All Forum Posts by: Eliott Elias

I personally think letters are outdated, unless your doing volume. By the time the homeowner sees a handwritten letter they would have been approached by many others to buy the home. I still believe in cold calling, but not in a way that directly implies you want to buy the home. Be smooth 

Call the city and ask what the process looks like to get it approved. They are going to send out an inspector from the city and make sure it is up to code. More than anything I would say to use that information as leverage to negotiate 

Get on Facebook! The best way an out of state investor can get a feel of your market is by joining local Facebook REI groups and spectating. Locate those people and reach out!

The key is to find a contractor/subcontractor you can trust. It is a lot more expensive to hire out a GC to handle your project than to hire out individual jobs. The trade off is with subs you are going to have to hold your workers hand throughout the span of your project. How much time do you have? Contractors are picking and choosing work and are pricey in this market. I have a few contacts, happy to share them with you. 

Location location location. Look at your area and identify what there is a need for. Mobile home park, boat storage, RV storage, rezone and sell the permit! 

You usually want to show the bank the property is stable. 6 months seems to be the timeline 

I don't see why they would need to know what you paid for it. How does that affect the ARV?

Join the Contractor Network page Houston page. Make sure you vet them and pay them AFTER they complete work. I can’t say they’re all good but it is a good place to start

REO's and foreclosures are a tricky and risky game. I would not recommend this to be your first investment property. Every state has different regulations and keeping up with current laws are crucial. Most times these are site unseen and you have no idea the condition of the property, some don't have leases so you have to go through the eviction process.

I always recommend getting your real estate license. It opens the doors to so many more opportunities and makes you in my opinion an elite investor. Save 3% on the buy and sell, and mls access