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All Forum Posts by: Sean Carroll

Sean Carroll has started 58 posts and replied 434 times.

Post: Working with investors..

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@Lakischa Morgan it is not an absolute must, you can use an assignment instead of double closing. The benefits of a double closing is a hard money lender will cover the wholesale fee that way since the property is being sold for say 10,000 to the wholesaler and then 15,000  to the investor so the county records will show a sell of 15,000. If it is a cash buyer who plans to never use hard money then they should not mind the assignment fee. The downside to a double close is you have to have your own money plus the closing costs.
What I have heard of other wholesalers use private money for a fee, say the private lender wires 80,000 to the title company and then 24-48 hours later receives 81,000 back. Hope that answered your question.    

Post: Looking for Private lender on deal closing 2/20/2018

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

Hello, I am closing this Tuesday 2/20/2018 and would like to put the deal out there for any private lenders that may be interested. I am proposing 15% with interest payments made at the end of the refi. It would take 6 months of seasoning which would give a total return of approx. $6,1355.75 below is a link to my deal. Please let me know if I can answer any questions, I would love to connect.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/calculators/shared/748290/34a8e7f9-cc39-484b-8151-993dc53e9f1a

Post: Some Things I Have Noticed With General Contractor's In Cincy

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@Grant Rothenburger yes there is a very high demand for dependable, trustworthy, and transparent contractors in the area. We already have projects going, some lined up and are now hiring in order to move those projects that are pending forward. It has been very exciting with the constant learning and improving our systems!

Post: Some Things I Have Noticed With General Contractor's In Cincy

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@Matthew Paul to each is there own I guess, the way we have viewed it is why not pass on the savings. It is a win-win in our opinion. When we bid the materials we give them the current market price as sometimes the discounts we can get change, but once we purchase the materials then we pass on the savings.

Post: First things to take care of on a Midwest flip

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

Now on my third house in the Cincinnati market, I wanted to share some important lessons I have learned with rehabbing a house in the midwest. If I had followed these lessons from the beginning I would have saved my self a lot of time and headache. The weather in Cincinnati has been very odd this winter with 1 week being in the single digits and snow falling to the very next week the temperatures being in the 50's. These wild weather swings can take a toll on a house when it is not completely sealed or when the heat is not on. So lessons learned and I will not repeat it on the Rockdale house that will begin in 2 weeks.

Lesson 1: Always repair your roof first. If there are any questions about the integrity of your roof you should have that done in the first week of the rehab. If water or moisture begins to leak in through the roof it can reek havoc on the plaster inside.

Lesson 2: If there are no cellar doors on the entryway into the basement or some other form of a barrier to prevent rainwater from coming in through the entryway then get new doors or at least a slab of plywood over the entryway to prevent water and mud from entering your basement.

Lesson 3: Call at least 1 week ahead of time for ordering materials. Never order only a few days before. This can cause a major delay due to delivery issues of either being late or damaged materials.

Lesson 4: Use asana.com to manage the project. This tool has been a game changer for our contracting business as the partners can assign each other tasks and communicate over the platform to keep everything organized. We can also create individual projects for each property and put the project manager or foreman on the project. You then can type out the schedule of the project as tasks and he or she can mark them as complete showing you how far along the project is.

Post: Things to ask your General COntractors

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

Recently I have connected with a gentleman over BP and I have to say I am absolutely impressed by his vetting process and the questions he asks. He never asked a "silly" questions and only clarified when he needed to. I wish more people would clarify even if there is a hint of confusion so that way everyone is on the same page and no one feels like they are taking a hit from left field. I want to share some questions he asked and answer some of them and explain why they should be asked with every general contractor when you are selecting yours. Now if you do enough vetting and truly find someone you like I always say stick with them, pay them quickly on the agreed upon price and do not try to nickel and dime them to death. I also believe that you should work their pricing scheme into your calculation or communicate with them through the entire process from identifying the property, the initial walkthrough, the offer, and the acceptance. If your general contractor is annoyed by this then I say move on, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

1. Q: Are you licensed and insured?

A: Always make sure they are licensed and insured. In my market (Cincinnati), you do not need to be licensed as a GC unless you are dealing with plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. You have to be registered with the individual cities in order to apply for a permit. Always make sure the general contractor has a general liability policy as well so you are not held liable for any injuries or if the property is damaged.

2. Q: Do you carry a warranty with your work?

A: This one seems to be hit or miss if they do, at Gear'd Development we do back our work for 1 year but also offer a lifetime guaranty that a flipper can offer to the home purchasers and use it as a marketing tool. This lifetime guarantee is also great for investors doing the BRRRR method an can cut down on your maintenance costs.

