All Forum Posts by: Kobus De Villiers

As Aaron pointed out you just apply the basic $5k increment. Start with basic house that needs just paint inside/outside with a few rooms carpet and assign that an estimate of $5k. Use that as a starting point and then add more as needed.

Remember that this is a tool to help you get your values correct and offer a price that will allow you to sleep at night. If you offer to much and get stuck with a house you can't flip then it is your money and reputation on the line. Do what you feel necessary to be comfortable with the offer you made. Your risk level will not be the same as my risk level so decide for yourself what is needed to sleep soundly.

I completely agree with the statements above. As a wholesaler I have a GC that provide me an estimate when I do the walkthrough before I make my final offer to the buyer. If I get it under contract at least I have a GC with an estimate that gives me a baseline for the repairs. With experience I might not need a GC on every property I visit but it seemed the best way to start to learn the costs and get comfortable with the repair estimates.

Do your own estimates, compare it with the GC and then learn from your mistakes until you can do it on your own. That way you build trust with the rehabbers to which you provide the repair estimates.

In the end it is just a guideline. Repairing the same place to just acceptable and top of the line items is going to be quite a difference. Include pictures of the areas or even a video to help your buyer.

Another source for buyer's list is to call cash buyers in your area. Do a search on MLS and identify cash buyers and then contact them when you have a property to sell. It will take a bit of work to get the list compiled but you'll soon see the names that purchase for cash a few times a year. If it is sold to an LLC or other corporate entity, even better.

As mentioned above a bit more information is required to really answer this question. Property value is subjective and will mean different things to different types of buyers or owners. Value to a rehab and flip buyer is different than a rehab and rent or retail buyer that is looking for a fixer upper.

The basics to understand is that value can be determined based on recent sales and current listings. Look for similar style of home with same features within .5 mile radius that sold in last 6 months and do the same for current listings. It would give you an idea of average price sold and what similar homes are listed at today.

Also take into account the number of days on market. If you plan to sell within 30 days then it should be valued lower than properties that sold after 180 days on market.

If you provide a bit more information about the type of property and what you're trying to do with it, then it might be easier to give a good answer.

You can also try to build a relationship with a listing agent or broker. The advantage is that they will have listings from multiple banks. I'm working with an agent that have listings for 3 banks in the area plus HUD. She provides it to her investor list 7 days before listing it. Could be easier to manage that one contact rather than multiple banks.

I look at speculation and investing based on the basic principle that is commonly used in stock and other forms of investment. In stock the difference between the investor and the speculator is that the speculator buys because everybody else is buying and he has the notion that the stock will increase and provide a profit. Typically buys based on the latest hot stock tip that he received via email.

On the other hand the investor does analysis (either fundamental or technical) and based on those conditions purchase because his analysis determined that it is the best option given his risk tolerance and other variables.

If we appy that to real estate then the difference would be similar. The investor start by doing analysis and that analysis points him to a specific property that he believes would satisfy his investment model. The speculator merely picks a place to buy without doing analysis and hoping that he will be able to sell for a profit in the future.

The investor has a specific goal or strategy in mind and with this goal identified a suitable property. The speculator sees a property at a low price and just because it is now $50/sq ft and previously was valued at $100/sq ft buys hoping that he will be able to turn a prifit like everybody else since it seems like the right thing to do.

Good luck on your first deal.

I don't like squeeze pages either but I know it is just another way to capture a few leads that I might not get if it is not there.

I have email, recorded message and squeeze page listed with most marketing. Let that person decide what they prefer and I get more leads than if one were missing.

Website is something that would just confuse people on a bandit sign. Stick to an easy to remember phone number. It is much easier to remember a 10 digit number with repeating digits than a website name.

Websites are useful but get the domain and build it to when it is needed. A squeeze page to capture leads from Craigslist or other ads would be first before a core website.

Although I agree with most of what Aaron said, there are some reasons to start in wholesaling rather than flipping.

One of the primary reason I'm starting out with wholesaling is the time involved. With a rehab and flip you will sign up for a project that can take a few weeks to complete. Hopefully with a wholesale deal you will have less money at risk for a shorter period of time.

I'm fully aware that the skills required for wholesaling is similar to a rehab so I'm learning both but just applying that knowledge to wholesaling. If you can sell your wholesale deal to a rehabber, then you've proved that you can do the rehab yourself as well. If no investor is buying your wholesale, then you know your margins are not correct.

It might not be for everybody but that is how I'm approaching it. The bottom line is get involved and start doing. Research, apply the knowledge and do rather than stand on the sideline watching.