Purchase and Pay

Game on…..

With the financing secured and closing in sight, it’s time to complete the transaction. At this point in the process it would be smart to have contractors or service providers already selected so you can hit the ground running once you have keys in hand. As a contractor myself I can tell you it’s very normal for people to invest a lot of time talking about a large project, but never putting a deposit down. I rarely want to put money out until the deal is closed, although I have done this in very particular circumstances in the past. There is always a risk that it will be money wasted, but sometimes you need to do this to secure your contractor.

Get the deposits in and start arranging your calendar. You’re going to line up the jobs in priority of importance and execute them in order while working around what the professionals schedule is. I always find it rude when a customer comes to me with the exact dates something needs to get done. You need to realize you are stepping into the contractor’s service circle, or you're becoming a new client for the service provider. Talk with them and establish a familiarity and be sympathetic to their schedule. Doing this will give them every reason to help you. One very important thing I have also noticed, especially with outdoor jobs, is always give yourself a little breathing room. If you have a sprinkler guy set up around your landscapers who are planting everything for you, don’t coordinate one to follow up the other assuming a perfect execution of the job. If they tell you they will be out Monday and finished Wednesday, then plan your next contractor in line for the following Monday. It gives you time to evaluate the work and a variance in case things take longer than expected. Obviously this would only apply to projects that have to be done in succession. If you have a guy doing landscaping, you can certainly have another contractor doing plumbing at the same time.

Please give yourself a nice window to work with. If the place is turn key then it is still important to assume it won’t hit the market for at least a month after purchase. Give yourself breathing room and budget accordingly. I always build this time into a project, even when I have every hope that things are going to move ahead perfectly. The biggest benefit of this is it allows time to analyze what you're doing and you don’t make simple mistakes. Every project is different and you can’t assume everything progresses the same way each time, so you give yourself time to adapt to meet your needs.

Once this is all handled and the project looks perfect and meets all the needs of the market, you can finally showcase the property. Similar to what I suggested above, I like to get feedback at this point. Similar to how restaurants do soft opening before their big opening night. If it’s a short term rental, let some friends stay there and get their opinions and critiques. If it’s a long term rental do the same, or stay there yourself for a little so you can function in the space and see how it all works and comes together. For a professional space bring people in that have experience being professionals. If you know an entrepreneur or someone who has run a similar business to what you are trying to cater to, have them walk through and check it out. Know that at this point you may hear things that don’t resonate with what you thought, but be open to all the criticism. If the only client you had to “wow” was you then of course whatever you made would be amazing. All tastes are different and its at this point in the process that you need to be open to advice and able to make the change if its valid and marketable. Don’t be closed off, I have built some things from the ground up and then had people point out something I missed that after hearing it I couldn’t believe it had never occurred to me. The more input the better. Old, young, thrifty, opulent, and everything in between. You're never going to satisfy all the masses, but even in this process you may realize a better marketing strategy. In one of my personal cases, I am providing a short term rental that is clearly not the ideal fit for an older person. My market is focused around 20 to 40 year olds trying to get away for a nice vacation in a modern mountainside retreat. It’s ok to not be everyone’s perfect spot, but it is always helpful to have their input, and with some minor changes you may be able to expand your marketability.