3. Q: Do you have references?

A: We always offer references but the problem with this is it is very easy to offer you 3 references and they could be the only 3 references that liked the GC. We offer references but we also like to send you pictures of our work. We are constantly building our portfolio of work at different phases to show the quality of work being done.

4. Q: How long have you been in business?

A: this one is misleading because the company could be new but the contractor's experience could be 10 years. So I would always follow up with how long have you been doing this kind of work.

5. Q: Ask questions about every detail of the work such as who supplies materials, obtains permits, contacts the architects, and ensures the municipality in doing the inspections when needed.

A: This can all be handled by your GC and should be handled by your GC with emailing you updates every step of the way, if a week has gone by with no update then an email should be sent saying there is no update because that is still an update. The only thing a GC cannot handle is setting up draw inspections with lenders, that should be laid out in the beginning and the owner being notified when that draw inspections can take place, preferably scheduled 1 week ahead of when it should take place.

6. Q: What jobs are you working on currently that could affect mine?

A: A GC should never schedule a start date unless they are sure that they will have the manpower to take on all jobs. If they have a lot of jobs currently going they should be upfront that we plan in hiring in order to take this on sooner or they should schedule the remodel to take place when one of their jobs are complete. You should always have at least two people on your job on a daily bases.

7. Q: Do you provide lien waivers upon payment?

A: A GC should have no problem providing you a lien waiver upon receipt of payment for a set phase of the scope of work. For instance, the overall scope of work can be broken down into categories that are done on a weekly bases and when payment has been received a waiver is signed for the mini-scope of work. We actually have our own waiver we are able to provide flipped to send to them when payment is received.

8. Q: What ways do you communicate?

A: We have noticed email is the best way to communicate with a follow-up phone call. This way the main conversation is saved between both parties and can be referenced easily later. The follow-up phone call is to ensure there is no confusion and all questions are answered.

9. Q: Do you have an end of workday procedure?

A: This is very important because this can make or break a project. The end of workday procedure should include how to secure all materials, tools, and the premises. The premises should have all doors and windows locked, all flammable liquids stored in a fire approved container, the heat should be turned up to or down to the appropriate temperature, a light should be left on in at least one room to give the appearance the house is occupied.

10. Q: How will unexpected items be dealt with?

A: This is always a tricky thing to deal with, we like to call the owner and inform them of the issue and give them at least two options with the cost and the possible outcomes of the decisions. For example, you have termite damage after opening up a wall. The owner should be made aware of this issue and worked stopped on the area until the issue is dealt with. The owner is given the option of removing all the damaged wood with the given cost and added time letting them know there could be damage elsewhere and the house could fail inspection. The other option is to continue to open up walls around the affected area letting them know the additional cost and time frame and letting them know this is the best option to ensure the home passes inspection.

These are some of the big-ticket items that every GC should discuss with their client to ensure there is always a great working relationship. What questions do you ask you GC's? What do you wish your GC's would do differently? 

Post: Real Estate Agents in greater Cincinnati area

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@Paul Sian is my go to guy. Big time hustler for me and has tons of connections to help in every phase of your deal. PM me and I will give you is email and phone @Zachary Scholl

Post: house flipping question

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@George Blower and that entire $55,000, for example, would be a write off correct? Say I were to make a $55,000 contribution after I made $55,000 on flips would it then net out in taxes?

Post: Some Things I Have Noticed With General Contractor's In Cincy

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@Paul Sian it is a huge benefit to have a team behind you that understands your investment goals. One reason why I believe in transparency and making sure everyone comes out profitable. It's also one reason why we decided to develop a prepurchase product, gives you peace of mind with your numbers, a stronger offer potentially, and saves you time since we take a video of the walkthrough so you can refer to it in the future. I was very tired of looking at MLS pictures and either not being able to see the interior of the house at all or only portions and not knowing if the mechanicals were any good or if the roof was good. I feel like on the last purchase it really helped since I could offer with no contingencies since I already knew everything I needed to know without ever having to set foot on the property.

Post: Some Things I Have Noticed With General Contractor's In Cincy

Sean CarrollPosted
  • Investor
  • San Jose, CA
  • Posts 453
  • Votes 254

@Joseph Cornwell I agree it can make a great deal go completely south. I was tired of hearing from people how they keep getting screwed over GC's. If ever have a project you need work on feel free to PM me.