All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Boyd

 @Chris Seveney I always take their valuations with a grain of salt, but we're not even talkin valuations. Their sales data is wrong. I can gauge my own evaluation by looking at recently sold comps, their condition, exact location, etc. But if they are showing properties that haven't actually sold recently, or not reflecting recent sold data, then that's a problem and will throw off my own evaluation process.

Has anyone had recent problems with PropStream data? I use PropStream for list pulling and comps (mainly comps) and have found that in the least few months their system is providing wildly inaccruate data. And before I explain where the inaccuracies are, let me explain how I know they are inaccuracies and not just "lagging data." I asked Propstream directly, and they said records of sales are pulled from the county level and updated DAILY. But this has proved false, and when running comps, this is a big deal. 

I'm finding when I look at a given property, I get inaccurate comps in two ways: 1st, a property will show up in the list as a comp to my subject property but have a REALLY low sale value; upon investigation I find that the property acutally hasn't sold in 10+ years but PropStream thought it was comp; 2nd, a property will show up as "Sold" in the MLS status, but all ownership and transaction history tab don't reflect the new data. And yes, I checked county records and the county DOES show updated data. And we're talking sales MONTHS old.

Obviously, if I'm trying to comp a property and Propstream gives me stuff with sold prices and ARV's from 10 years ago, that doesn't give good comps. And if houses are showing an owner having been there for 10+ years when that owner actually sold 8 months ago, then I might market to a completely unqualified lead.

I'll post a link to ONE example of many I've found recently, along with one to county records for refernce. Propstream shows old owner. An investor bought this in February of '24, and flipped and sold in July of '24. County records updated, Propstream did not. 

https://app.propstream.com/search/1711386856

https://www.actdatascout.com/RealProperty/ParcelView?countyI...

Joe,

I’m local to NWA as well. Let’s chat and see if we can help each other

So a lady called me from my DMM letters trying to convince me to buy the vacant house next to her. Apparently, the lady is part of the neighborhood "Busybodies Anonymous" and has the latest scoop on everything! (Ok, actually she is really sweet. We house hacked a duplex on the street and still own it, so I know of her and the house she's talking about.) She doesn't like living next to a vacant house, AND the guy was arrested on some serious drug charges. She wants me to buy and flip it to ward off potential visits from the owners previous clientele. 

Anyone have some advice on buying a house from a guy in jail? I'm willing to talk to whoever I need and even go to the jail to meet the guy.

Pros:

It's in a great spot and decent shape externally

It's owned outright

Dude will be in jail awhile and not able to pay taxes or maintain it (motivation)

Cons:

Dude's in jail  lol

Potential remediation from drug use/manufacture

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $85,000
Cash invested: $120,000

Bought this house from our advertising campaign to flip. During the renovation, we decided to move in due to expecting another child and unexpected health challenges. While most of the flip was cosmetic (paint, floors, doors, countertops, appliances, etc) we did enclose the garage. This took it from a 2b/2ba to a 3b/2ba with an enclosed laundry room. All cash invested was $120,000; appraised at refinancing for $200,000

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The seller's starting price in negotiation already made sense

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Direct mail marketing campaign. Negotiation strong point was the seller had been burned by renters and needed to walk away- including leaving all the left trash and furniture

How did you finance this deal?

Cash for purchase and some borrowed family money for rehab

How did you add value to the deal?

Enclosed garage adding 3rd bedroom and square footage, added all new appliances, and total cosmetic update.

What was the outcome?

The house looked so nice my wife asked to move in (which was good timing because we just found out we were expecting another child!) We made a few changes in the design, asked to have the garage enclosed, and moved in. :)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The challenge was I had just fallen into some pretty big health challenges and wasn't able to stay on top of everything rehab related. Our contractor is experienced with flips, and knew what to do- I just let him go and he got it done. That came at a cost, and the lesson learned is to shop around and network to find good deals on contractors.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Ryan Blackstone helped with contracts and analysis and I can't recommend him enough! He still works with me on all my business.

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $135,000
Cash invested: $35,000

We bought a duplex as a house-hack off the MLS. It barely qualified for FHA (the seller had to address several issues before closing.) We hired out the big projects (drywall, refinishing wood floors, installing a new window, etc) and did all the cosmetic work ourselves while we lived there. Rent from the one side covered mortgage while we lived there, and upon moving out, rent from the other side is pure cash flow. Along the way, we refinanced to cash out some equity and eliminate PMI.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We needed to get out of our apartment, and I insisted on a duplex

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Used a realtor and found it on the MLS. It wasn't managed well and was originally listed for $160k. After negotiation, we got the price to $145k, but FHA appraisal came to $135k.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Tore out the paneling and installed drywall with insulation; all cosmetics updated; installed window in a room that had none to make it officially a 6 bedroom dwelling (duplex with 2 units of 3b/1ba;) installed new-ish appliances in kitchen; installed permanent shelves in the oversized laundry rooms for much-needed storage; and added sheds to backyards.

