All Forum Posts by: Ray Slack

There is also a renovation worksheet somewhere on BP.  That lists job pricing.

I would offer to pay a contractor  $100 to walk through and give you a rough estimate on what you are looking at price-wise.. I'm a contractor and a flipper and I can walk through a house and (Barring anything behind the walls) know  what it's going to cost (within about 5-10%) to renovate it in about 30 minutes.

Really depends. On your areas of expertise and your tolerance for risk vs reward. I see you are in Hawaii.  You may want to look into Vacation rentals.  They have one of the highest returns but are very management intensive.   Flipping is one of the best returns but you need a lot of knowledge/skills.  Real Estate and construction knowledge.

It really depends on your goal.. If you are just looking for cash flow and are happy with the note rate and the risk go for it. I bought a performing note 15% interest 50%LTV and happily paid face value for it. It all depends on your game plan.

Ned is correct.   I'll just add in something else.   Appreciation.   In some areas. Cap rates are lower do to the assumed increase in value over time.   Investors are willing to accept a lower cap rate on a property because they feel the property has the potential to increase in value over time. (think California, NYC, Miami)  On the flip side areas with little to no chance of appreciation (think Baltimore, Detroit, Ohio)  sell for higher cap rates.  Basically, you are either making the money on the cash flow (Cap Rate) or the appreciation or a combination of both. 

I'm in Maryland. Are you talking about buying foreclosures on the courthouse steps? or buying REO properties through an auction company.. They are very different with different risks. Also the county you are buying in makes a huge difference in MD. Many counties are still very backed up.. PG county is currently taking 8-12 months to ratify sales after the auction and the buyer is responsible for interest, taxes, water bills, ect. from the date of the Sale. They are not prorated at closing.> This can add $15k to $25k to your "bid price" Finally, since you are "new to this" auctions are not for the new or informed. Study and research before you actually buy anything. Go to a few auctions and get a copy of the terms and conditions from the auctioneer. Read through them carefully or have any attorney explain them to you if you don't fully understand them.. They are very one sided. There are also priority liens that survive foreclosure.. Do not think you are getting something free and clear of all liens unless it specifcally states it. In Maryland those include, Taxes, Front foot assessments, water bills, ground rent and other less common ones. I just bought a house for $250k at auction that had a back front foot assessment of $13k had not been paid for the last 7 years.

what areas are you considering investing in? I'm also in Bowie.

Ray

Jack at dominion financial

Google them

Rates are fair and they are very easy to work with.

Ray

The shingles they use on my roofs are 25 year not 30.   Also my roofs average 25 sq .  So, the price would probably increase for smaller projects.

I pay about $100 per sq for materials  and $70 per sq in labor (but my roofer is a bit rough around the edges and comes from Virginia to PG county) so he probably wouldn't be interested in going to baltimore for a job but that should give you an idea of price.   $200 is reasonable.  $450 per sq is not.  Unless your roof pitch is really steep.  then you got to add 20%-30% to labor.