Celebrating a Journey Through Construction and Team Growth

Gear up for an inspiring journey through the nuts and bolts of building dreams from the ground up as we welcome our newest teammate, Valerie! Celebrate with us as Jerry marks four incredible years of shaping our renovations landscape, from the early days of bracing the cold to replace a garage header, to mastering the complex dance of construction. We share stories that illustrate the transformation of our crew from novices to maestros in the realms of plumbing, electrical work, and beyond, showcasing the growth of both our people and our toolkit.

This episode is a testament to the evolution of MVP Rentals and Renovations, where we’ve turned chaos into a chorus of hammers and saws, all in sync. We recount our adventures with one of Whitefish Bay's oldest houses, a project that pushed our limits and taught us the delicate art of marrying modern needs with historical integrity. And as we look to the horizon of 2024, we reveal our plans to dive into backlogged properties and client-based projects, all while our team flexes their newfound independence on the job site.

Then, we switch it up by exploring the digital revolution that's smoothed out the bumps in our office operations. With Monday.com at our side, we're keeping our projects aligned like stars in the renovation constellation, ensuring every kitchen finish and file is exactly where it needs to be. And to wrap things up with soul, we spin Amy Winehouse’s "Valerie" – a tune that echoes our narrative's highs and lows, leaving you ready to take on your weekend with a story (and a song) that sticks. Join us for a blend of practical insights, heartfelt stories, and a melody that bridges our tales with Valerie's.

Chapter Timestamps

(00:02) - Valerie Joins MVP Rentals Podcast

(08:59) - Tools and Progress in Building Projects

(15:16) - Renovation Challenges and Progress

(25:50) - Improving Communication and Office Support

(37:00) - Amy Winehouse Song Discussion

Highlight Timestamps

(07:18 - 08:58) Raccoons, Garages, and Attic Adventures (100 Seconds)

(16:07 - 17:32) Challenges of Renovating Old Houses (84 Seconds)

(22:09 - 23:33) Importance of Blocking for Household Projects (84 Seconds)

(30:44 - 32:11) Changing and Growing in Rental Management (86 Seconds)

(39:16 - 40:07) Invitation and Reflection (51 Seconds)

www.mvpreno.com
https://www.mvprentalsllc.net/
https://www.youtube.com/@MVPRealEstatePodcast

Construction, Renovations, Progress, Growth, Teamwork, Building Projects, Communication, Office Operations, Project Management, Monday.com, Challenges, Historical Preservation, Process Improvement, Adaptability, Music, Amy Winehouse, Valerie, Soulful Melody, Nostalgia, Professional Development, Real estate, Rentals, renovation, MVP renovation, property investor, investor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Transcript

00:02 - Marcus (Host)
Why don't you come on over, valerie? Welcome back to the inaugural 2024 podcast for MVP rentals and renovations. We got the whole management crew here in the house. Jerry Valerie's first episode here, which we are going to name this episode Valerie, season 4, episode one named Valerie. Welcome to the show, valerie, for the first time ever. Good to have you here. 

00:38 - Val (Host)
Thanks for having me. 

00:39 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
I'm looking to the right because she's in the same room. 

00:41 - Marcus (Host)
She's just on a different camera. Welcome back, jerry and Dan. Thanks for being here. We're going to keep it short. We're just going to do a 23 wrap up, look into 24 of what we're going to get into and then we'll peel out and let everybody get back to what they're doing on a whatever day they're listening to. This comes out on Monday, so welcome everybody to be here. Thanks for giving us the half hour to 45 minutes. Thank you, jerry. I know you've been on here. Hopefully the listeners remember you from the last time when you jumped aboard. That was like what? Two years ago now, just over two years. 

01:15 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
No, this will be I think. I think this end of February will be my fourth year. 

01:23 - Marcus (Host)
Holy man, I'm behind the schedule here. 

01:25 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, I think because, yeah, this will be my fourth year in three weeks. 

01:32 - Marcus (Host)
Sweet. Well, man, that was a lot more time than I thought, but it's cool. 

