All Forum Posts by: Ashley Wolfe

FIND THE DEAL AND THE MONEY WILL COME. Money is easy to get right now. Deals are much harder to find than funding. Took me 6 mos. to find my last property. Took one phone call to find the purchase money. 

Get out there and find the under-valued property and start writing offers. Network with lenders and Realtors. Be sure to get on any wholesale buying lists. JUST DO IT AND LEARN BY DOING. 

Using the subs from home Depot or Lowe's is really hit or miss. When I had carpet installed in my house I took a chance and went with Lowe's because they were significantly cheaper than a local flooring place. These guys really went above and beyond and years later the carpet still looks great. On the other hand, I needed my sliding glass door replaced and I found a local company through Angie's list to do it for cheaper than the box stores and offered a better product made by a regional supplier. In fact I highly recommend Angie's list, but don't call the guys with 100 A+ reviews, they will be expensive and busy  because it's most likely a company with employees and fancy new trucks. Call the guy with 5-10 A+ recent reviews instead.

For a full fledged flip I really would try to find a reputable general contractor. Yes I know that's like trying to find a diamond at the beach! It really amazes me how many contractors don't even answer their phone or call you back. Some of the people here mentioned going to the pro desk first thing in the morning and see who's there, these are not the 'slacker' contractors. As a woman I would NOT recommend doing this, I hate to stereotype but most contractors treat women very differently than men. Meaning they will quote you a much higher price for a job than a guy asking for the same quote because they think you don't know anything about construction. This is nonsense, listen to the podcasts and you will hear from some very successful flippers who are women. Just hang out in the parking lot and take down their contact info from their truck. Dont bother if the truck looks like it just rolled out of the dealership and costs $50k, these guys at least in my experience, will always cost more than the guy with the beat up truck. And usually the quality of the work is roughly the same.

Totally agree, thank you for your two cents.  :)

Contact the specific material suppliers(tile company, roofing and siding company, window company, kitchen show room, carpet show room, etc) in town and ask them who they recommend as contractors. They have a business to run and they will know the serious big players that are good in their field. They are not inclined to give bad contractors because it would come back to them.

It is not a bad idea, on contractors that do not have to state license.  For example, electricians and plumbers are simply more expensive if you go with Home Depot.  The state already requires them to do most of what Home Depot would require.  Carpet installers on the other hand might be ok at Home Depot.

Make sure you always tell Home Depot employees you are working on a flip.  They have lots of methods to reduce the costs.  For example, you normally want carpet with a two week wait because it is about four times better value. 

In North Texas, I would not buy wood or fixtures at Home Depot.  Wood should come from a real lumber yard.  I like to get fixtures from Restore.

Plus don't be surprised if once you can make an offer that another bidder suddenly materializes and makes a higher offer even though the property has been sitting for months and months 

I've had good luck with HD carpet install. Can't beat the price anywhere and no problems.

@Ashley Wolfe I think you'd do much better to find your own contractors. After all, the subs you get through HD are not employees of HD.