All Forum Posts by: John Hamilton

@Ryan Dossey

Thank you!  Very medieval and British of yo @:)

@Michael Gabrieli

 Although I couldn't direct you to any specific information, you might want to check with the county clerk and ask some questions of new action: developers (business and new homes), home sales in certain areas, etc.

Also refer to the unemployment office (though we know the numbers are fudged) and see if the can give you a report on current and projected jobless numbers. Run some google about available jobs in your county. It may not mean much, but you never know. You might spot something in a particular city/township.

Talk to a few commercial realtors and see if they know about new acquisitions or businesses coming into the area.

Network with commercial investors, too. 

Where did you get the information of your county's projected growth?

Maybe @Hattie Dizmondshould introduce her lady friends to @Ryan Dosseyolder gentlemen? You might get a deal if they get married and have to sell one or more of the houses to move into a condo or senior community. 

I jest, but you never know. 

They are here to stay, though they actionable strategies will have to stay current with the latest technology standards and demand from the people (sellers and buyers). If I owned a house and went into a realtor's office and told them what I wanted done for this transaction, showed me all they were going to do, and did it, and got me a reasonable offer and quickly closed with little fuss, why would I want to do all that work myself?

I, for one, am not a realtor and have no immediate plans of getting licensed as such. I want to be an investor. However, I view realtors as someone that I can rely on to perform certain duties. I may have to interview a few and go through a couple to find one that fits my needs. However, eventually, I will find one. I don't mind spending the money if they do a good job. It's like paying a mechanic to fix my car. I can do that myself as I have extensive schooling, training and experience in fixing most everything in a car (rebuilt engine, replaced tranny, suspension and shocks, etc). However, I don't have the tools, time, place, nor the interest in saving myself the money. Will it be done right and quickly? That remains to be seen. But, once they perform, I know I can start putting trust into that mechanic to repeat his performance on future repairs.

Same with realty. I know what needs to be done and can do most of the work myself, but don't have the time, tools, space and interest in doing that, so I'll leave it to a licensed professional.

By the way, I used to think that dealing with realtors was a necessary evil or was overrated. However, I suppose if you find one that performs and build that relationship, that would be priceless.

Be it a realtor or buyers, I'm surprised that people would just walk into a house that looks occupied. What about knocking or saying hello when you open the door? If there is a car, yard items, furniture in the house, it's pretty much a safe bet that someone is living there.

I , for one, wouldn't choose the option of no lock box. If you want to sell or rent you house, there is no other option. Maybe a sign on the door or a yard sign saying this house is occupied or please knock first before entering might stop the intruders. Also a trespassing sign saying prosecutors may be shot may stop people dead (pun intended) in their tracks.

Maybe you should have a list on a clipboard by the door to for all interested parties to list their names, realtors name, company and number, date and time of the showing. Put in some bogus ones to make it appear that people are complying with filling out the list.

I had a wholesaler give me codes. He was just too busy and said I could look at my leisure. 

I guess it depends on your comfortable level. If you have the time and both of your calendars allow an easy viewing schedule, why not go with them? You will find out more about them (can they close quickly, how will they pay, what other deals have they done?, are they buying for someone else, do they have a partner that will be principal too etc) and may establish a good working relationship with that buyer for future sales.

 Apparently, there is a market for that, lol She MUST know something we don't

 lol, I wondered if someone else caught that. I was going to say it would have been classic if they added, "Oh, and we're out of milk" to the "letter".

@John ThedfordAgreed to all.

Rather than get a license, for now, I will look for funding and buy the place outright. I can talk to banks or FSBO or go to auctions to find the deals. I'm wanting to do fix and flips anyways, not true wholesales.

Getting from other wholesalers can lead to unknown issues (doesn't actually own the property, just the paperwork, for example, or a daisy chain of wholesalers in the mix). It's best to talk to the direct owner, whether or not they're a wholesaler.

Eventually, I might consider getting a license as that seems the best route if I was to do wholesaling. My thoughts are, if you're licensed, there are rules that will hamper your abilities, or cut into your profits, to wholesale. Net listing, conflict of interests, brokers fees, etc.

Hire a handyman to do most of the little stuff. GC will cost too much for painting and stuff like that. GC will need to do most of the rebuild (structure, walls, electrical, plumbing, roof). Especially for permitted and licensed required work. 

You can look around for other services (painters, roofers, plumbers, electricians, hvac) yourself and would be cheaper. However, the right GC will have those contacts and might get you a better deal, overall. Having the GC bring in other sub contractors might be tempting to up the price you're paying them for overseeing the job.

Have you looked on BP and talked to REI club members to get referrals in your area?

Test the ceiling yourself. Take a putty knife and try and scrape a piece of the popcorn ceiling off. If it comes off easy, then the rest should be just as easy. As an example, say it costs $2000 for a 2000 sqft area is a $1/sqft. Check that by going to Home Depot or Lowes and ask those guys to see if that is outrageous or normal pricing. Get 3 bids to compare and confirm someone is not gouging you.

Set your schedule and ask THEM for their bid. Don't tell them what your budget is. If they are over your budget, tell them you can't pay that much. Then negotiate if they're still talking to you. Be reasonable, though. Know your prices by getting several bids from other GCs and sub contractors.