All Forum Posts by: Donielle Houston

@Clark Kirkpatrick Thanks!

@Clark Kirkpatrick Thank you for your response! It seems that everything is bad. The roof needs to be replaced. The heating is oil and the owner says he installed an electric hot water heater, but the basement was in such disrepair that we could not get down to see it. The back porch seems to be collapsing as well. There's also a huge attic. 

What contractors would you recommend in this area? We are newbie wholesalers and looking to build relationships and it would be much better to have someone walk through these homes with us. Thank you for your time!

@Yvonne Williams

Hi! I'm a real estate agent (since 2012) and newbie wholesaler. I look at the following:

House type: If the subject property is a rowhouse, your comparable must also be a rowhouse, etc.

Size: within 15-20% of the same size of your subject property

Beds: Subject property and comparable property should have the same # of bedrooms (otherwise you'd have to make adjustments and if you have no experience with making adjustments, this can mess up your estimate)

Baths: Should be the same #, but there is a little wiggle room if you can't find enough comparables.

Age: within 15-20% of the same age as your subject property.

Neighborhood: Comparables should be within the same neighborhood. This could mean within a half mile, same school district, etc. You kind of have to know the neighborhood for this one because a house can be only 2 blocks away but in a better school district or a different neighborhood. That could disqualify it as a comparable.

Here's the key: If you are looking to get an estimate of the subject property's current value, look at a combination of active listings, pending listings, and sold/closed within the last 180 days (6 months). Choose 3-5 comparable properties, preferably with the bulk being recently sold listings.

If you want to determine ARV, only look at sold/closed listings within the last 6 months giving preference to the most recently sold. These should be renovated/livable and not fixer-uppers because you want to get the pricing for the subject property if it were renovated.

Hope this helps. Here is a free tool below but you still have to filter the results manually using the tips above. The tool alone is not accurate without applying those tips: https://tools.reikit.com/comps/

Hi!

My husband and I got our first appointment after our first call to a seller. We went to see the house yesterday and it's a complete gut job.  We did not have a contractor go with us, because we do not know one in the area yet. We used the Realeflow.com repair estimator and it came up to about $85,000. 

Is there anyone here who is familar with the Pottstown, PA area? How much does it typically cost to renovate a home in need of a complete gut job? The house is:

1440 Sqft

3 bedrooms

1 bathroom

Lot size 4200 sqft

Is my estimate way off? Thanks for your help and advice. 

Hi!

I have deals in the north Philadelphia area specifically near Temple and the site of the multi-phase revitalization project of Blumberg Apartments. I am looking for cash buyers to bring deals to. Please contact me if you are interested. Thank you! 

 Thank you! 

 I sent you a message and colleague request. 

I forgot to mention that she wants $4500 for the house. 

Hi!

I had a property owner call me and she desperately wants to sell her house. It's about 30 minutes from Pittsburgh, PA and sits on a half acre lot.  It's a quit claim deed. The house is not local to me so I had a local contractor visit the house on my behalf. The owner told me that I could see the house anytime because the back door is unlocked (sounds shady) I didn't feel comfortable traveling that distance not knowing what I would be walking in to. The contractor went and was not able to get in because the house is boarded up and has a bunch of no trespassing signs on it. The homeowner lives in California and can not show the house herself. come to find out, she wasn't aware of the no trespassing signs. Is this worth my time? Here's the details: 

3 beds/1 bath single family house (detached) 

1116 sqft

$8000 in back taxes (She says but county records only show $150 in back taxes)

Comps in area: $74,000

Rehab needed: $30,000-60,000 (house is boarder up, no trespassing, etc Contractor was only able to properly see the outside of the house) 

lot size: 1/2 acre

Quit claim deed.

What do you think?