01:37
And it's changed since you've been in here. So in 24, it's going to be kind of a different change, but I guess from the cruise perspective because I mean, while we're in the office we don't really get like the day to day construction view. So, from your perspective of the crew, what has changed since day one? When I will say you came in from the last few years being a framer and on day one do you recall what we had you doing? 

02:09 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, day one was it was cold. It was really cold at the nominee falls house and I remember pulling in the driveway and all I had at that point for personal tools was a six foot or eight to 12 foot stability level, a circle saw and a basic set of drills and whatnot. And I believe MVP's inventory of tools consisted of two milk cartons with a pneumatic roofing nailer and some pry bars and yeah, it was slim pickings in the beginning. But the first day I noticed that the garage header that basically establishes the opening for your garage door, which is generally 16 feet, so that's a lot of weight to carry. Notice it was sagging. And my first day involved replacing a garage header and then slowly coming to terms that the house we were going to try to flip was not as flippable as we would have liked to have believed. 

03:17
But yes, that that I would say that first year was coming from framing was a whirlwind in a really good way because I mean now, when closing in on four years, my I mean my skills have absolutely tenfold, gotten way better. I've way more well. First in almost everything, and same going for the crew. A lot of the guys were pretty new. Never had you know they've built stuff and you know Nick on the crew, nick Bainline, he had done, you know, rentals before and property maintenance. Jekiel was pretty new when he came in. 

04:08 - Marcus (Host)
He was selling internet. He came from selling internet. When to real estate, it's great, yep. 

04:15 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
And then our longest MVP employee, nick. He had a little bit of a framing background, siding background, so, and then I came from, you know, like we had talked to on the previous episode finished carpentry, cabinetry, furniture, framing, and then now into really the whole drywall or cider and I mean anything, frame or. It's unbelievable, and in a slim four years. At one point in my younger turn 31 tomorrow so I would say when I was 24 and framing, I thought I had the world by the throat and knew everything there was to know and there was some ego there and I came into this and was like man, I got one Small portion of the entire practice of building down pat, which I didn't have it down pat. A lot of it was still, you know, figuring it out, but man, in four years never did I think that I would be to the point where I'm at personally. 

05:22
And two, to be able to facilitate the guys to where they're at now, to where the biggest, the biggest thing that I noticed now is that it's a I can turn them loose. There's no more. Holding hands is not a good way of putting it, but especially in the beginning, with all the different tools, you don't want people to get hurt and you know you don't want to be spending a lot of time fixing stuff. So everybody has been super open and willing to learn and they see the writing on the wall that the more well versed and skilled you get in this, there's a lot of money to be made and there's a it's it's a skill set that you carry with you for the rest of your life. 

06:05 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, and that was the one cool thing, cause I know, when Jekyll was coming on board, we asked him like are you, are you cool with learning everything? Like we don't just do one thing. We're not just framers, we're not just drywallers. We flip houses, we're going to do some stuff like masonry. Um, we've done flat work. We poured the driveway here at my house, which was we'll go down as the most tired I've ever been. I don't think we'll ever do a driveway again, but that was fun, that was that was a yeah, that was a pretty, not scary really intimidating day. 

06:42 - Val (Host)
Yes. 

06:43 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
But once again, that's where I give you props, man is. It's like let's do it. We can do it we did it at the end of the day. When you end up, never at poured concrete before to that scale, and then at the end of the day you stand back with a cold beverage and look at a driveway you just poured, it's like you feel almost invincible. Like it's, it's, it's. You can't even describe the feeling of it. Like standing outside of a nominee falls after it was built was like whoa yeah. 

07:10 - Dan (Host)
Like we just did that. That's now linked on our refreshed website, mvprenocom. Uh, I'll link to that. So I knew what you were talking about as soon as you brought up the garage with the sagging part, because I was like damn, like that was in rough shape, and then the before and after that was all before me. So, yeah, really cool to see. But I got that on the website. So if anybody that's listening wants to check it out, I'll have it linked in the notes. 

