All Forum Posts by: Daniel Raposo

Hey @Jake Baxter

Sometimes these are the best properties to go after, because a lot of other investors would just send a letter to the address in the tax records and end their search there. You've been given a lot of other great advice so I won't go crazy here, but the key is to keep searching for more information. Use google and try different combinations of information you have, like name and address or name and town, for the various addresses and information you have. Try using white pages.com or sometimes you can pay a small fee for a reverse phone number search. And I definitely would not hesitate to knock on someone's door, it may feel uncomfortable at first, but it is the fastest way to show someone you are serious about your business and make a personal connection with a seller. Some people may take offense to it, but in my experience this is a small minority.

Good luck!

HI @Liz Cresci

Yes, this meeting is typically held the last Wednesday of every month, so there will be another coming up soon. The Southern CT REIA run by @Account Closed is going to be meeting Thursday, October 8th in Norwalk if you are interested in that.

Good luck!

Hi @Joshua Greenwald

I am an investor in CT and just a heads up, I believe the rule here is any lease longer than 1 year needs to have a notice of lease filed in the land records. 

Aside from that, I think I would pass on this deal based on the value numbers alone. You already said you think the property was worth in the range of $120k-140k so why would you want to potentially pay more for the property than it is worth? You realize your "purchase price" would essentially be the balance of the loan ($125k) plus the $2,718 you're putting in plus your other closing costs like attorney and filing fees. You could potentially be paying $10,000 more than the house is worth!!!

I see what you're thinking as far as being able to get into a property for only the $2,718 but even then I don't think its worth it from a cash flow perspective. As @Ben Leybovich pointed out before, best case scenario you would be looking at $250 a month in revenue. This doesn't include insurance, maintenance, cap ex, leasing, accounting, or any other expenses! I think one of the only pieces of advice you will see continually given throughout this site and almost never rebutted, is that it is better to be conservative in your estimates and not buy based on best case scenario. Your response to Ben above was definitely a best case scenario and not a worst or even middle case scenario.

I think it is great that you are thinking outside the box to make your first deal happen, but I just don't think this is a good deal and it seems like the other investors on here agree. I know it can be frustrating to walk away from something you think could work, but it is always better to walk away from a potentially bad deal and spend your time looking for the next deal that could be great.

Good luck on the next one.

Hi Claud,

Four months isn't that bad, I bought my first apartment building (6 units) in 2007 and didn't buy another property until 2013!!! 

Now I'm mainly focused on fix and flip properties in the lower Fairfield County area. I am also looking at a few potential vacation rentals, what areas are you looking at for those?

Welcome back!

Dan

Hi @Matthew Cottrill

Congratulations on finding BP and pulling the trigger on your first property! 

What kind of deal is this? The type of property and type of deal will be the two biggest factors in the type of financing you can get and where to get it. I think if you provide a little more information you may get some better assistance from the forums. Here is some basic information you should try to provide, but throw in whatever else you think would be helpful.

Type of Property (SF, MF, commercial, condo, etc.)

Type of Deal (buy and hold, rehab flip, wholesale double close, etc.)

Are you or your buddy putting up any money for a down payment? If so, how much?

Provide some numbers as well, purchase price, rehab costs, ARV, timeline, income and expenses for rental properties, etc.

What kind of lender or loan are you looking for?

@Tony Velez

Thanks for starting this thread, I always love to read @Account Closed @Ben Leybovich @Joe Fairless and these other guys going back and forth about this kind of stuff. I think this is a good starting point for newer investors, but also think part of the reason some of the more experienced guys on here think it is a waste of time is because they can typically look at a deal sheet and know on instinct whether or not to spend the time analyzing the property further.

To more specifically answer your question, I do not think you should make an offer on a property based on the 50% rule. I think if you are going to use the rule at all it should be for single or smaller multi families and then only to determine if it is worth further analysis. At that point you should contact the seller or listing agent to get more detailed information such as rent roll, expense history, etc. and proof of these expenses with things like leases, utility bills, etc. 

I hope this thread has helped, if anything I enjoyed reading through it. 

Welcome @Kelena Holmes

If you're looking to get started you just struck gold by finding BP.

As mentioned above, the learn tab has some excellent resources including my favorites the blogs and podcasts. I would suggest to start reading as much as possible and then search the forums if you ever have any questions that pop up as you go. Also, try to get out and meet other investors at Meetup and REIA groups. I have learned a lot and found some good deals just by meeting the other investors in my area.

Good luck!!

Welcome to BP @Tony Velez

Check out some of the local meet up groups, there are quite a few in the Fairfield and New Haven County areas. I hope to meet you out there!

Good luck!

Dan

@Alex Cotter

I work in Norwalk (actually working on my first two lot subdivision and new construction deal there right now) and am familiar with Wilson Point. First I would ask what kind of interest do you have in the property? Do you have it under contract with the seller, is this a family owned property, or do you own it out right? 

I would echo the other responses on here about your valuation being off a bit. The 33% "Rule" does tend to be pretty accurate around here for new construction as well. Meaning builders are paying roughly 1/3 of their Sale Price for the land and the other 2/3 makes up their development costs and profit. So your valuation of $1.3M sounds high unless you can build a $4M house there.

The last point I would make is that waterfront properties can sometimes (not always) be more difficult to develop depending on the land features, topography, and such. Finding a builder that works along the coast would be key.

All of that said, I think your first step is to solidify your interest in the property in a way that is flexible on price and then approach coastal builders about doing some form of joint venture. Let me know if you want to get together and discuss in person, I would be more than happy to help.