All Forum Posts by: Alan Feldman

I've seen a few nightmare posts from people getting scammed by hard money lenders lately. YIKES. I recommend a few ways to find quality hard money lenders. Find out from other local flippers who they recommend. Are there any in your local real estate investment group? What about the local towns REI facebook group?

You can also check out the Hard Money Lenders Directors on BP.

Software for "driving for dollars virtually" can be as easy as Google maps! Use the street view to walk up and down the street. It has been helpful to view a potential property.

Then I will put the address in REIpro to find out who the owner is and do some calculations on the property for an offer. But there are other ways to do that as well. 

REIpro also has deal finding by searching for vancant, absentee owners, pre-forclosure, and bank owned. There are also other ways to find that info too.

Tattoo's are less of a negative today than they were was I was your age.

Wow, that makes me sound old :) 

Another idea is to wholesale it and make a few bucks in the process. Let the next guy worry about all the renovation. 

If you do want to pursue the flip, I would get a few bids on the work from different contractors.

For this endeavor I would recommend a few things. Definitely talk with your employer about what you can offer, and get a soft commitment. When I started my first business I approached many potential clients with a question about what they would do differently if they started a business now... the conversation always turned to what I was planning, and it was an easy soft sell usually turning into a commitment to engage in service.

Then seek guidance from the local SCORE chapter, or chamber of commerce to setup the business and get the proper licensing/certifications/etc.

Jared, you might be surprised what you can do with an FHA loan. FHA loans include one property per FHA loan, owner occupied for at least 1 year, and can apply for new FHA loan in 2 years. If you need to leave in less than a year, you need a really good reason because Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA and other secondary market makers don't like for you to get owner occupied loans and then not stay in the property.

Sounds like this is a commercial rental. I would be concerned about the tenants willingness to stay at end of lease. I would be concerned about holding costs if they don't renew. How long would it take to rent the space after they vacate? Do you have enough savings to hold the property if it is un-rented? Commercial properties are great when they are rented, but can sometimes sit for long periods of time in between tenants. So the risk/reward ration is different compared to residential. 

Here are the typical expenses to consider: Tax, Insurance, Utilities (Electric, Water, Sewer, garbage, gas), HOA, Lawn/Snow, Vacancy, Repairs, CapEx, Property Management, Mortgage

It really depends on what your investment strategy is. If you are following Brandon's "7 figures in 7 years" plan, you could sell and get into a 75 unit and live off the profit. However I have seen some 20-30 units that cashflow quite nicely. Sounds like you have one right here. Either way, IMHO I would refinance out of the balloon loan before it expires. Then you have some breathing room to decide next steps. 

 Nick, that mini excel sheet is really nice. Just grabbed it and through some deal numbers in. Very cool. 

Awesome! good luck.