All Forum Posts by: Donald Capwell

Great thread.  Thanks for sharing your experience.

@Account Closed - Step 4.1 can also be accomplished by adding a good real estate agent to your team.  This may take some time (but not too long), but when you build the right relationship with one or more agents, it becomes a quick text or phone call, and you'll get reliable comps.  Zillow / Trulia can give an estimate, but an agent can dial it down closer for you.  

The only other thought I have on this - You said that you want to get into rehabbing, but need to start as a wholesaler. You've already had a few folks on this post reply that they'd be interested in what you can bring to the table eventually and are willing to go on a buyers list. As you speak with and build relationships with other investors, breach the topic of doing some JV deals with them... you bring the deals and be their "errand boy" (doing the crap jobs that they don't want to do), and you split the full profit instead of just picking up a few thousand dollars.

This is with the understanding that rehabbing is your end game, though, and not if you want to build a wholesaling business.  What I mean to say is, what is your GOAL in real estate?  Do what you have to do to work to that end - not pour all of your time and resources into one avenue KNOWING that you are going to change down the road.  If you want to be a wholesaler, pursue it with all of your passion - but if rehabbing is your ultimate path, use the techniques of successful wholesalers to find deals, then take those deals to a mentor that will help you toward your final goal.  Lather, rinse, repeat!

Go get 'em!

I agree with the others, @Mark Ferguson.  Develop and document the system, train someone who is not a seasoned technician, and follow up to make sure he/she stays on track.  A great, quick read to do this is The E-Myth Revisited.  If you read that slowly, to digest and meditate upon it along the way (and take notes), it may take a week.  Then do.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

@Bill Gulley, I took issue in the delivery, not the lesson.  Someone with as much experience as you have on this site is looked up to on this forum, and should be, so why give others the wrong impression of yourself?  I don't know you, or your writing/speaking styles, so thank you for understanding my perspective and willingness to consider the way your post was received, as I also consider your post from a "sacrastic humor" point of view.

I'm not one that likes to enter into public diatribes, and I won't begin here.  Neither of us has time for that (and I doubt either of us care enough to keep this alive)!  If you are interested, I'd be willing to share more with you (offline) about my experiences (which really can't accurately be appreciated from my now 23rd post on this site, by the way), and my perception of your post.  My contact info should be visible on my profile page.  You can drop me a line with the best time and number to call you, and I'd be honored to speak with you about this or anything else that interests you :)

At the end of the day, the mission of BiggerPockets is to be a site to help us learn, and when we can, to help others along their REI journey (if we have a heart and the time to do so). As a mentor, you shouldn't feel the need to (or even be expected to) handle everyone with kid gloves, but my offering is that tact goes a lot further in helping people than a big fat sarcasm stick. There's no need for me to say anything further here, so I won't, but I trust you will understand my point and the reason for my chiming in. Thanks for being open to what I hope was received as constructive criticism, and I'm sincere in my offer to chat when you have time.

Kindest regards... DC

Wow, @Bill Gulley, if you really want to be helpful, to the OP or the masses, You should leave your "sarcastic humor" to yourself.  Truthfully, yours is the rudest and most disrespectful post I've read here on BP, which doesn't line up with the mission of this forum as I understand it.

My two cents - you don't HAVE to reply to comments here, and probably shouldn't if you think your comment was humorous or helpful in any way.  This message may seem ironic, and I'll probably get blasted by you or others that think your experience gives you justification to put others down, but in the interest of policing ourselves, you were out of line, and your follow up was just as bad.

Let the beatings begin!  

Hi, @Kyle Bigger.  Interesting thread, and thank you for being transparent.  That is not an easy thi to do, even in a relatively sterile environment like BP.  

@Brian Burke eloquently stole my thunder.  What I'd add to the mix is that I could see myself happy to sell a house for considerably less than market value, given the right situation - and I'm speaking about today, as an informed investor / seller.  I wouldn't at all feel taken advantage of, either, if I needed to get "out from underneath" a property, and you were there with a fist full of cash and offered a quick, painless close!  @Jeff S. gave a great example of his experience, and then there are all of the tired landlords out there that have had enough with replacing burned carpets, repeated evictions, police showing up at the house for domestic violence complaints (yes, these were some of my tenants).   You may learn a seller's motivation in the interview, but if you haven't lived it, you don't know how grateful they can be to walk away clean, quick and with cash.  It's true that they could get a "better deal," financially, but many times the cost of waiting for that extra money outweighs the financial benefit... It's not always about the money...

I also like @Chad Carson's approach, and it's important to give the seller this information... If you are really concerned for the seller, do what you can to educate them, and then step back and give them time to digest.  At the end of the day, We are in a position to help sellers find a solution to their problem, and the solution just might be sell the home at retail through an agent.  No worries, just make the connection if you aren't an agent, then move on (collect a bird dog fee from the agent, and sleep with a clear conscience).  Sadly, not everyone negotiates from a position of integrity, but if you do, I think you should feel confident that you are helping the seller, the future buyer, and in many situations, the neighborhood... One house at a time.  

hi, @Lucas Machado.  Can you send me the street address and full details, please?  Thanks.

Welcome, @Jennifer Jenkins.  Sorry about your experiences so far here in Fredericksburg... For what it's worth, contractors can be difficult regardless of your race, gender, or location!  :)  Good luck as you move through the early stages.  I've been on the BP site for a couple of months, and have chosen the wholesale approach, with the option of rehabbing/sell if the right deal comes along.  I'm focusing my efforts and marketing specifically in the FBurg area, so if I'll let you know if I come across a buy and hold that looks good.

Enjoy the site... I know I have!

@Jessica Swingle, do you invest in FBurg?  We recently "LinkedIn" together - but we haven't met, yet.  Can I call you later this week? 

Thanks for posting this thread, @Eddy Dumire. I am a new investor in Fredericksburg, so it is interesting to see how you are handling this. You've got a great attitude about it, for sure! Hope to meet you at next weeks meetup of the REIA... Cheers!