All Forum Posts by: Christopher Blanco

I guess they don't care if property sits vacant and is an eyesore to the community. What an idiotic policy. This place will never sell. 

I am looking at a fix and flip in Shaker Heights, OH. The house is a gorgeous 1925 colonial just begging to be rehabbed. The numbers work out fine for a normal flip. 70% ARV is $154,000. I estimate repairs to be around $90K, and I can probably get the place for under $45K in its current condition. The problem is the city requires an itemized list of repairs with estimates of repair for each violation. 90% of the violations are things like peeling paint, windows and doors not working etc. I plan on replacing all of them anyway so most of the violations are moot. After the itemized estimation they require 150% of the repair costs to be put in escrow.

Has anyone dealt with a situation like this? How did you handle it? I really don't want to tie up more than $130K in this house, any chance the city will reconsider since I plan on a gut anyway?

I don't know who would buy this place or any place in Shaker Heights with these requirements!

@Steve Vaughan I would want to have the property on the market in April. So work would be done during winter with a house ready for the spring and summer market. I was going to use part hard money. I have about 40K of my own money to put in, unless you know some private investors you want to send my way! :)

"That easy" was relative. I have no doubts that this will be an arduous task. I guess I was just surprised to find a deal on MLS that the numbers worked so well on. Thanks for all of your input. I am going to go look at the house tomorrow and see if the investment makes sense.

I am a new REI implementing a fix and flip strategy in the east suburbs of Cleveland and maybe even into Geuaga and Lake Counties. I would also like to transition into a BRRRR strategy as a secondary exit for some of the lower end homes. I am looking to close my first deal in the next 60 days, perform 4-6 next year, then ramp up to 2 a month after that. I am looking for recommendations for GC's that are used to working with investors. I am looking at two types of flips: neighborhoods with $200-$400K houses and houses in the 100-150K range. I would love to connect with someone on bigger pockets just to talk since I don't have a deal closed yet. If you are a contractor, send me a PM here. If you have a recommendation please post here.

Thanks! 

I think I found a great first deal...but it seems too good to be true. The deal looks like this:

• Its a single family forclosure, the asking price is $52,900
• House is a 1920 colonial. It needs a TON of work, but is beautiful!
• Comparable homes in the neighborhood sold $175K-$275K
• The house RIGHT next door, comparable (4bed, 4 bath, 2200 sq feet) sold for $229K last month
• I estimate to get up to the neighborhood standards, I would need to spend about 85K
• I estimate about 20K in buying, holding, and selling costs
• If I sell it for 200K, I can make $43K

Is it really that easy? Am I overthinking this?

@Account Closed  I think what they mean is that they will send a proof of funds letter to me based on the amount I am "pre-approved" for. Much like in a conventional home loan, you go to the bank and they give you a letter you can give buyers stating that you are very likely to get this financing for a certain amount. Lima Capital is pretty big and from what I can tell pretty respected...I doubt the letter would be "fraudulent"

I just sent a pre-approval application to Lima Capital. They will pre-approve you and give you a proof of funds letter without a deal. Once I get an idea of what they have to offer, I will try other lenders as well. Is it a good idea to have multiple lenders ready to go? Makes sense to me at least. 

I should have about 40K in cash. In the area I am focusing in, most REO and distressed properties are going for 9K-35K, and have an ARV of 75K-100K. So i can probably just pay for cash out for the property if needed. I would need to finance the repairs, but that seems backward. So my thought is to use my 40K for repairs and get the a HML to finance the purchase. Does that sound right? Will an HML fund near 100% if I am fronting the repair money?

Thanks so much for the replies! When talking to financiers before having a deal, what are good questions to ask? Do they pre-approve investors like you can if you are buying a home as a home owner?