4 months in, 2 flips down with a 9-5 and 3 kids! - With pictures!

4 months in, 2 flips down with a 9-5 and 3 kids! - With pictures!

Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes

Hey Guys!

I haven't been as active on the forums near as much as I would have like to have been these past few months. Mostly because I've been scouring the MLS looking for deals or checking on our current rehab houses any spare moment I have.

But, I'd like to take a moment and share my story and progress in hopes to encourage some of the younger or newer investors to take action!

So, I picked up "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in October of last year which is when I found this great BP community. From October of last year to February of this year I networked on BP, read books and endlessly searched for any opportunity I could find via BP. In February of this year all the hard work paid off and I found an Investment company offering JV partnerships flipping houses! Needless to say I snatched the opportunity and hit the ground running.

When I started flipping with this company, everyone I knew including FAMILY was skeptical and were very doubtful of the opportunity. Friends laughed and made fun me telling me I was getting ripped off or that I had no idea what I was doing.. And it's funny, now just 5 months later, those same people INCLUDING FAMILY are asking to work for me or asking me to get them "hooked up" with an investment company. When I tell them what they need to do to find an opportunity, they never take the action required to find one. "I don't think I'll get as lucky as you" is what I'll often hear.

I work a 9-5 and I have flipped 2 houses (about to start the third) since February and I am working on my first wholesale deal as we speak. I have only been in the game for a few months but I am looking forward to what the future holds. 

So, I'll post some words of wisdom to the newer or younger investors out there and end my post with some before and after pictures from my first 2 flips:

  1. Your network equals your net worth - Get out there and introduce yourself! Whether on BP or at your local meet-up. 
  2. The only opportunity missed is the opportunity not looked for-  Stop deceiving yourself, there are ENDLESS opportunities. You just have to hustle hustle hustle to find them. That's how I find mine.
  3. You have plenty of time to invest in real estate if you have a full time job- Don't tell me you don't have time to do the things I'm doing. (I'm married with 3.. YES THREE children)  Delete your Facebook and put down pokemon go. I guarantee your productivity will almost triple. How serious are you about getting out of the rat race and changing your legacy??!
  4. Read 10 pages of an EDUCATIONAL book a day- Self development, Management, Investments, Business, Economics, Macroeconomics, Networking for Dummies... ANYTHING! Leaders read.
  5. Stop hanging out with Whiners, downers, and complainers- Your mindset is everything. Surround yourself with people who talk less about issues and more about ideas. You are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with, what does that make you?
  6. Stop making excuses, start taking action- Are you going to fail? Probably somewhere along the way. Let me take that back.. You are absolutely going to fail at some point. But failure and problems need to be a sign of growth! Grant Cardone puts it in this light: "I like problems, big problems! Because that means I'm doing big things!" So, What kind of problems are you dealing with? Are you scrambling to fund the next 20 unit deal you just found? Or are you scrambling trying to pay rent? 

So, now with the fun stuff..

Pine Road - My first flip!

Rocky Lane - Flip number 2!

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Most Popular Reply

Ian WalshBusiness Member
Lender · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y

People getting into flipping need to read this OP's post multiple times.

See this reply in the discussion

77 Replies

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  • Flipper/Rehabber · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2016 · 807 posts · 815 votes
    10y

    Love the words of wisdom! Congratulations! 

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    Thanks! 

  • Wholesaler · Central Falls, Philadelphia · Member since 2014 · 205 posts · 32 votes
    10y

    @Nicholas Armstrong love the lay out and the designs/materials used.  I agree with everything you wrote, life too short to be bitching all day, there are folks on death bed right now, so I am thankful for my problems and successes I have currently,truly. Hope you sell fast!. 

  • Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2014 · 538 posts · 432 votes
    10y

    @Nicholas Armstrong Congratulations on the fast progress and rapid success!  Love seeing someone able to make it happen even with a full time job.  Keep it up!

  • Real Estate Agent · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 11 votes
    10y
    Thanks for sharing. Great info
  • Property Manager · Lindenhurst, IL · Member since 2016 · 854 posts · 506 votes
    10y

    @Nicholas Armstrong - Great job there! It helps that you put the pictures both before and after. How does the number look like? You are absolutely right that we all can find some extra time, if we make a commitment to find it. 

  • New Fairfield, CT · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 1 vote
    10y

    Awesome story and I absolutely love your enthusiasm & energy! My husband and I are just starting the REI adventure for the purpose of our future retirement. How do we get started on finding an "investment company offering a JV partnership" (and what is JV)?

    Thanks Nicholas:)

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    @Abou C.