07:35 - Marcus (Host)
So yeah, and the pictures that worked on that garage was all the raccoon feces that were up in the attic space that they had to shovel down in the cold, which that was. The only good side about it was that everything was frozen. 

07:51 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
I couldn't imagine. 

07:52 - Marcus (Host)
An attic in the middle of the summer scooping out raccoon feces. 

07:56 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
We had one at one point there. We thought we had somebody try to break into the garage where we had kept our tools. So we had Menominee Falls Police Department come out and file a police report. And I'll never forget it was pouring rain this day and the cop is standing in the garage with us and he's like, yeah, it's pretty cool what you guys are doing here. He's like I've been a Menominee Falls Police Officer for 23 years and he goes all of those 23 years that garage door was never closed on the house. So when we moved in and closed that garage up, the gas station next door was actually kind of irritated because the raccoons now didn't have a home and they were displaced next door to ravaging Mach Mood's Dumpster. So he was. We became very good friends with him over the time of working there and he was always kind of cursed us for pushing the raccoons his way. 

08:53 - Marcus (Host)
But yeah, yeah, that was uh. It was quite a feat to get that thing done. Coming from, as Jerry described, our tool selection not being very great, we did up our game a lot of our tool supplies during that build. 

09:08 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, well, that's. That goes back to you your original question of in these past couple years, you know kind of where we've come. I think one of the biggest thing is inventory. We've developed a set of tools that really, out of a trailer, allows us to take head on any stage of a build project, from framing to windows, to siding, to roofing, to finish carpentry, anything, any doors it's, it's all of it's their electrical, which is pretty incredible because I think our first tool purchase at MVP was a pass load framing nailer. 

09:50 - Marcus (Host)
Yes, from your, from your regime. Yeah don't forget that roofing nailer yeah, that thing. 

09:56 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Hey we still have her sitting in the trailer. 

09:59 - Marcus (Host)
I know, which is funny, because when we did our first ever property, we had no tools and I was working with my mom had given me this magnetic wristband for nails because I didn't even have a roofing nail gun. We just went on this one story ranch which is still our best producing rental and tore off half the roof and put them all on by hand. No air compressor, nothing through the whole remodel. But then that obviously trickled into okay, now we've got cash flow, we can buy tools and we put money into inventory. And then we developed the crew which we've got. Like we've got a lot of newbies but we have some Good traction in different facets of building. 

10:44
Like veins is good with plumbing and his dad has done plumbing, so he's got that background, your background with building and framing, with you and your dad Jekyll coming in cold ready to learn, like he's helped out with Tyles, helped out with electrically, helped out with framing. He's picking up drywall really well, moreno, coming from roofing and siding and framing. Like all of that stuff coming back and what I described, I think, in the last show, when I was at the helm of the job site and Jerry wasn't here yet. I felt like we were like in the backyard as 10 year olds just playing football. No rules, no, like plays, nothing going on, we're just playing football. It reminds me of if any of our audience has seen the room, please comment on this because we were playing football. The way that the room plays football, yeah, back alley toss in the football like 10 feet away really awkward. And then you came in with the process of being on a job site and how things are going to go, and then you came in with the process of being on a job site and how things run and what the expectations are. So then now we hired a head coach and now you, as the head coach, are getting all of their skills more developed and more refined, which is making things go by. 

11:57
I mean, you're in the house that we're flipping right now, which, once this is done, we're going to upload all the pictures. We'll link it to this podcast too. We're going to upload it to the bar, the most challenging house. It's an old, old house, it's the third oldest and whitefish Bay, yeah, and we've completely taken it down to studs and we did what we could with it. It's the same thing with Menominee Falls. We originally wanted to do one plan. We got into it, not able to do it. We redirect and make what we can out of it bureaucratic politics. 

12:29
What's that? 

12:30 - Dan (Host)
The bureaucratic politics Yep. 

12:34 - Marcus (Host)
But we make what we can do out of it, and I mean, that place looks amazing. 

12:39 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, it's about squeezing every square inch out of this house that we possibly could have, and it's pretty wild. I wish I could right now. Just the background isn't, you know, overwhelming or anything, but I wish I could sub in a green screen of just what this, the room I'm sitting in. In the perspective, you have looked like a sheer. 

