All Forum Posts by: Scott E.

If they were able to negotiate a great price on an MLS property, hats off to them.

Again it just comes down to the numbers. I don't care if the property was on the MLS or off market. I don't care who the wholesaler is. I don't care how much money the wholesaler is making. I don't care about why the seller is selling. I only care about the number I can buy for, and whether or not the numbers make sense for me at that price.

The last deal I bought from a wholesaler, the wholesaler was paid a $100,000 "finders fee" for connecting me to the distressed seller. No that is not a typo.

The deal before that one I also bought from a wholesaler. That one was paid a $5,000 "finders fee" for connecting us.

I never care how much the wholesaler is making in the deal. As long as the seller is happy, and as long as the numbers still make sense for me as a buyer.

Nice job! 37 single family homes ... that is quite an accomplishment (especially considering you look pretty young in your profile picture). Best wishes on your next flooring store venture.

Well said! And the first impression starts with the curb appeal. Can't skimp on the landscaping or the exterior. You want a buyer to feel proud to call this their home.

I've done both. I prefer building new, and most contractors I know do as well.

The bar has been raised in my market a LOT. Meaning if you are going to do a rehab on an old 1960s block home, in order to be competitive you need to add square footage, convert the carport to a garage, vault the ceilings, replace the sewer line, replace the panel. By the time you do all that, it starts to make more sense to tear the place down and start from scratch.

Just because a house is cheap, doesn't make it a good deal.

It's funny... I spent 15 years in mortgage banking (as a loan officer, in processing, and in underwriting). And I can't confidently answer this question.

My first thought was "well the bank would never know." I mean people tear their houses apart all the time remodeling kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, rearranging the floorpan, etc. And the bank has no problem with this. But demolishing the structure all together you would think they'd take concern with. Because when they write your loan they are writing the loan based on the appraised value, which included a structure.

Interesting question. Curious to hear others responses. And @Randall Alan brings up a good point regarding insurance inspections. I once had an insurance company threaten to drop me because they drove by my house and noticed that my roof was in bad shape.

Interesting topic. Haven't thought much about this but I guess these are some habits and behaviors that have contributed to my success:

-Work/Life balance

-Healthy diet (most meals)

-Exercise 3x Per week

-Always learning (books, blogs, podcasts, forums)

-Always networking (meeting agents, contractors, wholesalers, etc)

-Build real and genuine connections (not surface level networking)

-Always underwriting deals (even when I'm not a buyer)

-Being consciously confident, decisive, passionate, positive, and creative.

Those are very sound goals. Perfect in fact. I wouldn't change a thing.

With that being said, they will be easier said than done to achieve. I had similar goals when I was in Corporate America and looking to head out to pursue real estate full time. I only ended up checking 2 of those 3 boxes before I decided to leave, but still felt confident to take the leap.

There was 1 more personal goal that I didn't even have on my list, but when I achieved it, I knew I was ready. And that was:

Experience.

When I left Corporate America I had flipped dozens of houses over the prior 10 years. I had bought and sold short term rentals, long term rentals, and commercial property. I had built a spec home from the ground up. I had built up a network of agents, wholesalers, designers, contractors, and lenders.

In hindsight, that experience and network was even more valuable than the financial milestones.

You didn't specify your cash flow number. But I'll estimate.

$1,850 gross rent

-$830 mortgage

-$150 property management

-$100 misc utilities/maintenance/etc

-$100 repairs/capex/reserve fund

=$670 per month cash flow

Obviously this is VERY rough math with a lot of assumptions. But if your cash flow is $670 per month, that is $8,040 per year. And if you're making $8,040 per year with $250k in equity, you are currently getting a 3.2% return on equity. Not good.

Seems like a good plan to either tap into your equity with a HELOC, or sell and move the money into something that will return something more in the 8-12% range.