    Thanks! You're absolutely right man, there are people out there that dream about having what we have and the problems that come with it. We need to count our blessings for sure.

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    @Bryan Blankenship

    Thank you! I'll hopefully be able to quit the 9-5 after this year. (fingers crossed)

  • Rental Property Investor · St Joseph, MI · Member since 2015 · 302 posts · 106 votes
    10y

    Congrats. You're doing great making it happen. What did your numbers look like for the two flips?

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    @Soh Tanaka

    Absolutely! I have friends that say they don't have time to invest or find deals or opportunities. I tell them to wake up one hour early everyday and commit that hour to finding deals. THEY NEVER DO IT. It makes no sense to me to complain about why you can't find deals but then never do anything to better your chances on finding them.

    I'll post numbers on a different post here in a minute.

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    @Allison Rivera

    Thank you! Also, Congratulations and welcome to BiggerPockets!

    So a JV partnership is a "Joint Venture" Partnership. You don't have to form a JV with a company, you can JV with just about anyone as long as the paper work and legal documents are clear on who's responsible for what. Often times, (in the case of flipping houses) one partner will finance the acquisition of a property and the other partner will finance the rehab and split profits accordingly when the property has sold. There are companies that offer 80% to even 100% of acquisition and rehab costs.

    As far as finding a JV partner..

    Offer opportunities, don't ask for money. 

    I found my Partner by being intentional on finding one, I didn't wait for someone to try and find me. If you are consistent and intentional about offering opportunities and value, a deal will surely come your way. If I go to a meet-up and there are 20 people there, I leave with 20 opportunities, not just 20 names. Add value, ask questions, offer help and you'd be surprised at the opportunities you come across. 

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    @Soh Tanaka @Nathan Waters

    Here are my numbers for the two flips:

    Flip #1 - Pine Road - Foreclosure

    Purchase price - $67,000

    Rehab - $33,000

    Total acquisition + Rehab = $100,000

    ARV: $130,000

    Listed at $134,900.

    Net return after all expenses (commission,holding costs,closing costs etc.)

    $25,453 or 25% net return. (assuming it sells at the current listed price) 

    We actually had a contract on this house the week we listed it at $154,900 but the financing fell through :(

    Flip # 2 - Rocky Lane - MLS Deal

    Purchase Price - $90,000

    Rehab - $40,000

    Total acquisition + Rehab = $130,000

    ARV: $183,000

    Net Profit after all expenses (assuming it sells at comparable market value)

    $40,490 or 31% Net return.

    I would like to be turning 2-4 of these houses a month, but our net profit margin has to be over 20% because we are splitting profit. So if the numbers don't easily show over a 20% net, we don't even look at it, which makes finding a deal a little more difficult. But I'm able to find them none the less!

  • Rental Property Investor · St Joseph, MI · Member since 2015 · 302 posts · 106 votes
    10y

    The numbers look pretty good. I haven't done any short term flips yet, but its something I'm considering to raise capital to purchase more rentals.

  • Matteson, IL · Member since 2016 · 16 posts · 6 votes
    10y
    Thanks for sharing!!! #FulltimeJob #Wife5Children
  • Property Manager · Lindenhurst, IL · Member since 2016 · 854 posts · 506 votes
    10y

    @Nicholas Armstrong - Good numbers, even after splitting the profit!

  • John HornerPro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Columbus, OH · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 655 votes
    10y

    Love the post and great advice!  Keep it up!

  • Charleston, SC · Member since 2013 · 8 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Great, inspirational post and impressive work! Best of luck on selling your properties at a good profit.

  • Investor · Buena Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    Hi Nicolas- Nicely done. Pretty good numbers!

    Are you only using MLS to find deals?

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    Haha @Tracy Stingley Represent! ;)

  • Real Estate Investor · Unionville, CT · Member since 2016 · 260 posts · 167 votes
    10y
    Awesome!
  • Flipper · champaign, IL · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 7 votes
    10y
    Thanks, Great advice man.
  • Kent, OH · Member since 2015 · 63 posts · 7 votes
    10y

    Nice work! looks great!

    Curious what you did to the fireplace to make it look so much better...

  • Hartselle, AL · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    Very nice! 

  • Investor · Birmingham, AL · Member since 2015 · 254 posts · 136 votes
    10y

    @Soh Tanaka 

    Yes are profit margins are pretty steep, which is a gift and a curse. It's great when it's time to split profits, but it makes the deal searching that much more difficult. It's also a great hedge if the market was to drop 5, 10 or even 15%. We'd still come out golden.

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