13:04 - Dan (Host)
Is that the room at the top of the stairs that I posted a video on, where you guys had it down to frames or down to the frame? 

13:10 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
No, that's the. The room on the other side of this closet is the, like the smaller room of the two. This would be the primary. Okay and yeah, we jacked the ceiling up so we could get a ceiling fan in it and it's got full nine-foot ceilings in it now it's wild, this house, from the bathroom, blue carpet, cactuses, saloon doors with horseshoe door handles. It was a Western, it was the most wild. 

13:43 - Val (Host)
Externally in the hallway. Yes, oh yeah. 

13:48 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Each, each room had it. They had the lights right here by the window. The same thing the exterior. 

13:54 - Dan (Host)
Is there a post out on the street where you would hook up your horse to the To? 

13:59 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
the posture looks like it. Yeah, there she says no, there's your hitching post. 

14:09 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, it was a rough go around, but we're on the last final weeks of that one, which is, yeah, I mean we're well, yeah, we'll be, we'll be out of here next week. 

14:19 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
I wouldn't. I would assume nice. 

14:22
And this is kind of the yeah, it's kind of that tough part of the process which I've learned of kind of love and hate at the same time as you. You know it. It feels like at this process that almost never ends because there's always something to get touched up, because you're still, there's still so many Moving parts going on. You know, like right now in the hallway one of the guys is installing the balusters and the shoe rail for the railing and, and you know, we got some more brad nail holes to fill up and a little bit more painting to do on the trim, and you know it's it's a never-ending process really, but nothing's better than when you finally get that one day that you can take all of the tools Back into the trailer and then you now have your finished product. So we're, we're right there, we're knocking on the door of it, so Feels good. This has been this one. This one has been pretty humbling. 

15:19 - Marcus (Host)
So yes, it has been from the office to the field. It's been humbling. 

15:24 - Dan (Host)
I mean from us tracking the progress. You you weren't expecting that to be done till closer at the end of the month, and it seems like it's gonna be almost two weeks early from what Marcus and I discussed as far as trying to determine what the next steps are with that property. 

15:38 - Marcus (Host)
So that's pretty awesome that you guys are ahead of schedule, and then that it's our time was kind of based off of we had a delay in getting our rough inspection done. We had. This is obviously like the cons of real estate, the headache parts that people are like I don't want to deal with this stuff, I'm not gonna get in. Finishing this house is proof of like there are many obstacles to building. You can get through them and get It'll be okay, but yeah, they suck. That month off period of getting our rough inspection pass was rough Um part of it was yeah, that's our bit with municipality. 

16:15
Part of it was confusion. 

16:17 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Well, and getting and getting old, so like they're framing methods in 1890, comparative to the framing now, we have code right. 

16:29
Yeah getting that. It's a really weird thing, with Certain things are grandfathered in, when you open the walls up and you're looking at this and you're like it is astonishing that this house has stood the test of time as long as it is. But it's like then where do you draw that line of like the burden falling on me? Obviously I made sure this house was structurally safe. The pass code it, you know, met all these standards. But it's still really wild at that point to be like Well, I kind of almost need the inspector in here to see what his opinion is on this before I dive into something that could potentially cost the company $5,000 in a quick Three days of just labor and material, when you know something is grandfathered in per se. But that's what's really really challenging about these houses is is that getting the new to meet the old and I'll tell you the best thing we did was tear the latham plaster out of this house, because getting dry all the meat latham plaster is not. 

17:29
Yeah, the thing is fertile. Was we bought the house planning to? 

17:33 - Marcus (Host)
tear it down, build a new one. We found out we can't do that, so we went to plan B, which is renovate the existing. We had our electrician in. They told us that nothing is grounded, so that means electrical is basically screwed and it was all not functioning. 

17:50 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Knob and tube, yeah, so obviously we can't go through. 

17:54 - Marcus (Host)
That's not going to be grandfathered in. So no, that's state law. 

17:59 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, yeah, in that point it is redo the electrical. 

