All Forum Posts by: John O'Shea

Just wanted to take a second to introduce myself in hopes that it may emotionally resonate with someone out there. 

First of all, I'm JT O'Shea, and I come from a background that seemingly deviates from society's perception of the image of real estate investors. It seems to me that most people think only rich people get involved in real estate. I can tell you first hand, I did not grow up with a silver spoon. Up until my junior year in high school, with a couple of exceptions, I would consider my childhood "normal." My parents were still married, we lived in a suburban average neighborhood, and I don't have recollection of experiencing any significant family related struggle at this age. Fast forward to my junior year in high school - my parents had divorced, my sister had gotten pregnant and dropped out of school, and my father moved away to battle addiction. While trying to acclimate to my new life I made plenty of mistakes in the face of adversity. I found myself trying to figure out life on my own as a 16 year old with seemingly no guidance. Instead of realizing the position I was in and strapping up my boots, I acted immaturely and found myself in and out of trouble for the next full year, until I had an epiphany and realized this was my life to live and if I didn't take a stand and create a future for myself I would only amount to being a product of my circumstances and environment. I enrolled in college unsure about my future, under the influence that the corporate route was the only path available. Then I found my saving grace. Books. At this time I wanted to move to a neighboring county to a new community college with a guaranteed-admittance program to their partner university. Innately, I realized that instead of renting an apartment with my friends it would be far more advantageous to execute what BiggerPockets coins the term "house hacking." Of course, financially I was not in the position to facilitate this home purchase, so I did the next best thing and began devouring books and reading any information on real estate I could get my hands on. While researching what real estate related books to read, obviously I came across the infamous Rich Dad Poor Dad. I think you can see where this is going. I finished the book within hours of starting it and dropped out of school the next day. Following, I got a job paying nominal wage that I could have the freedom to listen to podcasts as I worked. This constant search and consumption of knowledge brought me to the drawing board day by day to plan out my road map for my future. To make a long story short, I concluded my preferred strategy was to buy and hold long term and pursue the development of a rental empire. So how could I achieve this goal? This is when I started to work backwards and create actionable steps to progress toward my path to achievement. The first chess move I decided to make was reaching out to the only person I knew who had any real estate knowledge whatsoever. He turned out to be a local appraiser, and seemed to me to be almost overwhelmingly informed in every aspect of real estate I could imagine at the time. I offered to work for him for free for two weeks as his assistant in exchange for answers to any real estate question I could drum up. He accepted, and he actually ended up hiring me, and we still work together to this day. Once I felt I had enough knowledge and that I was trapped in an analysis paralysis, I decided to leverage my skill set and financial position and begin to wholesale. This brings us up to the present. Boy has it been a journey so far, but I can honestly say I love everything it entails. I made my first deal a month after my first marketing batch when out; an assignment from 50-65k. Talk about a fire under me now. I immediately reinvested a significant amount of profits back into marketing, and I am reaping the benefits as I am typing this. I have 6 more leads in the funnel now, and should be closing on two properties this month to start the new year right - barring any unexpected situations. 

Anyway - somewhat long winded, but I felt it was important to share a brief glimpse into what will serve as the beginning to my real estate journey. Don't ever let your circumstances define your future. 

-JT

I ended up getting it under contract for 50 and assigning for 65. Thank you for the input.

So I am a new wholesaler in Wake County, NC and I've come across a property I think is a deal but I would like some input.

This one is actually in Angier which is in Harnett County to be exact. It is in close proximity to Campbell University as well as Fuquay Varina.

It is a 2br 1ba home with a 1br 1ba full separate apartment in the rear equipped with kitchenette. Not personal property. Appraisal says 1,100sq ft of heated living area. Approx 26,000sq ft site size or .6ac.

I do not base my values off of the tax value as I have familiarized myself with appraisals and they can be pretty far off, but the county data says the last appraisal came in at 84k: Land 20k Building 53.8k and apartment 10.2k.

Repairs needed -

laminate floors in the front should be replaced

bathroom has cracked tiles

minor holes/cracks in the drywall

bathroom and kitchen sink's are chipped

some trim work and drywall work on the ceiling

roof leak over the carport that is attached to the apartment out back. Homeowner said he had a roofer come out and give him a 1400-1600 estimate

Looking at about 5-6k rehab

Home owner said he had the house appraised 7 years ago and it was valued at 90k. I am working on getting a copy of this now.

I do not have access to the MLS for that county so trying to find decent comps on Zillow hasn't been very successful. Most similar I could find were within a couple miles of the subject. I will include recent sold price and zestimate values just for means of comparison.

1st comp was 2br 1.1ba 1500 sq ft. with a 3rd bonus room/office space that they are calling a bedroom. It is updated with higher quality counters, floors, cabinets, etc. It recently sold for 118k and has a "zestimate" of 125k. Similar house overall. This home was built in the 30's, so 40 years prior to the subject.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/7...

The next is a 3br 2ba 1600 sq ft ranch style home even more similar in style to the subject. It has recent updating with items of similar quality. Pretty similar rental grade updating. This one was built in 1950. Keep in mind the subject also has the apartment with it as well. Sold for 135k; Zestimate 150k

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/7...

The last comp I found was on the low end just to be conservative. This one was similar in sq ft to just the subject property's house omitting the apartment building all together. If this shoe fits best and a deal still works, I guess I am in business. This is a 3br 1ba brick ranch 1075sq ft. Nothing special. Looks to be in similar condition to the subject as is, without any recent updating. It is also on a .6ac lot and was built in 1971. Only a year newer than our subject. Sold for 87k; Zestimate says 87k

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/7...

I only have exterior photos of the subject as of right now. That will change on Sunday the 2nd. The photos can be seen here

https://1drv.ms/w/s!AtZt-LCUtNhlcHQM8OIDoaIAuPY

The seller used it as a rental and was getting 850 p/m just for the house. I would imagine the apartment could rent for around 300 p/m as well.

I have it under contract for 55k as of right now.

Literally any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Guys

(Raleigh, Cary)