All Forum Posts by: Alex Grosvenor

Sherry isn't wrong. Zillow has gotten pretty good about getting properties out and updating the status of the homes, but it still isn't 100% accurate. The MLS is the only place that can give you a live update in real time.

A lot of people don't use the MLS access to its full use like Sherry said by adding notes, favorites, etc. so if you do it would be a great advantage.

Best part is Agents are paid by the Seller unless you find an off market property that isn't on the MLS. Free resources essentially for professional advice, MLS access, and the tools you need to succeed.

Dallas is full of great people and great investors everywhere!

@Manda Gouvion 

Great question! You can plan by talking and meeting with them. If they are good contractors they are doing other projects already. Go and check out their projects. See the work they do. Go multiple times. Go to multiple different job sites they are doing. 
Ask for references. How do the people feel about their work and who they are as a contractor. 

The fastest isn’t always the best. The most money always isn’t the best. 

@Richard Helppie-Schmieder is a contractor here in Dallas that I would vouch for and does great work! I’m sure he is more than willing to show you his work and give you references! 

Welcome to BP, it is an amazing community to be a part of! I wish you well on your journey! 

The zoning of the land will tell you how much percent of the land can be improved, along with the setbacks and variances mentioned above. 

Additions eat up even experienced investors budget. It is super risky and a lot of investors stay away from add ons in general. BUT HIGH RISK HIGH REWARD!

What more concerns me is why add on? The margin looks amazing without the add on. 

With a 200k rehab budget I'm assuming 100k of that rehab is going to the add on and 100k in renovating the existing property. Why put an extra 100k of work in to raise the value maybe 100k that defeats the purpose. If you put in 100k of work it should give you higher than a 100k return. 

Buy the property at 200k do 100k in renovations 525k ARV hold for 3-5 years maybe get a 600k ARV due to appreciation. Even with no appreciation thats an amazing deal.

OR 

Buy the property at 200k, put 200k into renovations and add ons. Property is now worth maybe 600k-625k. Maybe get 700k in 3-5 years of appreciation. More risk, more work, and less of a ROI.

@Manda Gouvion There are tons of contractors out there! Some of them are good and others are not. Some of them are cheap and other are not. I recommend getting at least 3 bids for every job until you build a trusting relationship!

You're on the right path! Believe it or not flipping houses can be really hands off if you know what you're doing and you have people you can trust! 

@John Barrett has some great points.

I want to start of by saying I am not a financial advisor, but I have a lot of bad experiences with them. The experiences that I've had do not reflect the entire industry. 

Being a disabled veteran myself I know how much that 100% disability pays and I know that it is enough to throw some into investing everything month. However, I personally don't see how a financial advisor is going to help you in this particular situation.  From what I understand, you are trying to figure out if you are on the correct path to building wealth and you want to do real estate to be your wealth building vehicle. Financial advisors can recommend where you should put your money, but like John said it usually isn't into real estate. Not to mention they can't tell you what kind of real estate you want to invest in to begin with because there are 1000 different ways to invest in real estate. Some ways are passive, other ways are very active. 

Financial Advisors will also tell you that they work with people who do real estate all of the time and they know how to deal with your situation. This most of the time is not true; if it is they may be working with people who have one or two properties under their belt and do not treat real estate like a business or a wealth building tool. This technically isn't a lie, but if you plan on having 300 units and this advisor you're choosing has never had to deal with the money you're bringing in or people who are operating at the level you are operating at then it is a problem. 

To start I would go to those masterminds and meetups that were mentioned. It's a great place to meet mentors and role models that can tell you their experiences with real estate so you can choose your own path that you want to go down. Once you've established those relationships then ask your mentors and peers who they use as their financial advisor. That's my recommendation. 

@Nicki Shelton Analysis paralysis is REAL! Lol. I LOVE the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast! Talk about amazing information.

DFW is a hot market and Duplexes are hard to come by for a decent price. I would love to discuss some more criteria and see how I can help you over that hump!

@Jerrylyne Isaac DM me and I would love to talk more about getting your significant other on board!

@Jerrylyne Isaac 

There’s a lot of missing pieces here about what you’re looking to do in real estate investing. Are you doing single family or multi? Are you wholesaling, flipping, or going to do rentals? 

How would you bring value to other people? Do you have real estate investing knowledge? Do you have money? Do you have good credit? Do you have construction knowledge?

I’m sure people would love to connect if you tell them what you bring to the table!