18:02 - Marcus (Host)
So at that point we're like, all right, where do we go and how far backwards do we go? And we end up just taking it back, all the studs, getting rid of the plaster, redoing the drywall, which turns out to be a very, very nice finished product. So we're excited for that one to hit the market towards the end of February. 

18:19
Hopefully the market keeps improving and we can sell that one and move on to the next thing. And then we're on to 2024, which is Going to be kind of a new obstacle because we're 2023 was catching up on Backloaded inventory. We had a couple rentals that need to get touched up, which they're now functioning and up and running. This was our last little back inventory thing and now we're moving on to Our next project. And then we are also in 2024, now opening up because we're not backlogged To client basing work. So, on an unowned property, which is kind of exciting, it's a new little twist challenge to the company on renovation side, which we're looking forward into, and that obviously comes with some pros and some cons. So, um, we're excited. We've got a couple, a couple things in the works a couple basements, um, a laundry room, bathrooms and like lofts. So we're excited moving forward with those things. Um, but the one big challenge with that is client facing. Being in someone else's house. It's gonna add a little wrinkle to everything. 

19:35 - Dan (Host)
So have them stare over your back while you're installing a window. 

19:39 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, yep, I know, I just have your tool choice. 

19:45 - Marcus (Host)
Good, uh, good reference there Dan. 

19:47 - Dan (Host)
Why are you using the impact impact? Uh, it's gone with as a hammer like what is. 

19:54 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, so those should be fun. Um, what else in 2024? Um, what else are you looking for for 2024? What's your mission in the field for the guys, terry, 2024 is gonna be able to who was that starting? 

20:13 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Uh like kind of dividing and conquering. Now um. 

20:18
Yeah, everybody's kind of Is up to a running standard that you know working without direct supervision is Definitely right there. Like the guys have gotten picked up so much and have gotten so much better that we can really start to kind of branch out as a company and, you know, potentially in the near future expand a little bit, you know, depending on what. You know how the market plays out and what jobs are available and you know that's that's gonna be a big one. And just Honing the process, you know every house we do, the finished product gets better and better and the Time involves goes down. You know it's. 

21:03
It's these older houses, you know, kind of bog things down because there's you got to think so far ahead. And that was one thing I didn't appreciate until this job was how far ahead I have to be thinking of, you know, even now when they're doing rough electrical and then thinking about mirrors in bathrooms, yeah, like it's one of those things that as a framer I'd never until I'm going to hang a mirror and all of a sudden the, the mirror hangs over the outlet plate. It's like man, like, oh man, if I would have just like. And it's nothing on you guys, it's like if I would have just taken that extra little bit of time to Ask a couple questions about a what's going here. You know, monday has made that nice that I can go into these guys can populate it with vanities, appliances, everything, and I can go in and get the actual specifications height, with depth and then I can lay stuff out when drywall isn't even a thought. You know, we're still in the framing process Like. 

22:09
One thing I learned major about this house is all projects going forward is the amount of blocking we're going to have to do for closet rods, toilet paper holders, towel bars, everything. 

22:27
It's so much easier to just run a screw in and it grabs than drywall anchors trying to get everything. That's one thing that I am done with in 2024 is that I am going to set myself up for those little finishing touches way more than I have in the past, because now it falls back onto me, because then I'm the guy that's just struggling with drywall anchors because they never work. And here I am like man. You know, as I've always said, your, your ability to make change is right at the beginning of a product project, and the longer that project goes on, the sharper it drops off and it becomes way harder to make change. So, rather than me, hanging drywall and not blocking for a toilet paper holder, as trivial as it sounds then turns into me having to cut the drywall out, install the block, patch a drywall, mud it, stand it, paint it, and then the cleanup that comes with that because you have finished floors. 

23:27 - Dan (Host)
All that because you don't want to use drywall anchors. 

23:30 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, god, I hate them. I hate drywall anchors. There's only one good type I have ever found in my entire life, and sometimes they don't work for the applications you need them. 

23:40 - Dan (Host)
Are those are set from IKEA. Those were great. 