What was the outcome?

Rents were raised and stable tenants were placed. Value of house was appraised at what we had in it ($135k purchase + 30k in repairs.)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

A house hack is truly the golden ticket everyone touts it to be! Also, don't write off properties too quickly: while looking at several duplexes in the area, we wrote this one off because of the condition and the area looked bad. Truth is, the area was ok, this house was just the worst on the block.
Some of the challenges were trying to repair a place while living there and working full time- just understand what you can and can't do while living in a property

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $135,000
Cash invested: $35,000

We bought a duplex as a house-hack off the MLS. It needed a lot of work- it barely qualified for FHA (in some ways it didn't as the seller had to address several issues before closing.) We hired out the big projects (new drywall, refinishing wood floors, installing new window, etc) and did all the cosmetic work ourselves while we lived there. Rent from the one side covered our mortgage while we lived there, and upon moving out, rent from the other side is pure cash flow. Along the way, we refinanced to cash out some equity and eliminate PMI.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We needed to get out of our apartment, and I insisted on a duplex

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Used a realtor and found it on the MLS. It wasn't managed well and was originally listed for $160k. After negotiation, we got the price to $145k, but FHA appraisal came to $135k.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Tore out the paneling and installed drywall with insulation; all cosmetics updated; installed window in a room that had none to make it officially a 6 bedroom dwelling (duplex with 2 units of 3b/1ba;) installed new-ish appliances in kitchen; installed permanent shelves in the oversized laundry rooms for much-needed storage; and added sheds to backyards.

What was the outcome?

Rents were raised and stable tenants were placed. Value of house was appraised at what we had in it ($135k purchase + 30k in repairs.)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

A house hack is truly the golden ticket everyone touts it to be! Also, don't write off properties too quickly: while looking at several duplexes in the area, we wrote this one off because of the condition and the area looked bad. Truth is, the area was ok, this house was just the worst on the block.
Some of the challenges were trying to repair a place while living there and working full time- just understand what you can and can't do while living in a property

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $135,000
Cash invested: $35,000

We bought a duplex as a house-hack off the MLS. It needed a lot of work- it barely qualified for FHA (in some ways it didn't as the seller had to address several issues before closing.) We hired out the big projects (new drywall, refinishing wood floors, installing new window, etc) and did all the cosmetic work ourselves while we lived there. Rent from the one side covered our mortgage while we lived there, and upon moving out, rent from the other side is pure cash flow. Along the way, we refinanced to cash out some equity and eliminate PMI.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We needed to get out of our apartment, and I insisted on a duplex

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Used a realtor and found it on the MLS. It wasn't managed well and was originally listed for $160k. After negotiation, we got the price to $145k, but FHA appraisal came to $135k.

How did you finance this deal?

FHA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Tore out the paneling and installed drywall with insulation; all cosmetics updated; installed window in a room that had none to make it officially a 6 bedroom dwelling (duplex with 2 units of 3b/1ba;) installed new-ish appliances in kitchen; installed permanent shelves in the oversized laundry rooms for much-needed storage; and added sheds to backyards.

What was the outcome?

Rents were raised and stable tenants were placed. Value of house was appraised at what we had in it ($135k purchase + 30k in repairs.)

Lessons learned? Challenges?

A house hack is truly the golden ticket everyone touts it to be! Also, don't write off properties too quickly: while looking at several duplexes in the area, we wrote this one off because of the condition and the area looked bad. Truth is, the area was ok, this house was just the worst on the block.
Some of the challenges were trying to repair a place while living there and working full time- just understand what you can and can't do while living in a property

@David Boatman

While I’m new to investing, I’ve lived enough life to know it’s all about balance. Sacrifices are on the road to success, but so are rewards. We’re househacking a small duplex with 3 kids to save for investing, but recently bought a newer used van for the wife’s. Sacrifice/reward.

There must be sacrifices, but if we “arrive” at success stressed, angry, or just generally burned out, is that success? This sacrifice will pay dividends later, imo, but it’s all healthy balance. Good luck!

Thanks Dustin! Plan to be there. @Nick Rogers here’s the meet i told you about