All Forum Posts by: David T.

Hey BP,

During to foreclosure boom in Las Vegas we never staged a single home we sold and it became very obvious that what sold a property quickly and at the high end of comps was the quality of the finish. Because of this, we consistently beat local comps despite many running battles with the appraisers.

Now in Atlanta, there is a consensus among all Realtors here that you have to stage a home to sell it or get a good price. However, it does not seem to make much of a difference here from what we can see. Most of the homes we have sold seems to come down to quality of finish and the price with buyers fighting everything tooth and nail until the day of close.

The average cost of staging a home for the duration of the selling period or the staging company minimum charge (3 months) is $2500 which is a good chunk off the bottom line. 

I've been in the property game a long time, done a lot of deals and my instincts are telling me this is not the best use of this kind of money and throwing $1,000 into marketing on day one would be a far better use of it.

I can't seem to move away from the idea that a beautifully finished home as it is would be like an open canvas to a potential buyer and I know most aspiring homeowners have their own creativity and ideas about their style of home. 

I'd really like to get some feedback on this. Thanks BP!

Rachel, looks like you set it all up very well and London is probably the best city in the world to own rentals, renting is part of the culture there and bad tenants are not as common as would be in the US. Also, professional property management is taken much more seriously there, so you chose well.

My commentary is directed at the US market specifically which you will agree is a completely different kettle of fish to the UK. Thanks for you insight!

Welcome Vincent and good luck with your deals!

Thanks for the post @Bill G. I was not aware you were also a hotel developer, perhaps you might like to share some of your experiences with us?

Compared to the US, Ireland is size of a football pitch and we have to reach for our passports to go anywhere which is why it's hard not to meet well traveled Irish people, something we take for granted.

There are some hotel chains including Radisson and individual hoteliers who consider the kind of industrial location you refer to as a niche market and there are plenty of instances where hotels have been extremely successful commercially locating in such areas. Airport hotels are a perfect example.

Here's something I don't understand, especially since I had the choice of choosing any place in the country to set up my business and chose Atlanta.

So many people here on BP talk about investing out of state and in other countries. I've been there and done that, but let me tell you that when it comes to rehabs and flips, it's really and truly a hands on business. Not only that, when I worked out of Ireland travelling to places like Shanghai and South East Asia to do deals I realized after a year clocking over 300,000 air miles (about 20 weeks of physical travelling between airport time and actual flying) that this was a unique form of lunacy, regardless of the profitability of these deals.

So I came to fervently believe that we make our own deals, wherever we are, through vision, negotiation and hard work. That is to say, even if you live in Hicksville or Ballygobackwards it is possible to do great deals locally, it just takes a commitment and I'm specifically referring to continental USA which is a truly unique and wondrous property market.

Not only this, but the more rural areas seem to deliver the more consistently profitable opportunities with much less competition whereas the trending and higher population centers are much more expensive with very competitive margins and therefore a higher risk. 

So for me, it's not just the numbers that make a deal, it also takes vision to look at a property and see how to create an economically viable end product that will generate a decent profit at the end of the day. 

Yeah, as the cow said to the bull "that grass sure looks greener on d'other side of the fence".

Gary, Can you post some numbers about this deal? 

This sounds like a messy deal and looks as if it is NOT being professionally set up. always remember this when looking at funding deals - "if in doubt, include me out".

Best of luck with it.

Most HMLs will only lend against a first lien, especially with beginners. You need to have a well thought out plan as well.

Best of luck with it.

When you're flipping houses it is inevitable that you will encounter structural and foundation issues and your competence is the key to dealing with this. If in doubt, consult an engineer or even a couple of them, as long as the matter is dealt with properly, why should it be an issue unless you want to create one?

If you look hard enough at a house of any age you will find mold in it somewhere and that too has to be dealt with - it's the business we're in/the life we chose!

Good luck with it!

You're just a judgmental person who will always be poorer for it........