All Forum Posts by: Justin Workman

Thats probably the going rate, you may be better off having them mow every other week.  If you assume it takes them 20 min to mow and 10 min to drive from a different job unload and reload, thats only $60 per hour.  And the have to pay the employee and for the equipment.  Good luck

Welcome to the bigger pockets community.  Also get plugged into the local community, we have a great RPOA and meetup group, which offer great networking and training.  If you ever need any help I am in your area.

how big of a parcel are you going to develop and what do you want on it?  It make a big difference.  If its just a few single family homes or a larger comercial project who would be a good fit.  If you would like you can private message me for more info.

Welcome Jackie,

Step one is education, learn and network as much as possible.  There are tons of opertunities in grand rapids, the meet up group is a great place to network with a fun and inviting atmosphere.  The RPOA is a great resource for getting started, and offers tons of documents and classes.  I will be teaching a class in April on rehabing for rental and flip profits, that will answer a lot of your questions.  Look for it on the RPOA's site and i hope to see you at the meet up Monday night. 

Justin 

The other issue you have with knob and tube is that you cant add to it.  Your best bet is to replace it.  Its not that painful and your tenants will not run into issues with blowing fuses and over loading circuits.  Plus you can then seperate the duplex correctly so they pay for their own electric.

Grand Rapids is an extremely competitive sellers market, right now.  Your not going to find a ton of cash flowing deals because we have tons of buyers not only from GR but from around the world.  We are on the worlds stage as a great city to invest in, but unfortunately it has attracted millions posibly billions of outside dollars and they will buy anything.  Cashflow or apreceiation or security who knows why they are putting their money here, but they are. 

You need to decide where you want to live and then find a house that fits your needs.  It probably wont cashflow, and may never cashflow. We are in an unusual time to start investing, the wave has started and is still growing, but eventually it will crash again.  And thats when you buy everything.  Until the crash make smart desicions stay fairly liquid and work harder than you ever have before.  In todays market you will rarely find a deal on the mls you need to dig in and work hard at finding a great deal.  If its on the mls it should be sucked up day one and go into multiple offers and at that point its probably no longer a great deal.  You have to work extreamly hard on finding good deals today, its not as easy as it once was.  Good luck finding your first home, and keep at it, dont let the market get you down.  It just takes some extra determination to make it work and be successful. Join the rpoa and meetup groups to help build your network and knowledge base as well as keep you finger on the pulse of whats going on.  Good luck

Justin 

I have a house that is nearing completion. Based on the comps it should sell around 100k. My current fear is that inventory is high and days on the market is getting longer. I have been contemplating the idea of holding an auction. The process I have heard of is setting a date, advertise it, and hold some open houses, and at the auction have a piece of paper listing bids and names. It is treated as a silent auction, with prequilified bidders. The advantage is that I can reduce one side of the commission, possibly both, sell it fast, get an in-person bidding war. The downside is it could not draw the right buyers, I could loose out with conservative, or fearful bidders, and it might not sell, at which point I would loose a few weeks on the MLS, putting me in no-mans land listing near the holidays. I am looking for thoughts, ideas, or other challenges I would face with this selling tactic.

It looks like your not from the area, but if you are in GR go to some of the small local banks or credit unions.  They are more likely to hold the mortgages and bend on some of the requirements.  It helps if your local and bank with them, but you will meet with a person that evaluates the loan, and it doesn't have to fit all the criteria for the larger corporations.  There are company's out there that do just portfolio lending but at best your going to pay 8%.  Good luck

Watch the market and look at what sells.  Track the sales price, amenities, and condition of the house.  Also track days on market and if they have been flipped look at the last sale price and estimate the cost of the rehab.  It will help you determine your potential profits.  It is much harder today, and takes more work for less margin.  Keep looking and work at keeping an eye on the market. 

i got atarted with live in flips, i didnt know what they were called then, but they work great until your wife gets tierd of moving.  Then i would flip 2 or 3 and buy a rental.  Always leaving the profits in the business.  It has worked out well for me I am 32 and have a bunch of paid for rentals, and havent had a day job for a few years, other than my real estate business.  Its a harder model to follow right now with prices so high and everyone and their brother fliping houses.  I dont know how they make any money.  I see a lot of people pay way too much and dont improve the house enough to get a fast sale.  They also over price their homes because they need to make money or not loose any.  It takes time and patience to find the right deals in todays market.  Good luck