All Forum Posts by: Eric Frohman

@Matt I. Sorry I can help with engineering but if there’s anyone other grunt legwork you need done please let me know! I’m in the Philly area and trying to learn.

Hi All,

Anyone have a great property manager that covers Crowley - south of Ft. Worth?  Thanks!

Eric

@Carson Wilcox  this is some killer advice - thank you.  I'm going out tomorrow so no time for coffee first but i'll be sure to clarify at the outset what type of rehab i'm looking to do - that will definitely help ensure a more accurate estimate.  Plus we'll definitely be more on the same page if/when we go out again.

What do you usually add as a buffer above the quoted rehab cost - 10%? 20?

Thanks John - that's really helpful feedback.  To answer your question, this will be my first time meeting both of them.  However, the contractor is my neighbor's partner - my neighbor just doesn't do this part of the work for their company.  I've had a number of very positive reviews for them.

I like the idea of doing my own analysis and comparing with what they come up with afterwards - at least for ARV and rent - I don't know much about repairs.

I know a lot of folks like to find off-market deals and avoid the agent, however with just starting out I feel okay about using the agent but here is another question:  One of the properties we'll be looking at is listed at $34.5k and running the numbers I think I'd offer less than that.  If we go for that one what does anyone think about offering the agent $1-2k for his time.  If it's a good deal that will be paid for many times over and I don't want to turn off the agent by asking him to do tons of work for me and then he gets a check for a hundred bucks.

Hi All - I'm going on my first trip in South Jersey with my agent and contractor together to view some single family houses in disrepair - a mix of foreclosures and regular listings.  Our goal is to renovate and then rent.

Any advice on good questions to ask either the contractor or agent while we're looking around the properties?

Thanks!

Hi @David Weintraub - I missed this event.  Any advice on other ways to learn about buying at auction?  I'm most nervous about the idea of not being able to accurate estimate rehab costs.  How do you know if major items like plumbing or electric need to be replaced, etc?  Thanks!

Thanks everyone!  I can't wait to attend my first SJREIA meeting.  Hope to see many of you there! @Greg Paton @Odie Ayaga

@David Weintraub @Erik Cabral

Hi Mario - 

I started purchasing rentals before I bought my own house for cash flow.  I may not have done as well as some of the folks on BP but I'm up to three now, which took be six years.  

If I could go back to considering my first, I'd say if you have friends/family that have enough $ and you are confident in your ability to BRRRR (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) then you do not need to worry about fronting the cash yourself (except maybe a portion to show you have skin in the game). If you DON'T have investors or another source of money (hard money is an option but higher risk, harder to get, and more expensive) then buying something w/ 20% down may be your only option.

That being said, putting down the 20% on what has to be turnkey (since you don't have more $ to rehab) is a VERY slow way to grow a portfolio and the cash flow you get will take a while to build up.  But hey, that's what I've done, it builds credibility, and six years later I'm looking for my first investors to accelerate growth.

Best of luck!

@Erik Cabral Thanks for the tip!  I did see the Expo and very disappointed that I'll be out of town that week.  I definitely plan on joining SJREIA once I get back though.