23:44 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, yeah, those are those plastic ones that you fold in, put in the wall, pull it, slide the collar up and then you snap the tabs off, gotcha. 

23:54 - Marcus (Host)
I've seen those white ones that you can actually screw in. 

23:57 - Val (Host)
They hold like 75 of these. 

23:59 - Marcus (Host)
They're the. I won't use those blue and yellow ones. Those are done. 

24:04 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
All of them. 

24:05 - Marcus (Host)
Trust me, I'm thinking the blocking is very good forward. That's the number one. I'm all about it. Yeah, but very very good If homeowners are there and they're like, ah, what anchor do I use? Either one Jerry's talking about or those white ones are the only ones that I've found that it would ever hold anything. The other ones are useless. 

24:22 - Dan (Host)
Or hear me out Just mount it to a stud, see, but once again Put the toilet paper vertical on a stud. 

24:30 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah, it's just, but then, once again, if you're thinking forward again, then what do you? You? You set your stud layout for a fricking toilet paper holder, like, and it doesn't. And the worst is in closets, because you get your studs right, and then also in the brackets are kicked. You know what I mean? Because the studs never yeah, it's wild, it's that's. It's been a swift kick in the chest every now and again, just being like man. I should have just thought a little bit further in advance. Yeah, and this would have made my life a lot easier, but that's the name of the game. 

25:06 - Dan (Host)
So that's why there's some houses that we come across where there's outlets in bathtub spaces Like yeah oh yeah, there's an outlet like eight inches from the the spot and stuff like yeah. And those are the small things we pick up. 

25:20 - Marcus (Host)
as we've gone through properties and properties, seeing more and more things that just don't look right and we're like, all right, we got to factor that into a cost of repair, because it's obviously not code to have an outlet next to a bathtub. 

25:31 - Dan (Host)
Yeah, and we get home and that we see a social media says that ain't right. That ain't right, that inspector's great, I have contacted him so many times to try to be on this podcast and he will never get back to me. 

25:45 - Marcus (Host)
I know he's busy. Must be his own content. 

25:49 - Dan (Host)
Texas right? Yes, I'm like that. 

25:50 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, but, jerry, I'm glad you mentioned Mondaycom because that's one big thing within the office that we've been working on is communication between the field and the office, support with deliveries or expected subcontractors are coming on. I know I added something yesterday that should be on your calendar with HVAC coming back in for their finishing, because that's the last subcontractor we need to come in and finish up. Just putting great sound and stuff like that In that communication both ways you to us and us to you has helped with like deliveries and you guys know who's on site and who's not supposed to be there. I think cleaned up timelines a little bit more, which is exciting. Hopefully we can expand that a little bit more because Mondaycom for us has been great for keeping notes and as we're planning out kitchens and stuff like that, like the finishings, we can plug files right in there and we know it's like bookmarked almost for us, which is great. 

26:53
So we're going to keep up in the game on the office support for you guys, because I know we updated the trailer, which there's always going to be. New tools, which have you used? We just got a new tool, a new toy. Haven't used it yet. 

27:07 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
The biscuit joiner. No, that'll be used this upcoming week for the countertops. 

27:14 - Dan (Host)
Yeah, borrow that. 

27:18 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
We have a sign out sheet Everything, yep. 

27:22 - Marcus (Host)
Yep, so which is going to be changing? Because if we're going from job site to job site, we need to add a category on that one we're going to. What is that? Pigtail or pig? What is the? What's the expression we're? Going to ear note or pig ear, that one Dog ear. 

27:40 - Val (Host)
Dog ear. Yeah, you've got ear, a page and a book. 

27:42 - Marcus (Host)
Well, bookmark it, that's a better one. We're going to bookmark it for offline on that one, but anything else office support that you would need from the field. There, jer, I'm putting you on the spot with this question. It's a big one. 

