Rehab Recap Season 1, Episode 4 – Watch on YouTube
Introduction
Welcome to the fourth and final episode of Rehab Recap Season One! In this episode, we tag along with two very experienced real estate investors who have projects all across the United States! On top of all that, the property we’re looking at today had the largest rehab budget out of all the other episodes we’ve shot: $325,000! Why did it cost so much? Well, let’s find out!
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Meet the Investors
Jonah Kogen started Hillside Realty back in 2005. Starting off with a handful of agents doing real estate rentals and sales, Jonah pushed his company into a more investment-focused brokerage. Today Jonah invests primarily in value-add opportunities through renovation or new development. You can learn more about Jonah and his brokerage at his website, hillsiderealtydevelopment.com!
Cory Nemoto is also a big-time investor here on Oahu. Originally working along side Michael Mazzella (Season One, Episode Three), Cory eventually went on to forge his own path and started investing on the mainland. Today he flies back and forth between Oahu and Washington state managing his multiple on-going projects. Cory is so busy with his projects that his website has been “coming soon” for quite some time. Follow him on Instagram (@cory.nemoto) where he’s more active and posts sneak peaks at on-going renovations!
Hawaii Kai Luxury House Flip
Quick Details
- Living Space: 2,800 sqft
- Lot: 10,000 sqft
- Four Bedrooms, Three Bathrooms
- The Port Lock neighborhood of Hawaii Kai is one of the most prestigious neighborhoods on the island! The new owner of this home will enjoy shopping and the beach that’s nearby. As a matter of fact, Jonah went straight to the beach to surf after filming this episode!
Property Walkthrough
Watch the full episode on YouTube!
Investor Interview
How did you find this property?
The house was off-market at the time, but was about to be listed by another brokerage. Before the property was officially listed for sale, the broker approached Jonah because they knew he flipped many homes like this in the past! Jonah was able to purchase the property before it even hit the market.
How much did you acquire the property for?
$975,000. Since the Portlock neighborhood of Hawaii Kai has home values at an average of $4.5 million, purchasing this home for just $1 million was an easy decision.
How much was the rehab?
As stated earlier, the rehab was a whopping $325k! Jonah states that the original condition of the home was so poor, that the entire renovation project was almost a complete demolition and new construction. The home was stripped down to just the roof trusses and the subfloor; everything else is brand new.
In addition to the price of reconstruction, the final finishes that were used were all luxurious finishes. Being in the Portlock neighborhood, the investors won’t be able to get away by cutting corners and using cheaper materials.
How much do you expect to sell for?
When the investors initially ran their numbers, they expected to sell the home for $1.65-$1.7 million. However, by the time to renovation was completed, other homes in the area sold bringing their comparable sales value up. The house hit the market at $1.8 million.
What was the biggest lesson you learned on this flip?
Working at this price point is nothing new for Jonah, but those projects were typically for multiple unit properties or commercial properties. When working with a single family home in the $1m+ range, things are different.
You can’t just go to Home Depot and build a 1.8 million dollar house.
Jonah Kogen
Dealing with this kind of luxury home, Jonah couldn’t use his regular vendors for this project. Searching for and dealing with new vendors that offered specialty items was something new for Jonah, but it all worked out in the end and resulted in an amazing, high-quality home.
Conclusion
Jonah and Cory did an amazing job on this property. You can barely tell from the before and after photos that it’s the same house!
Fun Fact: Cory got called out in an Instagram comment once saying that his before and after photos were a lie and to stop lying about his renovation projects.
Although the investors went over their original renovation budget, it was the right call for the property because the end product is in line with the rest of the neighborhood.
Have you done a luxury home flip? Let me know! I’m looking for new content for Season Two. 😉
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