All Forum Posts by: Josh Parra

Thanks John Knisely ! Tyler Smith hit me up, we work with a great agent and she knows how to hustle!

Welcome Tyler Smith ! I’m in State College and completing high end flips geared towards professionals and University staff. We have our latest one on the market if you ever want to check it out. We’re looking to get into buy and holds but it’s expensive here in State College so we’re focusing on Bellefonte and Philipsburg among a few other places. Thank you for your service bro, I’m also a vet but a Marine Corps grunt ✌🏼 Shoot me a message and let’s connect :)

We're working on a few local real estate deals and looking for investors in and around the Centre County area in Pennsylvania. If you have any interest in the following, please let me know so that I can add you to our buyers list.

Thanks!

SF - 3bed/1bath, 1232 sqft., .48 Acres, Detached 2 Car Garage, Lewistown, PA

SF - 4 bed, 1.5 baths w/ 2 additional "rooms" in finshed attic space, 1984 sqft., Yeagertown, PA

SF - 4 Bed, 2 bath, 2342 sqft., .4 Acres, Spring Mills, PA

Hey Joshua Thompson I’m in Centre County, what areas are you looking? I mostly do flips but we’re gearing up to get our wholesaling marketing going so I can reach out if anything comes up. Feel free to send me a message. 👍🏼

@Enis Shehu

Sorry for the delay on this post!

@Enis Shehu Thanks Enis, I really appreciate it. Wish we could've connected when I lived in Boston, though I think I remember seeing you at a couple REI meetups! Hope all is well.

@Shirley X.

@Shirley X. A good team is definitely hard to find and we got lucky. Unfortunately our contractors that were partners split and I told them that I was sorry to hear that but on the plus side I now have 2 go-to contractors! ;)

I don't have a day to day schedule of the rehab. Usually we just go in order of operations for code inspections. For our this project I GC'd it but on our current one, I'm acting as GC and hiring out/managing subs. I visit the property everyday to make sure there aren't any hiccups and that the work is being executed to my standards.

The HW floors are red oak stained with a dark walnut stain. There was red oak throughout the home but the 1st floor was too bad so we replace them and wanted to match the existing flooring that we kept in the upstairs bedrooms. Best of luck with everything. Happy New Year!

@Dennis Walter

@Dennis Walter Thanks for the kind words Dennis, I appreciate it! Man, it's been a while. I hope you are doing great. We need to catch up again soon. Let's get some coffee when you're free. I'll shoot you a text :)

@Tony Wooldridge Thanks Tony! BP has been so helpful and is in fact how I met the first Investor that I apprenticed with in Boston. I even had coffee with @Brandon Turner when he passed through Boston with his wife. They're such great people. The project was a lot of work especially since my wife and I put in some sweat equity to save money. All of the painting bids were super high and we like to paint so we painted the entire interior. Some of the walls were old with a sandy texture so I skim coated and sanded them myself. I think most of the heartache is from wanting to move in now that it's completed. :( We're looking forward to the next one though. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Wishing you a successful 2017 as well!!!

@Jared Boundy Thank you Jared!

@Shirley X. Thank you Shirley! We were Leads on Nextdoor in Boston so the first thing that we did when we moved here was set it up for the neighborhood. Once it was active and neighbors joined we asked for contractor recommendations. Out of all the names that we received not one picked up or returned our phone calls. I then just Googled contractors in the area and searched through pages, checking out websites. I finally came across a local company that had nice photos of their work that seemed to be along the line as the our aesthetic. When I called they picked up right away. We met, I liked them, my gut liked them, so we gave them a whirl. I liked the structure and organization of their business and their bid was pretty reasonable so it seemed like a good fit. It took longer than I wanted from contract to beginning of work but by now we are familiar with each other's expectations. I think we were both feeling each other out. Now they have our project for their portfolio and we have priority when it comes to a job. We had a GC but I was over there single every day to take notes, look over the work and make sure everything was up to my standard. I'm sure we'll sub outcome smaller jobs in the future and just have a lead carpenter to pull permits. That's what my buddies do in Boston. 

@Shea Pepper Thank you Shea! That picture window is original to the house and everyone loves that deck! Ask people in your neighborhood if they have any contractor recommendations. You can also go to a local paint store like Sherwin Williams, Ace Hardware, even hardscaping companies and there is usually a place they have local business cards displayed. Do your due diligence in checking their work, references, etc. Don't be afraid to talk to or visit some of their past clients to check out the quality of work. Also try to learn about the work being done so that you have experience with how things need to be completed for future contractors. Some of the issues that came up weren't planned expenses. I budgeted a simple re-wire of existing lighting but when we opened up the walls we had a mix of different wires throughout. Plus we had missed that the main electrical line had been weathered and cracked on the side so water had been running down the line and into the panel so we decided to just re-wire the entire house. Doing so we added a few extras like running the hdmi and cable to the coat closet to keep the media hidden. We were also planning on re-using the deck joists of the existing deck but when we ripped off the boards the joists weren't salvageable so we rebuilt the entire deck. This was a great first project in this area because it was an extensive renovation and we can now have a better idea of local costs and can plan our budget contingencies better. 

