of friends – We buy houses that are distressed not only to get a profit on the flip, we understand that a new house has far reaching influences on the future homeowner AND his neighbors. For example if you had a spacious and inviting kitchen, don’t you think that will have a direct effect on how you host your neighbors? Wouldn’t they like to sit and talk with you until the late hours if they felt comfortable? Common sense design and architectural changes of one of our flipped houses can achieve this.
10) Longer meals – Did you go through the trouble having a family so that you can see them for only 20 minutes per day? If you think the time in front of the TV counts you’re wrong. A new kitchen inside a flipped house can double the time you eat together as a family. When all of your kids are off to college or wherever, you will appreciate having prolonged meals with your family when you had the opportunity.