When I first got into this business a highly successful investor and real estate coach I used (Yes, I know. Using a coach is heresy, blah, blah, blah) changed the course of my business with a ton of great advice. One of the many things he told me was, "You need to be like a politician running for election. Tell EVERYBODY you know or meet what you are doing." Following that one piece of advice got me my best deal ever. 

About a year ago my wife and i were having dinner at a friend's house and the friend (knowing what I do) said he had a childhood friend (let's call her 'Lisa') who was the executor of her uncle's estate. The uncle, unbeknownst to the family, was a hoarder. The beneficiaries (Lisa's aunt, uncle, and mother) lived out of town and out of state. Lisa, who lived 45 minutes from the property, was getting overwhelmed dealing with the house and process. My friend told me where the house was and asked if I was interested, to which I responded, "Hell yes! Have her contact me." A few months passed before Lisa reached her maximum pain tolerance, but she contacted me. By that point she was pretty sick and tired of dealing with everything and was ready to do a deal. I got this for a great price and  on disposition got more than anybody in their right mind would have imagined. Did I get lucky? Damn right. But I also put myself in a position to get lucky by telling EVERYBODY what I do. The tale of the tape and some before-after pics are below.

Purchase price: $1,475,000

Renovation costs: $160,000

Debt service: $33,000

insurance,taxes,utilities,staging: $7000

Closing costs: $6,800

Agent commission: $124,000

Sales price: $2,250,000

Net profit: $445,000

Holding time: 81 days