All Forum Posts by: Billy V.

I am still on the phone (on hold) dealing with the insurance company as I type this. They are refusing to insure my rehab at its true value. I purchased the property for $130,000 a month ago, rehabbed it, listed it, got an offer and it is pending now at $190,000. I called to increase the insurance $60,000. I told them what I did to the property and they said that what I did was cosmetic and they would not increase it. I asked for a manager and got them to up it by $45,000 and said I wanted a letter stating that they refused to insure my property for the requested amount. That way if I did have a total loss I may have a leg to stand on in court when the insured amount did not cover the re-build cost.

How are others handling insurance with a rehab?

Thanks,

Billy

Thanks everyone,

I try to price my flips at the lower end of there market value. If I don't get an offer in 3 weeks I cut the price by 3%. I also offer my agent a bonus for an offer that I except within the first 3 weeks of the listing. I feel this is good because my agent(s) bust a little butt to get this sold. If it gets sold quick I am more than happy to pay the bonus and If it doesn't that bonus goes to holding cost or the price cut. I factor the bonus and the low sales price into my original evaluation of the property when deciding if it will me my purchasing criteria.
If I've bought right, done a nice rehab (with staging), priced right and the agents market the hell out of it, than hopefully we get a quick offer. The next one should be on the market at the end of July. Not nearly as hot a market but it should move fairly quickly. (I think :wink: )

Billy

Matt and Bryan,

Thanks for the comments. Closed yesturday. The next one is in escrow.

Here are the pics before the rehab.



[img]http://www.biggerpockets.com/user_photos/0016/1065/Kitchen_3.JPG?1307467405[/img]

Hi Everyone,

Here is my latest flip in Sacramento. I wanted to thank the "BP Nation" for all the advise.

New Roof, New front porch, paint everywhere and remodel of the kitchen and bath.

1 month to rehab. Offer in 3 days.

In another post two very active flippers, Jason and Will, discussed changing there strategy for flipping when the slower part of the year comes. I wanted to know how other flippers address this. Do you avoid deals that may be put on the market in those slow months (December for example)? Do you simply take into account a low list price when calculating your purchase price? Do you do less deal?

Thanks

Billy

Hi Troy,

I don't know if this is what you were looking for regarding wholesalers but I have two apps I am using on my iPhone that are working great. They should work for any RE investor not just wholesaling.

1st one is "Cashtrails". It tracks all your expenses. It is very fast and easy to use. You have the option to take a picture of any receipt and link it to the entry. Downside is you can not create sub-accounts but it is still okay.

2nd is "Travelreporter". It tracks all of the milage while you are driving around. Great for taxes. It is linked to GPS so all you do is hit start and stop. You have to enter the destination address but then it is saved and you can just select it next time you go to the same destination.

I have had zero issues with them but I did read a few reviews that had problems with them on older phones.

I think they were $4.99 each. (which I entered right into the "Cashtrails" app.)

You have the option to email a summery of all your entries and/or save them to iTunes to back them up. It is all summarized for taxes at the end of the year.

I hope this helps.

Billy

Hi Charlie,

I am currently working on flips and rentals in the Sac area. I live in the Bay Area and have established some strong networks with agents, contractors and banks. Also getting some big discounts on REO's direct from the bank right now. I am always looking for people who are interested in partnering up or sharing info. Contact me if you (or anyone else for that matter) would like to talk.

Take Care and Good Luck,

Billy

Any thoughts on having/using a home warranty that your tenants pay? For around $10-15 a month you can pay for the warranty policy and then if something goes wrong they can pick up the co-pay of the repair for $50. I would think that tenants would like this because it would keep their costs down for any major repair they would be responsible for (plumbing and so on). It is also half of the $100 amount that was mentioned above. On the downside they still may not want to pay the $50 and defer a repair still.

I like these guys... They have some good guests. (usually some kind of a pitch) But also some good info.

http://realestateguysradio.com/listen/

Hi,

I have connected with a company that has a network of banks that are willing to sell me there REO's for 25 to 35% below what they have them currently listed for on the MLS. I live in northern California but they have not had anything in my area. We have lost out on a few of these deals in Southern California to buyer who were buying 5+ groups of properties at a time. Right now I am only purchasing 1 property at a time. My desire is to purchase these homes and flip them on the MLS.
When I ask my contact person if she had any other properties she sent me a big list of available properties in Texas and said they were all available at the 30% discount. After doing a quick online check of comps a few of them look to be good deals.
My question is has anyone done and or can give advise on out of state flips?
Texas is a big state and these properties were all over the place.
It is going to be difficult for me to fly back and forth to check out each house. I plan on finding a few realtors in any given area. Getting there pricing for a quick sale. Doing appraisals and inspections. This still seems like there is a fair amount of risk. Financing is not an issue and I plan on starting on the small side with the amount of cash we put in as a test run.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.