28:02 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
I don't think so. I mean, one of my downfalls is I get so lost in my work. This is not a downfall. It ends up being good, but sometimes it is. I struggle with staying transparent of where we're at because it's kind of you just this all gas note breaks all day and you know you get off work and I'm just like on the couch, like you know it's. Sometimes it's hard to you know exactly. Keep you guys informed in where we're at sometimes, but you know we've been doing pretty good. So that's probably one thing that I'll try to boost. Boost up is, you know, my side, transparency, you know, because that keeps everything going a lot smoother. 

28:47 - Marcus (Host)
What's tough is like the jobs that you've been doing have been. You open the front door and it's like, all right, we're going to touch a little bit here, a little bit here. This whole room is going to be done and you're trying to. You're planning out a whole project but they're all like little mini projects and it's hard to keep timelines all straight on those 2024, except for these bigger remodels, which that will always be a problem. But for 2024 taking on like basements or bathrooms or kitchens, it's going to be more direct. It's going to be a lot more smaller, which means more manageable of a chunk to I don't know, extrapolate out and see, like, what are timelines going to be for drywall? What are timelines going to be for setting the cabinets or laying tile, that kind of thing? So I'm not too worried on that side. The flips, I know are difficult and we tried to our best estimating and mean we came within a couple weeks on a whole house flip. So doing our own on that side of things, yeah, it's it's a. 

29:49 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
It's pretty wild to see how much of a symbiotic relationship it is between field and you know what you guys are doing. You know we one can't exist without the other, because you know it's. It's pretty wild. 

30:02
Yeah that's obviously one thing that I've learned over my couple years of being here, and it's every year it gets better. I mean, every year the, the practice is honed. We and that's the cool thing between all of us, all four of us, is that it's it's. You know, one person has an idea of the pitfalls between the four of us, and then we end up with you know, come into an agreement on Monday, or you know what we're using to punch in and all that stuff. It just straight. Everything is becoming more and more streamlined. You know what I mean it's and that that just saves money on everybody's end and headache. 

30:39 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, and it's crazy me sitting here knowing day one of doing this. We have a rental ever flipping. We're redoing the roof with like hammer and nails. I've got no sort of accounting, I've got no sort of any infrastructure set up. The guys that are coming to work are like like my buddies, that are like, hey, do you want side cash? Yep, help me with this. And I had one guy that would be there every day and that was where this came from. And now we've got consistent crew, we've got processes, we've got like quick book set up, we've got clock ins, we've got schedule. Everything is different from five, six years ago. 

31:23
Yeah six years. So we've come a long ways and it's cool to see. And now we get to one honor the 90% growth, that where we've gotten to. And now we get to clean up that last 10% where we're. We're going to be adapting, we're going to be changing. So we just got to be able to change and adapt with what is happening in the field. So for me it's super exciting. I didn't imagine this is where it was going. Yeah, it's been fun. Val, seeing this is your show. We're turning this to you. Are you ready? She loves being on camera. So everybody say hi, valerie, valerie. 

32:03 - Val (Host)
Hi guys. 

32:08 - Marcus (Host)
That was such an exciting intro. So what do you think of 2023 and what are you looking forward to in 2024. The tough question. 

32:17 - Val (Host)
I think that we learned a lot in 2023. I think that there were good days, bad days, good projects, not so great projects. I think that, like Jerry touched on learning through this project in particular, starting from the first day of the year and then one path and having to switch gears into something completely different that we had no anticipation of doing, no intention of doing and now having to complete that. I got to walk through the property the other day and was so excited to see what it really is amazing. It just I was pleasantly surprised walking into it to see the progress that was done, to see the quality of work that was done. It's really exciting for me to see where we start with the project and where that project ends. 

33:12
I don't get out into the projects very often. That's not really where I exist. So when I get to go out and I get to look at the jobs, it's really exciting and it almost replenishes my excitement in my drive and my desire to do renovations and to do these sorts of projects, because you can get really into the office and looking at numbers and looking at budgets and looking at timelines and quick books and Monday and just getting all tied up into that stuff and forgetting that you know you're transforming a home and that's going to be lived in and enjoyed by families for a long time to come. 

