All Forum Posts by: Justin Sullivan

If you have quickbooks I would suggest using the quickbooks online as opposed to the desktop version. The online version comes with assisted help where you can call and they will walk you through each step. Also is your looking to have it for your rental properties I might suggest another program like stessa or freshbooks or some other management software directed towards rental property investing. I use quick books for my contracting business but as I start to grow my rental properties I will definitely use another program to keep track of my properties. If its less than 60 days you can return and switch to online version.

@John Wijtenburg

I agree a lot with @Jim K in this thread and I like his breakdown of both definitions and explanations on both. I’m definitely more of an abundant mindset individual. I believe everyone that was success can achieve it and of course their will always be those who don’t ever amount to their full potential and live paycheck to paycheck and don’t find much success. There is still some of those who make a lot of money and drive fancy cars but are ultimately broke because they spend well above their means. So I think it’s all about a balance of both. I believe an abundance mindset is very important in investing and in order to achieve that you need to live with some type of frugality. I watch my uncle growing up with a big half million dollar house, in an area where 200k is median, and every 4 years he got a brand new car but he wouldn’t spend money on coffee. Now I never see him because he’s on some cruise in some part of the world I’ve never even heard of. So it’s all relative to what your looking for but in order to get ahead I think some type of sacrifice is needed for an extended period of time. I got my fiancé the nice car with a payment but paid cash for my truck. We also bought our house far below market value and renovated it ourselves so now we have 40% equity. Every morning I take coffee with me for the day and most days pack lunch and breakfast so I don’t eat out. But now if I want coffee I get it and don’t think twice about it. That’s because I make the sacrifice most days so when I want to splurge I’m able to. I feel

Guilty about spending sometimes but at the end of the day if you didn’t spend for that surgery you wouldn’t be able to be healthy to invest so that expense is well justified. Now over spending is bad but I think being to frugal is just as bad. It’s like a diet, ever good diet has a cheat day. One day where you don’t count Calories and don’t eat small portions. You eat a little extra and that’s the day you eat

Your desserts. This is because it keeps you balanced. If you never have it there is a chance that you’ll eventually break and just scratch the diet altogether. But if you do things in moderation, then, that’s when success and sustainability happens. I know for me I’m able to maintain this same lifestyle because I have a balance so I’m not lacking something altogether. Yes I would love to be able to eat out more with me family but in a couple years I may be able to add that to my monthly budget instead of every 6 months. So instead of $100 dinner bill I get the pizza ship special for $25 every other week. So once again I believe it’s all about balance and what’s relative to you and where you are in your life. You know what you can and can’t afford. So live a little, enjoy what you work hard for!!

How big is your shower?? If that is 7’ space and your vanity is 21” and you have 34” of walk way then your shower is 29”? If this is the case I say run with the layout you have. Don’t over think it. 34” is plenty of space to walk. At first I thought you only had 24” and that would be pretty tight. In my personal master bath I have 10x7 roughly and we squeezed a 44x34” shower 36” vanity and 5x5 jacuzzi tub in there. We threw the toilet tucked away in a corner space against the return vent bump out with 24”. It’s to the left of the door which centers the room and we have roughly 24” between shower and vanity. It’s not a walkway so it works comfortably. We spent way to much time designing this and changing and fitting and refitting. We started with double sinks and ended with one large sink to fit the jacuzzi tub. I’ve attached a quick sketch of the layout. Point is there is many ways and opinions to layout your bathroom. What works for you? In my opinion as a contractor 34” will be plenty room between shower and vanity. I say option one and run with it. You’ve already done the most important thing and thought about the plumbing a reconfiguring the layout to make that easy. I added an extra vent pipe out my Roof to accommodate my layout. I also did everything myself so my cost were just materials and time nights and weekends. Looks like you got a good idea and handle on things just don’t overthink it and stress. The options you have will work just fine!!

That’s a difficult situation. I know someone who owned a house but lost it so they had to start renting. So they still had an owners mentality with pride of ownership. They treated their rental as if it was their own. Never called the landlord for issues. Built a shed in the back yard. Fix the AC unit several time by paying repairman. Built a screened in front porch. He was all in all acting like it was his home. The issue was he was late most months. Not by weeks but by days. He would pay his late fee and continue to go about his life. He lived in that house for 20 years. After he moved the owner sold the house and walked away having an easy 20 years of rental payment with having to do nothing but cash the check. The owner did replace the roof and update the windows. Windows were at material cost because the renter and family installed them. That tenant served to be what I think is a great tenant and the owner gave him some lenience due to years of him being there. Might I also add it was a month to month lease. 

Yes something like this isn’t common but it’s out there. You have to gauge your tenant. Depending on Their pride of ownership and how long you think they may stay. I can’t speak for them whether they will trash the place or not or just skip out on last month rent. Your the only one that can decide that. Everyone else situation is different. Some say run with it others say get rid of them but they base it off of their personal experiences. Base this off of your experience with them. Judge their character and make your decision that way. They might just be the unicorn who pays late takes care of the place and will stay for years to come, you never know!!

@NIcholas Hamel

I'm currently a investor who gets most deals from MLS at the moment. I also use wholesalers and if I'm driving and spot a property I will follow up. I don't exactly drive around looking but if I happen to pass a property I follow up. One thing that is for sure about the MLS is you must move quick. Have your specific areas set on auto email with your criteria and run your numbers and send an offer day one. Most of the time the good deals don't last for more than a few days in my area. Now this is hard because 90% of the deals I'm offering well below ask but that's the name of this game! Make as many offers as you can where the numbers work and see what gets accepted.

