Rehabbing In The Winter
I am a new investor in Southeastern Wisconsin, I am wrapping up my first property and I am beginning to look for my second investment to wholesale. I know there are some properites in my area that need exterior work done to them such as roofing, siding and gutters. Would it be smart to take on these projects in the winter months? Also how hard would it be to find contractors for these projects in the winter? Does the price of service usually rise in the winter months?
I am open to anybody who has been in this situation or has any input on my situation. Thanks
Winter is a tough time to rehab. We are closing this week on a house that needs a roof. The roof isn't all that bad so our contractor is going to patch two areas. When selling this house we are going to discount the price somewhat. There are roofers in our area (NW Pa.) that can roof during the winter. It costs more because of the danger and the fact that they use heaters to get rid of the snow and ice. If you use a roofer in the winter make sure he/she is insured. I can't give you any info on siding at this time but I can't see why this couldn't be done if you have a good installer. As far as landscaping all you can do is trim trees and bushes unless you get a good thaw, but only then you will not be able to do a perfect job.
Painting is almost imposible to do although I have seen homes painted with a plastic wall around the outside and using heaters. The temp. should be at least 50 degrees inside the plastic. Sunny days will help increase the temp. also.
lots of contractors have slow seasons in the winter. They still need to work because mostly they don't have money saved from summer work to pay winter bills. (they are still exchanging hours for dollars) So you should be able to find people to do work for you. The price shouldn't be more than summer work except for if they need to run heaters or something as was already mentioned. The work is more miserable, but you shouldn't pay much more just because of cold, snow, or ice. Only if it interfears with something ( a roofing job with 2' of snow on the roof will cost more)
Josh
[addsig]
thanks alot, I will keep all of that information in mind when searching for a contractor.
You might try to phase the work so that most of the interior work is done in winter and the exterior is in milder weather. This probably depends on the duration of the work. I did one in Indianapolis last winter and it went well other than the amount of time it took. I have found that there are very few people who are really good at estimating the amount of time a job will take. I am sure that part of this is because contractors rely on the availability of subs.
Good luck with your project.
Ed