All Forum Posts by: David Fritch

I've installed a lot of ductless mini-splits. A couple of things to keep in mind:

The hole that connects the wiring and refrigerant lines and drain line from inside to outside is 2-5/8". Rotohammering through a thick cocrete wall can be a lot of work, especially if you have to dig down below grade. 

When in AC mode they put out condensation. There needs to be a slope on the drain line or you'll end up leaking. If you are below grade you can install a French drain with gravel in it or you can get a condensate pump to pump it out. Avoid the tiny ones that fit inside the unit, they tend to be unreliable. 

Unless you consider yourself a 9 or 10 on the dyi talent scale I'd stay away from a below grade ductless and opt for retrofitting with cadet heaters with a thermostat  and educating tenants on keeping them set at medium/low during the winter. 

Thanks @Darlena and @Brent. Sometimes it's just nice to hear it from an outside perspective. Thankful for BP. 

This is such just one of many lessons learned on this deal. 

This is a long and crazy story so I will just try to stick to the relevant points. Posting in wholesaling forum though it's not an exact fit. 

I had a property under contract yet it didn't belong to the "seller". It was purchased or given (depending who you ask)  from her mom years ago but they never filed a deed. 

We were set up to do a double closing with ownership transferring from mom to daughter to me. 

When I notified the mom that I was not following through with the transaction she had already mailed me the deed (which was intended to be mailed to the escrow company along with my closing documents). She asked that the deed be returned to her as her primary desire is that the daughter not return to the property because apparently at population 250 "this town ain't big enough for the two of 'em". 

So the daughter is demanding the deed. I'm tempted to shred it but I believe the fastest cleanest way out of the deal is to mail it back to mom. All remains as I found it and I'm out. 

Agree or am I overlooking something? 

@Christopher Telles Good, sound advice. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, right? 

We are going forward with the plan. We either get the property or not at auction and then there is the opportunity to negotiate it afterwards if it doesn't sell at auction. 

Even if it does sell to another bidder we learn a lot and we have put together a cohort and can go on the hunt for the next opportunity. That's still a big win. 

@Jimmy Klein That is true. We should be fine there. But they are so demanding with their terms, like the whole 2 hour thing. That's like the terms at a local trustee sale but it's online. Who does that? 24 hours I could see. So if you take 121 minutes to transfer it and sign and return all their stuff you lose your 25k. That's the kind of thing that makes me suspicious of auction.com. Thanks for the heads up! There's a lot to be aware of. 

There is a commercial property (strip mall) up for sale on auction.com later this month in my area. A group of us are interested in bidding. 

In our research we found that the property was purchased at a trustee sale in August of this year for 3.1 million dollars. We don't know exactly who this LLC was but they are using the registered agent from the state capital and Wells Fargo is listed as the primary officer. The listing broker says he "thinks it is a debt servicing company". The minimum bid on the property just dropped from 1.8 million to 1 million. The listing broker says that was because they did not have enough interest at the 1 million dollar minimum.

Many of the factors lead me to believe that the seller has a high reserve that they probably do not expect to be met. Of course they would love to make a quick profit if that happens but this auction is mostly about testing the market and finding leads. Based on net operating income and cap rate the property should sell for around 5M, and better opportunity for results with good management.

Is there any chance that this is a real auction and the highest bidder will walk away with the property if it's less than 5M? I feel if seller wanted top dollar they would widely advertise and do a live auction not a quieter sealed bid. My associates feel this may be a bank cutting losses?? Any have experience with Auction.Com on a similar situation? 

I think Mr. Gulley has some excellent points about building your overall fundamental knowledge step by step in a progressive program. I shared with you my perspective on financing my flips of rural and recreational land, a niche that is very different from most other real estate business models without bothering to ask what it was you are trying to achieve. 

Brian,  I buy and sell raw land. Since sellers own it outright and banks are not involved over 90% of the time it is quite different than homes. If I'm not paying cash, I'm buying on seller financing or finding a money partner. 

With the creative acquisition strategies Brian Gibbons is the guy to listen to. Watch the video on his profile page for a sampling. 

Hi Brian, 

Have you checked out Brandon Turner's "The Book on Real Estate Investing with No and Low Money Down"? I got a lot out of reading it. 

In my mind the answer for creative financing is not so much about deal structure as it is about network and relationships. 

1.First define what you want to do and how much money it would take. Be thorough and think about all the hidden costs. Assume that things will take longer and cost more than the ideal. 

2. Work your power base. You probably know more people with money than you realize. If you just go through your contacts (Facebook is really a good place for this) and think about who might have money to invest, think about their relatives  too. You'll come up with a prospect list. Define which ones you would prefer to work with based on your relationship and their character etc. You don't want the type of person that is going to be a worry wart or distrustful or make your life miserable in any way. 

3. Contact these people or wait until you're around them. Then ask them. "Hey you know I've been crushing it doing strategy X and I see a lot of opportunities doing strategy Y and I was wondering if I find a deal that looks like such and such if you would be interested in partnering with me on it."  Then show them the sample deal that you worked up and the breakdown of deals you have down (for credibility)  and see if they are interested. 

4. The other thing that you can do is network in your local REIA and here on BP. There are people on here that lend money and do joint ventures. Get in the marketplace and read up on what people are talking about in there.

Hope this is helpful! 

Dave Fritch 

... all 3 units are rented? 

Is it through Homesteps or a similar program? Are there rules surrounding the down payment. Like do you have to have it in savings for a certain period of time?

What is the current price and what will the value be with rehabs done and fully occupied. What is the cash flow per month if all 33 units are rented?