After living in Boston for 12 years and learning from some of the BEST in the game, my wife and I decided to relocate back to her home town of State College, Pennsylvania. In Boston I worked with investors that converted multi-family homes into condos for the growing market of professionals. I attended many FREE local real estate investment networking groups and learned a ton of info. I hold a brokers license in Massachusetts so I'm comfortable with the Boston market but never got a chance to take the first step there. Moving to a market that I wasn't familiar with was a little nerve-racking because we were selling our Boston based business and starting from scratch but I knew that we had to make it work. I studied the market in State College and it seemed to be all over the place. Homes that hadn't been touched since the 70's were selling at market value in desirable neighborhoods. Our plan was to find homes that haven't been updated at a price reasonable enough for us to finish and sell as a high end home. None of the homes in the area had the amenities that we were used to in Boston so we decided to bring some metropolitan flare to this small town, and it worked!

We moved here last June and acquired our first project in September. We were introduced to the owner by my mother in-law. The owner had recently inherited/purchased the home with her brother from their family after their step-mother passed away. She relocated here from Washington to care for the home while her brother stayed in Maryland. She was eager to move back and the house had many issues that she couldn't keep up with. We met on several occasions, built a rapport, and I offered her a no hassle, reasonable, cash offer. Before agreeing her brother tried to buy her out by having a friend partner up with him and move into the house. After seeing the home his friend decided not to move forward so they ended up selling to us. 

Being a house that had been in the family, I promised that we would leave some original detail and that we would give the home the love that it deserves. I wanted to make her late step mother and their family proud of the renovation. Their step mother was very well known in the neighborhood, loved to entertain and everybody loved her so we knew that we had to do this right, especially since my wife grew up on the same street!

The property needed a full renovation which I budgeted around $150K with an ARV of $499K. The purchase price was $210K and about $220K since we paid for the seller's closing costs. This house needed EVERYTHING! New roof & siding on the house and garage, new garage door, new garage door opener, all new HVAC, complete house re-wire, all new plumbing, new hw heater, brought gas to the property, all new deck, new hardwood flooring on the first floor, all new interior/exterior doors/slider, overgrown back yard excavation, curb cut expansion, maple tree removal from in front of garage, new driveway, termite treatment, basement waterproofing system, basement wall reinforcement, and new footings since we open up the floor plan and vaulted a ceiling. There are probably a few things that I missed but it was quite the project. Some of these issues came about after we started construction so the budget obviously changed. We just wanted to make sure we addressed everything in order to present a turn key home for the new owners. Not only that, but this was going to be the first project for our portfolio in this new market.

Luckily for us we house hacked our home in Boston and sold it for a profit and we also sold one of our businesses so we were able to fund this deal with our own cash, which is what we initially planned. Our goal was to build our credibility in this new market in order to approach anyone to fund future projects. It just so happens that after seeing our final product, we were actually approached by a few people that want to fund our future deals! 

After it's all said and done, we spent about $200K on the renovation. The house is currently listed for $499K and we have it under contract for the second time. Our first buyer was a cash buyer but unfortunately the sale of their buyers' home fell through. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a smooth closing so that we can move on to the next project!

Here are the photos:

@Andrew Ross Thanks! Our current project we acquired through word of mouth. We are usually watching the market and using our network. We will however start a direct mail campaign on a regular basis. While working with other investors while living in Boston, direct mail had the best conversion rates. I'm not limited to SFH and would def explore other options. In Boston a 3 unit apartment building would be purchased and converted into condos. We acquired this property with cash for $210K and payed about another $10K for the seller's closing costs. We spent about $200K for the rehab. We removed a large maple tree in the middle of the non existent driveway, expanded the curb cut, paved the driveway, excavated and graded the overgrown back yard, put a new roof and siding on both the the house and garage, new garage door, new garage door opener, all new electric, all new plumbing, new HVAC, new HW Heater, opened up the floor plan, all new appliances, new kitchen, new hardwood floors on 1st floor, added a 1/2 bath, converted a bedroom into an en suite master bath, installed a basement waterproofing system, brought gas to the property and more. We used our own funds for this project because we needed to test our strategy in this new market. That said, we impressed a lot of people and picked up a few private lenders for future deals. Being a few blocks from Penn State University we wanted to produce a high end product that would attract University employees or alumni looking for a second home. This was our first project in the area but the response has been fantastic. We had a cash buyer with no contingencies but the sale of their buyers' home fell through. We are now under contract again with a different buyer. We have the house listed for $499K. I've met some great local investors in the area. Here are some photos of before and after. Keep in touch!

Welcome Andrew Ross ! I'm a Marine Corps veteran here in State College. My wife is from here and we just moved back after living in Boston for 12 years. We're wrapping up our first flip after moving back and is already under agreement. If you're ever in the area hit me up. Keep in touch!

@John Smeltzer Welcome to BP! Be sure to check out the podcasts and books BP has released. I'm located in State College. I moved back here from Boston last Summer. We're currently doing a high end flip a few blocks from campus. @Dennis Walter is another member living in State College and he's involved in buy and holds as well. If you're ever in the area let me know and we can meet up. I'd love to chat with you about your CPA services as well. Keep in touch!