Professional Home Remodeling Experts
Since 1985.
About Us
ABOUT US
We offer home remodeling services where we excel in basement remodels, complete house flips and most any repairs.
We offer the very best services in our field. We never settle for second best, and always have your satisfaction as our top priority. It’s who we are, and we are proud of it.
We don't do roofs and most cement flat work such as driveways and sidewalks. We also do don't HVAC or major sewer issues.
We schedule an appointment and usually have a bid within 24 hours after our meeting. We do accept all major credit cards and give discounts for cash, seniors and military veteran's. We've been in business since 1985 and our current team has been together for 18 years.
Advice for out-of-state house flippers. Or anybody thinking they can get rich flipping.
Listen to me and forget it unless you have so much money, you can't even give it away.
First, a house flip is where you buy a foreclosed house at an auction usually for a fraction of what is was worth and in theory, you give it an extreme makeover both inside and out, sell it and get a ton of money back in profit and go laughing all the way to the bank.
Let me tell you that rarely happens. We've flipped about 12 houses in the last 20 years where 5 were for two guys who were successful. The other 7 guys and gals eventually lost everything and it wasn't our fault. Of the two who have made it, one did at least 50% of the work himself if not more and easily put in 12 hour days. The other guy is a local professional flipper where he has to have anywhere between 5-7 houses under remodeling at the same time to generate enough income just for himself. Okay, that's up to 7 contracting crews at once.
The real issue is those investors from out of state who see the land values in Kansas City at least half, if not more, than where their area and WRONGLY ASSUME the labor and materials must also be less. Generally speaking, Menards, Home Depot, Lowe's and all the box stores all charge the same price for a 2x4 regardless of what state your in.
If you have a home built in the last 20 years and want your master bath completely made over, your probably starting looking costs are at least $6K. If your flipping a house that has two bathrooms, then you already know you will be spending at least $12K just on the two bathrooms. Then there is the kitchen, the plumbing, the electrical, the trees and landscaping and a long list.
The second biggest mistake I see is investors making over the home as if they were going to live in it. Wrong!!! You want the advice of a realtor who will probably tell you what colors to use and what the trend is selling now. Not that long ago the trend was stainless steel, granite everything and marble tile, etc, and that's just not always true anymore.
Simply put, the best investor will wisely get a home in a good neighborhood and plan on the first house as a break even learning experience.
We are careful who we flip a house for and of the 7 who didn't make it that I referred to earlier, 5 of them shorted us about $3K each because they ran out of money near the end.
Do not listen to the DIY flipping commercials. If it sounds to good to be true.........well, you know.
Who We Are
Gary Brenner learned from his dad and he loves the work and what we do and it shows. With more than 35 years of experience in the field, he know our industry like the back of his hands. There’s no challenge too big or too small, and we dedicate our utmost energy to every project we take on. Gary has donated thousands hours to his community including building the Renner Brenner Site Park in Riverside, MO. His formal education is with archaeology and meteorology. He taught archaeology for Maple Woods CC in the 80's where he wrote and published three books and appeared in the movie, The Lost Footsteps. He was the only meteorologist to correctly predict the crest of the 93 flood and was instrumental in guiding the Fairfax General Motors plant hours around it. He was named and #99 out of 100 of those who shaped the Northland.
Recently appeared in the Kansas City Business Journal, cover story, June 14, 2019 and the American Music magazine August 7, 2019.
A video he made for his grand children about his work on his park.
Just click the tab here:
Strategies & Plans
Every customer is unique. That’s why we customize every one of our plans to fit your needs exactly. Whether it’s a small strategy or a comprehensive effort, we’ll sit down with you, listen to your requests, and prepare a customized plan, usually within 48 hours. Gary's focus is now project budgeting and planning from start to finish, while Karen's job is the day to day management.
We now accept appointment only by email on the contact page. We except all major credit cards.
We also now mostly specialize in flipping houses and we've successfully worked for several out of state and whom we've never personally met, although we prefer regular home remodels and repairs.
However, we do take on most any job north of the Missouri River or within the I-435 loop, by appointment.
Pick your contractor like you'd pick your doctor.
Our crew:
Gary Brenner: budget, planning and bidding. 45 yearsKurt E. Eckard, crew management 37 yearsKaren Brenner: crew management. 20 years.Jeff Mallory: first hand man. 20 years.Jessie Gieseke: Master Carpenter 15 yearsDavid Breedlove: master carpenter. 10 yearsOrville Norris: carpet, tile. 15 years.Other team members: Wilson, Mikey, Chris, Jessica, Willie, Scott, Matt, Kent and many more.