33:54 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, yeah, that's what you mentioned. When was the last time we came and check out the house? Was that Wednesday, wednesday? And then she said she got in the truck. She's like man, I miss going to see the guys and being on the site. Yeah, because, man, the office work is not the fun stuff and I'm sitting here like I'm doing office work now, which is where I want to be in the field, like that is fun, and as things progress and where needs are needed, and as we're in the office and it is so much fun to do. 

34:33 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
You got to remember, too, though, that it's like it's it's a double edged sword, because there's days where you know we're shoveling raccoon poop out of a garage that I'm like man, I would just love to like scroll the MLS and just see what's out there today, not be doing this. No, that's good. That's good to hear, because it's a lot of blood, sweat and tears going to these places, and you know being able to. I stare at it so long, day in and day out, that sometimes it's hard to appreciate how far some of these projects have come. So when you guys come in and give us that positive feedback, I know that lights a fire under my ass and everybody else in here too. It's. It's kind of like oh man, all of this has paid off. It is noticeable, you know yeah it's. 

35:18
It is a good thing. 

35:20 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, so what's exciting? And we'll keep work on improving the office mechanics here and then we'll see what happens in 2024. I'm sure we'll do an end of the year 2024 recap and then hopefully at 25. Looking into what 2024 brought us, because I'm seeing some big changes. I don't know developments, not changes. I don't want to change a lot, just develop things, make things better. 

35:49 - Dan (Host)
Speaking of development, franklin Street, getting that duplex put on there hopefully going to be 2024. Yeah, that's our hope. 

36:00 - Marcus (Host)
Another new bill duplex. 

36:02 - Dan (Host)
Yeah, possibly to. 

36:04 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
Yeah. 

36:05 - Dan (Host)
I did speak to sweet. 

36:06 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
That's a sweet lot for it to. 

36:10 - Marcus (Host)
I know. I only got it contact with him, that's all and reach out and they're like, hey, are you looking to sell? And that's like the one that I just cannot get rid of. I'm too excited for what we have planned for that one. 

36:20 - Dan (Host)
Yeah, good one, that will be a good yeah. 

36:22 - Marcus (Host)
So we'll get that out. We'll see that on social media as we get that one built, but we have. We have an Achilles appointment here, so we got to get going. Dan has brought in the new year and 40 with the new Achilles, so congratulations, dan, for your new Achilles. 

36:45 - Dan (Host)
It's not new and it's not even old. It's my own. It's my own, achilles, just re remeshed back together. Maybe see if I can get back. 

36:58 - Marcus (Host)
Yeah, I will. We're going to wrap the show there. It was a quick little intro to 24 recap of 23. We don't have anything else. I'm going to let everybody get back to it. We'll get working here on a Friday. 

37:12 - Dan (Host)
And here's Amy Winehouse with Valerie. 

37:14 - Marcus (Host)
That's the intro, correct. We'll put that in the intro. 

37:17 - Justin (Jer) (Host)
The intro's where the outro. 

37:20 - Marcus (Host)
All right, we'll do intro outro. They can leave the show with Eddie. Cool Enjoy the song yes, bro yeah. 

37:53 - Speaker 5 (Host)
Or, and I miss your ginger hair and the way you like the drinks. I want to come on over and stop making a fool out of me. Why don't you come on over Valerie, valerie, valerie, valerie? Yes, you have to go to jail, but you have to run off to jail, didn't you get it, good lawyer? Hope your dinner can't be tinned. Hope you found the right man. 

38:41
Old man, simple boy, I can shop anywhere, change the color of your hair. I'm busy, and did you have to pay that fine? You was dying all the time. I used to be busy Since I come home, where my body been. I miss your ginger hair and the way you like the drinks. Won't you come on over? Stop making a fool out of me? Why don't you come on over? Valerie, valerie, Valerie, valerie? Well, sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the border and I think about all the things. But and in my head I've been a big jerk Since I come home, where my body been, I miss your ginger hair and the way you like the drinks. Won't you come on over? Stop making a fool out of me? Why don't you come on over? Valerie, valerie, valerie, valerie, valerie, valerie, valerie, valerie. Why don't you come on over, valerie.