All Forum Posts by: Dennis Cosgrave

I had a 16 unit apartment building and I had coin operated washers and dryers. I bought my own washers and dryers. I had a 3 strike rule. After the 3rd breakdown I replaced them. I always bought Whirlpool commercial grade machines. The company I bought them from also did the servicing. I earned about $100 per week so the machines paid for themselves very quickly. 

My neighbor across the street had the same number of units and decided to go the 50/50 split route. He got screwed out of that deal. He had to pay for all the water and electric while he only got half the revenue. We compared notes and I was doing far better than him. 

There is no hard and fast answer here. It is all a function of the market. If the market is volatile, I would be more inclined to fix and flip in order to minimise risk. If you are in an area where the market is very stable, then a buy and hold strategy makes more sense. 

Gary Lucido, I totally disagree with you. Finding the deal is at least 50% of the value of the commission. Negotiating the deal is another 30%. The rest can be done by any title company or RE attorney. 

I had a pool when I lived in Canada. I had a heat cover which looks like a giant piece of bubble wrap. As soon as the snow melted in the spring, I removed the winter cover and put the heat cover on. It took about 3 weeks to warm the water up. Another trick I learned was to run a black water hose back and forth across the roof. As the water recirculated through the pump, it would first pass through the black hose before returning to the pool. That made a big difference in both water temperature and heating bills. Fortunately, the pump was strong enough to pump the water all that distance. I know of other situations where the pump had to be upgraded but that cost was minimal to cost of heating. 

If the seller agreed to provide vacant possession, then he is responsible to pay the cash for keys. If he does not deliver vacant possession on the closing date, do not close without some compensation that is satisfactory. If that clause is not in the contract, you are on the hook to pay it.

I have always said, plan for the worst, and hope for the worst. If you planned for the worst, you will be able to weather it. If the best happens, it is icing on the cake. 

This is a classic example of inherent conflict of interest when the same brokerage firm represents both the buyer and the seller, even when different agents are representing each party. In Florida, buyers and sellers have to sign an agreement allowing the broker to be a "transaction broker" for both parties. The fiduciary is muddied to say the least. I have never and never will agree to that. If you have no choice, make sure you have a good real estate attorney who will clearly protect your interests.

Looks good to me! =o)

Todd Powell, this was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I have turned a larger profit on other deals but that happened over a longer period of time. When you calculate the ROI on this deal, on an annualised basis, no other deal beat it.

There are basically three reasons:

1) People have lost their jobs and do not qualify for a new mortgage if they choose to sell and repurchase.

2) People are still afraid of COVID and do not want strangers coming through their homes. They are delaying listing their homes until the threat has passed. 

3) Because of the decreased inventory, prices have moved higher in desirable areas, or have moved significantly lower in the big cities (NYC is prime example). Sellers cannot sell in less desirable areas for their asking price and buyers are being priced out of the market in desirable areas.