All Forum Posts by: Andrew Robbins

It was 5 1/2 years ago, so my memory is a little hazy, but I think I was able to use the HELOC right away. My HELOC was with a different company than my first mortgage. Yes, conventional loan on the rental was with different company than HELOC. Hope that helps. Good luck!

This is how I bought my triplex in 2009. I was fortunate enough to get a HELOC on my primary residence to use as the down payment of 25% (that's what was the minimum required for non-owner occupied). Then I just got a conventional loan for the other 75%. It's worked out great.

Of course 5 years later, my primary residence has appreciated quite a bit, so I just got a much bigger HELOC to use as a down payment on a second property.

Thanks, Mark. Totally get it. Just to add context. This is a realtor I did a standard MLS deal with 5 years ago, and he stays in touch with me -- so we kind of have a pre-existing relationship. He knows my intent to get into this a little more seriously, and I don't think he questions my loyalty -- he knows I'm going to go to him to sell the house once I fix it up. So my initial post was really trying to find out if it's unreasonable to ask him to help me for free on the first one (thru wholesaler this time) if he knew that he could benefit on the back end from this first flip and then for (hopefully) many more to come. So yes, asking for his guidance AND willing to pay (just on the back end). :)

In my limited experience, it's always been title, but my only experience has been traditional sales via MLS with brokers. I'm not sure if anything changes for off-market listings. Not sure why it would, but then again I don't even know what I don't know!

Hello Los Angeles,

New to BP. Trying to get some deals sent my way to view.  If this is not the appropriate forum for this, please let me know where that is. (Sorry, still trying to figure out the site)

Looking for SFRs (or duplexes) to flip. Preferably 3+ bdr.  Looking to get in somewhere between $300k and $550k.

Thanks!

Good advice, all. Thank you! To be more specific, I think I'm talking more about buying from a wholesaler. My only experience buying thus far is through more conventional means MLS etc. I just remember signing a million documents with contingencies, negotiating to have the seller pay for certain things, while I the buyer paid for others, etc. So while I'm not afraid of jumping on a deal if the price is right and making the right offer monetarily, I'm just not confident about any of the fine print -- i.e. not putting in the right contingencies, and/or getting stuck with huge expenses that I didn't count on because I didn't put the right terms in the contract. I didn't have to worry about that stuff till now!

Thanks, Wayne. Glad that's not an unreasonable ask.

Apologies in advance for stupid question.  It's a little daunting for me to write an offer for the first time on a wholesale property.  Don't want to make expensive mistakes.  Would a realtor help guide me through the process of writing the offer the first time, so that I'll know how to do it in the future?  The "what's in it for him?" part is that he's going to get the commission when I sell it in six months.  Am I being naive?  If so, is there a foolproof guide I can get somewhere to learn the in's and out's of making an offer?  Thanks!!

Thanks for the reply. Makes a lot of sense, and tells me I have a lot of reading to do! I guess I was speaking more to an apples to apples situation.  A 500k house in L.A. is truly a lower to mid middle class neighborhood house -- maybe what a 100k house would be somewhere else.  My question was more: wouldn't those two houses need the same amount of work since they are attracting the same type of buyers?  And wouldn't that same amount of work cost about the same in each market (ok, maybe it'll be a little more expensive in LA)?  And the 500k houses never just need 10k - 20k worth of work :)

Newbie here from L.A.  Obviously expensive to start flipping here, so considering starting in less expensive markets.  Here's what I don't get...  In browsing other markets, I often see wholesale listings that need 10k to 20k worth of work.  I never see this in L.A.  Everything needs at least 50k worth of work.  Here's my question: Doesn't it cost (more or less) the same amount of money to rehab a 3bd house in a less expensive market as it would in L.A?  It makes sense to dump 50k or more into a house if you're buying it for 500k and selling it for 700k, but how can you do that with a house you buy for 80k?  Not like you're going to turn around and sell it for 280k in that market.  Anyone shed some light?  Thanks.