It's been a while!

[Kedric Naylor]

Hey BiggerPockets Community,

I wanted to share the raw, unfiltered reality of our third BRRRR project in Stone Mountain, GA. If my first two deals taught me how easy this could be, this third one was the universe humbling me and teaching me how tough it can be.

Ultimately, it was a massive success, but the scars we got along the way were entirely self-inflicted. Hopefully, our mistakes can save someone else some major headaches.

The Slump & The Source

After two incredibly smooth deals, I hit a massive wall. I went nearly six months without securing a next deal. I had 2 or 3 deals fall through purely because agents were moving too slowly to secure written contracts, relying on verbal agreements instead. I was getting depressed and frustrated.

So, I changed tactics: I started telling absolutely everyone that I am a real estate investor.

That was the turning point. A lady I work with mentioned she had inherited a home with a mountain of deferred maintenance. I pitched a low off-market offer—honestly, lower than I thought she’d ever accept—but I sweetened the deal by wrapping in total junk removal and storage assistance to solve her immediate problem. She accepted.

The Scope & The Numbers

This wasn't a cosmetic refresh; it was a top-to-bottom, total gut renovation. We redid the electrical, HVAC, plumbing, roof, siding, deck, patio, driveway, and had to bring an existing addition up to code.

• Purchase Price: $115,000
• Reno Budget: $135,000 (Funded via HELOC)
• Appraisal: $315,000
• Rent: $2,300/month
• The Result: A perfect BRRRR. We pulled out 100% of our capital and walked away with about $3,000 cash in our pockets, leaving us with $65,000 in forced equity.

Where Things Went Sideways: Lessons Learned

The contract stated a 12-week completion time. It took six months. Here is exactly why we bottlenecked:

1. The License & Permit Trap We used a contractor who had done great cosmetic work on our first two properties. We sat down, agreed we wanted everything done "by the books" with permits, and they assured us they had it handled. I drew up the contract, signed, and cut the first draw.

• The Mistake: I didn't verify their General Contractor license beforehand. Turns out, they didn't have it and had to outsource it, causing immediate delays. Worse, they started demolition before pulling the permits. By December, we hit a massive cash and permit bottleneck where work completely halted until inspections could catch up. (Shoutout to my wife for stepping in and grinding through the bureaucracy to get us unstuck!)

2. Scope Creep & Bad Bidding The contract explicitly called for fiber cement siding. However, because the contractors poorly bid out the electrical and plumbing, they ran out of money. I knew the deal had enough built-in equity to absorb some hits, so I took the financial punch and paid extra just to keep the momentum going.

3. The HVAC Battle We had an HVAC guy we trusted from previous deals. The GC wanted to use their own guy, who wanted to charge an extra $5,000. We tried to compromise and have them work together, which resulted in them butting heads the entire time.

• The Legacy Issue: I paid the HVAC guy in full right after the work passed inspection. What I didn't do was run the system long enough to ensure proper balancing. We ended up with massive temperature discrepancies between the top and bottom floors and had to pay a separate company to come out and fix it.

The Silver Linings

It wasn't all bad news. We made two incredibly smart moves:

• Pre-Marketing: My wife and I put up the "For Rent" sign while the property was still a construction zone. We had highly qualified renters aggressively pursuing the place before the paint was even dry. We filled it instantly at $2,300/month.
• The Refinance: We used Total Quality Lending (TQL) for the cash-out refi. Aside from some typical end-of-game paperwork redundancy, it was a smooth process. They told me the next one will be even faster, so I’ll definitely give them another shot.

My Playbook for Deal No. 4

Moving forward, our contracts are changing. We are now strictly implementing:

• Verifying all Tax IDs, GC licenses, and insurance certificates before a single dime leaves our hands.
• Ensuring plats, property lines, and permitting are finalized before a sledgehammer touches a wall.
• Adding a 20% contingency buffer directly into the budget.
• Adding strict daily financial penalties for unapproved downtime and beating completion deadlines.
• Holding the final HVAC draw until the internal temperature is verified consistent on all floors.

A Massive Thank You

I can’t thank this community enough, but specifically, I have to give a massive shoutout to Ashley Kehr and Tony J. Robinson from the Real Estate Rookie podcast. Your insights empowered me and my family to try something I honestly never thought was possible. Because of that inspiration, we are officially on our way to financial freedom.

Let’s Connect (North Georgia)

We are officially back in the market and looking to scale quickly by targeting a quadplex in North Georgia.

We are actively looking to build out our powerhouse team. If you are in the area, please reach out if you'd like to partner! We are currently looking for recommendations for:

• Reasonable, professional General Contractors
• A reliable flooring contractor
• A solid real estate investor-friendly attorney/legal services contact

Let's win together!