House #1: Rehab - Lessons Learned

I'll use this thread to post notes about lessons learned regarding the "rehab" of house #1.

Note #1: Amount of Repairs
There is a balance between making the property sellable and making it look nice. Looking back on the projects I and my in-laws undertook for this paricular house, I find that some things were a necessity, while others were more for appearance purposes. Those things that were a necessity were: (1) Microwave/Vent hood, (2) Interior wall paint, (3) Door locksets, (4) Install light bulbs in dining room, and (5) General clean-up. Everything else was for appearance purposes. So, I could have spent only about $400 or so instead of the almost $900 on repairs, but I feel the additional $500 will prove to be a worthwhile investment. For example, I could have just painted the walls of the house and left the ceiling untouched, but I feel it would have looked bad. I also could have left the teal-green shelves alone in the office/nursery, not touch the rotting window frames outside, not done any landscaping, not steam cleaned the carpets, and so on, but I'm sure the offers would be a lot less (as would the offer prices). In the end, though, I feel the cosmetic "adjustments" will all be justified in the end.

Note #2: Labor
While I thank my in-laws tremendously for helping me do a lot of the work, I think next time I'll rely doing most of the work myself (or hire a handyman). For one thing, my in-laws live about 20 miles away, which makes the commute a hassle for them (both in time and money). Also, they are both 60+ years old, and without sounding like I'm putting down elderly people, their age comes with experience, but also with liabilities. what could have taken me a day to do, takes them several days. Again, I'm not trying to sound mean, but just realistic. Likewise, I'm sure a 20 year old could probably kick my butt on some of the projects.

[Edit - It came to me after I published this that even though I could probably get projects done faster than my in-laws, working in parallel with them means the work gets done sooner than if I had to do it ALL myself.]

Note #3: Project Planning
Take the time to understand the scope of all the projects before picking up a tool or going to the store. I could have saved myself several trips and a lot of time by first understanding what needed to be done entirely and what resources I needed to get the jobs done. There were several times when I was second-guessing myself and asking others for their opinions. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, having a plan beforehand would have saved me a lot more time and money. For example, I went to Home Depot on one trip to get four bags of mulch and five bags of marble rock. After doing the landscaping, I ended up needing seven bags of mulch and 11 bags of marble rock. Having only a Toyota Celica hatchback, it still would require me to take two trips, but my planning on resources was way off. I'll take the extra bags back for a refund (along with some other things), which will then require yet another trip.