As for the property that has been on for 120 days...I wouldn't let that scare you away. Sometimes I find great properties that don't sell but I find a strategy to make it work. A lot of investors stay away from certain things and have their specific criteria so don't count anything out especially if you'll take on any property. Just make sure you do a thorough inspection and if everything looks well go for it. I just made an offer on a deal that will cash flow over $2,000 monthly which has been on and off the market for two years. I reached out to the owner because it wasn't even on the market. I have to get a use variance on it and create some new exterior doors and convert most of the place. So it took some creativity to create but the deal is there. This seller is unwilling to accept any contingencies. So now I'm still trying to negotiate the contract because the seller is being very stubborn. It could just be a tough seller who cant let go rather than the deal. So don't count anything out. Run your numbers get your inspections!

Being as though I am fairly new to investing I'm still meeting people in my area. I can honestly say that networking has been far better than anything for me thus far. Better than MLS, driving around, social media marketing. Think about it like this, what's the best lead source for any business? Referrals! With a referral you already have a leg up because you are verified from a trusted person. I own a renovation company and I get leads and some work from marketing but my best source of actual jobs comes from referrals. So think of off market deals as a referral for another business. As long as you build a reputation of a closer and stay honest I think your business will be able to skyrocket with some serious networking.

Since your on this site and posting in the forums you obviously know where to look for networking. I would say try it out and see how it helps!

@Cara Kennedy

I think that format you have looks to be great! I'm thinking about starting a contractor mastermind with a few fellow contractor in my area and by seeing this post you've sparked the will in me to reach out and start it. As for you agenda I think that will do just fine. Open it up to brief accomplishments and I would focus more on hurdles and current issues so those can seek advice and help with their struggles. Accomplishments are great but I think you learn more from failures over anything else. I once lost a lot of money on a botched deal and never even closed on it but learned more from that than any deal completed or any book or podcast. The group will run itself after it starts.

Good luck I'm sure you'll do well. Be sure to fill us in with how it goes!

@Clinton White

I understand and agree with having goals and dreams. Being free to not have to work by 30 is definitely a good one but you have to start somewhere. Telling someone you want to buy there house without an earnest money deposit isn't the way to start. When I first started off I expected to have to put 20% down plus 3 month reserve for my first flip. Because it was my first one I ended up having to put 30% down and 6 month reserves. This was $25,000 more than I expected to have to put out. You want to know how much money I was short....$5,000! Which I obtained from a cash advance on one of my credit cards and I closed the deal. That was over $60K I had to put down for my first deal. I worked my *** off for 2 years straight not sleeping working double shifts two jobs not seeing my kids ever. But it was well worth it. Because 3 months into that deal I quit my job and opened up a remodeling company and continued to flip houses. If you don't have $2,000 for a deal you might have to think of other ways to become financially free by 30. Go partner with someone. Go work for someone for free and learn the ropes but at the end of the day you need some type of capital to be in this business. Maybe you get a couple of jobs and work around the clock saving every penny until you have some money to be able to get into real estate successfully. I sacrificed my family, my relationship, my sleep, my social life, my health and everything else necessary to human beings just to be able to get to where I am today. Its a given that I'm a work-a-holic. That's for sure. But now I work for myself and I can take off to be at my kids school events. I work in the field for only 40 hours a week and rest is computer work. I take off Saturday and sunday to work around my house and spent time with my family. I'm only able to live like this because I sacrificed for 2 years! You might want to sacrifice a little first. This isn't a get rich quick deal. This is financial freedom through hard work and determination. I'm not financially free yet but even when I get there I will continue to work the way I do now because then I can work to give someone else a better life. I can donate to charities or even make my own and invest my own time into it free of salary to help others to have a good life. That's truly being free man! Chasing a deal because its a deal isn't going to get you to freedom! 

@Brian Pulaski

I said that for a $/hr wage you would have to babysit that's for sure. Even if it took them an entire day to paint one room at that rate you would run say 7-10 days for the entire house for a total of $1120-$1600. Still way below the quote of $8k. With outside added also and another 10 days your looking at $3200 max. So its another option to look into to save money but everything comes with risk.

If I hired a painter for $20/hr and he pulled out tape to paint baseboards i would let him go immediately. No true painter needs painters tape. I don't even paint often and i still get perfect lines without tape. So maybe you just got a fake who said they could paint because they were looking for money!

I accidently hit post but I was pretty much at the end anyway. Sherwin Williams is probably your best bet. You could always go on craigslist and post that you have painting work for $20/hr. Not sure if your able to be on site. YOu could list the work for weekends. But I've found some decent painters off craigslist for $20/hr. I had to make sure they used drop clothes and cleaned up their drips but that the cost of getting a discount. You can either pay top dollar for perfection or pay a lot less and have to baby sit. Ultimately your call. 

Good Luck I Hope it all works out for you in a timely manner!

@Sean Tippens

Yes that does sound pretty high. I am a contractor myself and I have people tell me all the time that my price is too high! My construction company is definitely geared more towards the homeowner rather than the investor so I'm used to hearing that my price is too high. But I still have work booked up for the next couple months and at the end of every job I do I get more referrals for new work. So I pretty much stay consistent with work. I am in NJ but if I had a job like that in my area I would probably be around $6k. 

Honestly coming from a contractor I wouldn't try to negotiate price. Like someone else said I would ask how they came up with that number and how long they think it will take them. I don't like when someone tries to negotiate with my number. I gave you my number because that is what I felt I needed to get the job done. I find it disrespectful for someone to negotiate my price by a large amount. This isn't a damaged piece of sheetrock or broke open box from home depot. This is a full job. I had an investor who respectfully declined my offer because it was too high. That to me is better than a counter. Like others have already said on this thread. Go get some more estimates. Call this guy back and tell him his number was too high for you. I agree with calling Sherwin Williams salesman and getting references. I use them for all my paint and they a