All Forum Posts by: Andrew Orr

the good news with me is that I am in no hurry. Plus, I have lots of time on my hands. 

The sellers market that we are in is a thing to behold really. I guess no matter how bad it looks for buyers, it probably still doesn't come close to the buying frenzied we saw before the bust in 2007. 

But it is very difficult, yes. 

Hi Bob! Thanks, I sure will.

Andrew

I also have a tenant and have had to manage my garage apartment for rental since 2000. 

Oh, i'm sorry. Residential, fix and flipping properties...reinvesting gains basically. I'm glad you think working a sellers market is comparatively easy.  That gives me hope!   I probably should also have mentioned that I renovated my own home, completely, including a second floor addition back in 2005. Things worked out. Of course I had a career back then and, while it was a challenge, I got it done. It will be a challenge today, for personal reasons. But not something that is insurmountable. At least now I'm not doing second floor additions. I'm just trying to manage my investment. Here are some shots of the end result. 

Hi there,

My name is Andrew and I am 48 and live in St. Petersburg, FL.  I had an early retirement and have been watching some money I have sit there for many years. Doing nothing. 

I have about $120,000 that I am looking to use for fix-n-flip investing in pursuit of a higher IRR. It would be great to grow this to over seven figures before I turn 65 in about 17 years. I view this as being a conservative goal. Five million would be even better!

I grew up in construction. My dad built hotels, actually some all over the world for Holiday Inns. He later became his own GC and built hotels for people for the rest of his career.  I would spend summers working at job sites so the construction aspect is not foreign to me.

I am also a trained CFP, certified financial planner, so the numbers aspect is not confusing.

I suppose the main challenge I have is actually buying a house. My realtor has submitted bid after bid. Houses are selling the moment they hit the market. Most others resort to highest and best price auctions.  I understand that I must be competitive but I am not going to price myself into a loss.  I suspect a lot of these buyers that intend to fix and flip will lose money on a lot of these homes because their mistakes get amplified by their already low price. 

I guess the second thing I need help with is finding houses outside of the MLS universe. What are some successful ways people are using to get houses before they hit the MLS.

So, it's been fun.

Andrew

I'm thinking living room and dining room. Then normal walls everywhere else. 

Wow. Thanks guys! Haven't even thought of that. Great idea.

I have a house with this paneling in most of the rooms. I understand that I could paint them. But is there any other solution to update them short of pulling them off the wall and rocking everything?

Yes, it's concrete with vinyl on top. I also do believe(gulp) that there are signs of the foundation sinking on an end, maybe two.  And, yes, the concrete is cracked and does appear separated.