All Forum Posts by: Michael Hart

I was in the same position long ago (early 90's I think it was). I was interested in RE so I got my real estate license and jumped in. Hated it. No training back then other than "work your warm market" which essentially meant "hit up your family, friends and anyone else with a pulse who might know you". But that was many years ago. Has that changed? Possibly, but not likely. If you jump into being an agent w/o much knowledge or experience, be prepared for rough times. Personally, I think new agents should be required to do an "internship" of sorts with an experienced agent before being let loose on family, friends or anyone else for that matter. It's a very competitive, cut-throat kind of business. Fortunately for me though, within a few months of starting as an agent, a couple of experienced and successful investors offered me a position helping them find, bid, buy, repair and market properties for their portfolio. Learned more in a week with them than 6 months as an agent. The main thing you need to learn as a real estate investor IMHO is how to market real estate.   

In GENERAL, typical SFH:

Best time to buy (for lowest prices) is when kids are in school. The worse the weather the better. Fewer sellers, fewer buyers, fewer options, less competition. 

Best time to sell (for highest price, quickest sell) is when kids are out for summer vacation because most parents prefer moving when kids are able to start next grade at new school. 

@Tom Brooks @Ton L. @Amy Arata all offer good advice. 

My experiences were similar. If you're going to paint, oil based primer is the only option short of a complete tear out of all drywall. I wouldn't waste money on latex paint & primer in an attempt to cover nicotine stains or smell.  

Even oil based primer will require at least 2-3 coats to get any coverage and unless you scrub down with TSP or something similar first you could still have spots show through.

Primer & paint will brighten things temporarily and give a "little" cover for the smell but short of replacing carpets and a whole house scrub down it will have only minimal effect and for a limited time. 

Whether it will have much of an effect on appraisal is a coin toss.           

That "what the hell did I just do" freak out feeling is normal for someone who just bought their 1st rental. Sounds like a good deal based on your numbers. 

Honestly, the first thought I had after hearing the numbers and seeing how the seller lied about the tenants was ... "is it a legit sale, did he close with a local real estate attorney, does he have title insurance".  

Assuming all is good there, I'm curious why the seller would let it go for so little. His character appears questionable at best. There are legit reasons to sell at less than 50% of value but it makes one wonder. 

And the house next door is currently for sale as well? Why are they selling? Are there many homes for sale in the area? I'm not asking ... I just hoping these are things you considered before you bought it.    

I know I'm not helping ease the "buyer's remorse" with these questions unless you already have positive answers already, in which case I say "bravo, good deal"!    

Take a friend and knock on the door! If that's not an option for you, write out a simple postcard and drop it in the mail: "Thinking about selling your home? I'm a private investor interested in buying homes in your neighborhood. If you're thinking about selling, please call me. My name is Elizabeth and you can reach me anytime at 555-555-1212" ... Follow up in one week with another postcard if you haven't heard back. (Virtually no one follows up but most good deals come from "follow-up")!

@Calvin Gittens The short answer: Absolutely!

As @Jerry Ta said, depends on the market. Older homes, blue collar neighborhood I would do a light sanding on the cabinets then repaint 3-4 coats and add new hardware to update look. Countertop, new formica top from depot or lowes to update. Flooring, linoleum flooring most likely (possibly ceramic, depending on competition for renters but probably not). Someone mentioned a backsplash, definitely ... cheap and very easy to install. Again, all depends on neighborhood age / style and demand for rentals in the area. It never hurts to be the best looking property available. Starts at the curb! People are willing to overlook a thing or two inside as long they look good to friends and neighbors from the outside.  

@Mindy Jensen @Guy Jimenez Good suggestions. He's got to know you can't sell what you can't show ... unless it's pennies on the dollar. 

When I have a house I schedule "showings/tours for 1 day a week (typically Sat) and get as many people there at the same time as possible. Creates a little competition among potential buyers. 

Video is a good idea. Get a vid, leave out the street address. Make your video from still shots of the the house. Slide show style. Fade in fade out with a little background music (much better than shaky handy cam with someone talking through the vid). Check readytogovideo.com for example vid. Get good pics and my daughter will make a vid for you if you don't want to do it yourself.  

@Jay Hinrichs 

very common misnomer Real Estate can and does go to zero and actually goes negative.

many ways.. look at blighted inner cities.. many properties have zero value.. environmental issues on a property.. etc... but generally speaking I hear ya.. but I think this is one thing that has led many investor to lose lots of money over the years.. thinking that RE is a SURE thing and they can't lose... nothing can be farther from the truth.

**** Sure, I get the drift. Sounds like you're looking at it from a different perspective though. As a developer I'm sure you face issues I've yet to encounter. You play in a different ballpark. I'm prob small time in your book. But as a SFH buy and hold or buy and flip guy who is very careful about the when / where / how much, I've never had a problem. Had a scare in 2008 like most people but buying right and planning ahead served us well. Short of a national disaster it's hard for a small time SFH real estate investor to get hurt if they have a little knowledge, buy right and plan ahead. But like I said, I get your drift. And wish you well!

Jeeze! I'd love to see that itemized to see how he's coming up a 30k quote. 

Sounds like a PFA number. There has to be a lot more to this than what we're seeing on the estimate, right? Looking at that estimate it appears he's quoting you on a total of 49 windows. 39 removed, replaced with new, touching up paint. 10 more, replace broken pane only.

Looks like the contractor is confused on what he's doing or he's hoping you're confused.  

I've had several replaced in the past both in Georgia and in South Florida. You've got to be careful who you choose as a contractor because pricing for a lot of them will be whatever they think they can get away with! 

I usually opt for windows a little above medium quality. Cost in your area of the country may be different but on average $200-$225 per window installed. (Avg $200 here in GA and a little higher in S. Florida). Specialty windows can be double (even triple) that but on average for a typical 32x60 window of decent quality $200-$225 per.