All Forum Posts by: James Likis

Thank you, @Nicholas Walker @Tim VandenToorn @Logan Laperriere! Looking forward to connecting with each of you further, I sent you each connections/messages. 

My partner @Jami Rahman and I are looking to network with local real estate investors in Grand Rapids. We are investing from out of state and have started to connect with local team members. We would love the chance to connect with and learn from active investors in the Grand Rapids market. If you'd be willing to connect,  let us learn from what you've got going on, hear what we're looking to get started with, and see how we can support each others investing goals, please drop a line here, connect, or message directly. 

A bit about us: we are currently investing long distance in Kansas City and are looking to get started in a new market. My wife was born and raised in Grand Rapids with lots of family still local, so it's a place I know decently well while still having plenty to learn. We are aiming to fix and flip properties in the $250-350k ARV range.

Thank you for the update on your journey, @Fakaradin Floyd! Great to see all the progress you're making. I hadn't considered STR arbitrage until about 6 months ago, and I do like the idea of adding that cash flow play into my portfolio moving forward. Best of luck as you continue to grow!

Let's go @Mariana Diaz!!! Congrats on starting the process of getting licensed! 

Thank you, @Shawn Parsh. I like your framing of more folks to help build the business. Great to hear concrete examples of how you’ve done that. 

Thank you @Bill J Fay. Agreed on treating them like a business partner. 

Is a project manager typically a choice to do instead of a general contractor? Or in collaboration with? Sorry that’s a rookie question, but curious because I hadn’t thought of outsourcing a project manager role given it’d be a single flip at a time to start. 

We are preparing to do fix and flips long distance in a city where we have plenty of family. We’ll have a realtor on the team and set up systems for the contractor team to provide us with video and picture updates. 

That said, there’s nothing like folks who are exclusively in it for you. My in-laws would be our go to folks to have eyes on the rehab process and walk rehabs on a regular basis. They are retired and love this stuff — like would legitimately enjoy talking with contractors, walking the site, taking videos, the whole deal. 

I want to make sure they are compensated for their time since they will be a major value add. Have others had a similar set up? What sort of compensation set up could you see working well in this set up? All thoughts and recommendations welcomed!

As mentioned, an operating agreement is key. I’d also recommend spelling out explicitly the timeline or benchmark the team wants to hit before deciding if or how to exit the investment. Ex: once the value of the property increases by $200k according to X estimate or set of comps, we will sell the property. Your agreement should spell out how profits are split, but adding a timeline or benchmark can help align everyone further and set expectations. 

Agree with @Cliff H. and @Corey Hassan about the New England specific dynamics for both STR regulations and seasonality. One next step @Zachary McHugh could be to dig into the resent discourse in a particular city or towns city council (or like governing body) about STRs. 

For example, when I looked into it this summer Gloucester had rejected an STR restriction and kept more STR friendly regulations in place. That can certainly change, but good to know where things are at currently town by town. Given your interest in arbitrage, and update such as that could give you some potential security that you'd be able to operate for at least a year.

Welcome @James Murphy. I live in a two family in Dorchester. Are you also local to Boston or investing here long distance?