All Forum Posts by: Kuba F.

Hey Everyone,

Kuba Fietkiewicz here, founder of REIkit.com real estate investment software in Los Angeles. Today I wanted to talk about how you can estimate your rehab costs without a GC.

Fix and Flip:

If you're a flipper, you may have already tried to find an investor-friendly GC that would walk through 30+ properties with you to price out repairs, but it's not likely that you'll find one that will work for free.

Wholesalers:

If you're a wholesaler who wants to give their cash buyers the best repair estimate possible without spending thousands in GC walkthrough costs:

You are left with few options, the best of which is learning how to price out your own repairs.

Yes, it requires more time and effort, but the education you acquire and eventual savings will more than make up for that. So, what's the best way to get this experience?

In my own fix and flips, I evaluate as many properties as I can find, and when I go to visit a potential flip, I take along my camera and film a walk through of each room and the exterior, carefully narrating what needs repairing.

Then comes the difficult part: identifying all the items involved with a repair, itemizing all of these costs into one tidy list, and calculating the final cost. For example, a window repair not only includes the cost of the actual window but also the labor that it costs to install it.

I created the Rehab Estimate tool to help take the unknown out of getting an accurate estimate. Not only does the tool have thousands of items to choose from, but each item has a material cost and labor cost associated to it, with all costs based on your zip code, so you get the most accurate estimate. From there it creates an itemized list for you to share with contractors for project bids.

The Rehab Estimate tool is as close as you'll get to accurate rehab costs, without a GC. Click the link to try it out: 

https://www.reikit.com

Any questions or suggestions, I'd love to hear it; comment below or chat at the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

Hi Everyone,

Kuba Fietkiewicz here, founder of REIkit.com real estate investment software. REIkit was born when I made some serious mistakes while flipping houses and wanted to find THE magic formula for how to make sure it didn't happen again. Through building REIkit and doing more flips, I finally figured out that there is no magic formula to be found. The only thing we can do is educate ourselves as much as possible and try to account for every single risk and cost we can think of before jumping into a new project.

That's what I had in mind when I built out all the tools for REIkit. With each tool I build, I ask myself: "Does this tool help my customers prevent the mistakes I made back then? Does this tool help my customers succeed?"

The Comps Adjustment Tool is particularly close to my heart, because I lost over $10,000 on my first flip by not accounting for features and amenities of my comps, such as garages and pools, when I did my initial deal analysis.

This tool will improve your estimated ARV in under an hour. Is an hour of your time worth $10,000?

I'll leave you with the link to the comps adjustment tool to try it out:

https://tools.reikit.com/comps

Feedback is always appreciated, so comment below or chat on the site if you have any questions or comments.

Cheers!

Kuba

Hi BP Community,

Kuba Fietkiewicz here, founder of online real estate investment software REIkit.com.

If you're a wholesaler, flipper, or buy and hold, you need to use every tactic and technique available to keep your deal pipeline flowing.

In this post, I list 27 ways to find deals that don't rely on the internet. Anyone can use these methods, and many are low-cost.

Click the link to read: 27 Ways to Find Off-market and Wholesale Real Estate Deals: Offline

Also check out the sister articles on the site for a total of 114 ways to source your next discounted property:

55 ways to find deals online

and

35 ways to find properties by cultivating relationships

If I missed any techniques that aren't in the post, let me know in the comments below or on chat at the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

Hey @Chad Michael

Like @Mark S. said, sometimes you need to be flexible as things will come up.

Generally I follow this plan:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/63630-how...

So for your landscaping question, whenever all of the outside work is finished is about the right time to start that, but even with the best plans, the sooner you start, the bigger the risk that you might end up doing it twice, as in the case of unplanned water, gas, or sewer issues.

Cheers! 

Hi Everyone,

My name is Kuba and I run real estate investment software company REIkit.com out of Los Angeles. 

I wanted to let you know about a feature in REIkit that will allow you to send beautiful wholesale marketing reports in minutes to your buyer’s list. After putting in the property details, REIkit's online interface creates a detailed property page that you can download, print, or share with anyone.

Here’s what your property marketing page can look like in just a few steps:

https://tools.reikit.com/properties/0d89ffde

Stop by and try out the wholesale marketing report tool here: https://www.reikit.com

Any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or you'll find me on chat at the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

Hey Everyone,

Kuba Fietkiewicz here, founder of online real estate investment software REIkit.com, based in Los Angeles. Today I wanted to discuss common barriers to getting accurate property rehab cost estimates for your fix and flips.

If you've already flipped a few properties, you have some idea of how to approach getting construction cost estimates and maybe even have a solid process in place for doing so on future flips. 

The question is, if you're estimating your own rehab costs without a GC, how much time and effort did you spend in itemizing, quantifying, and estimating costs in a spreadsheet or on paper? Were you able to estimate reasonably accurate material and labor costs for all of those repair items?

When doing my own flips, I found that my rehab repair items were a pain to type up, sort, and price, and that's why I created the online Rehab Estimate tool.

In the Detailed Cost Estimate section of the tool, you'll find every item you need to price out repairs -- down to the quantity, size, and cost of the nails used for drywall. Simply browse for the item, enter the quantity, and the tool calculates a material and labor unit cost and adds it to your project list.

The best part is that all of the costs are pulled right out of the 2018 Construction Cost books by one of the most respected names in the industry. In addition, they are indexed to a zip code, meaning that the costs you find in the tool are the most up-to-date and accurate for your area.

The online Rehab Estimate tool is a solid addition to your business — click on the link below to try it out:

https://www.reikit.com

Any questions or feedback about the software, I'd love to hear it in the comments below or chat on the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

The most successful wholesalers that I've had the pleasure of working with and buying from have built up their business on integrity and trust, with their buyers and sellers, and are usually licensed.

What makes them successful on the buyer side is that they come up with numbers that are well researched and reasonable.

On the seller side, the seller has been educated about all of their options, including listing on the market, and they can and do close themselves if need be.

I see no down side to wholesaling while licensed as it allows you to provide the entire spectrum of options that turns out to be 90% on market sales, and to serve the remaining 10% with alternative options if they are desired.

Yes there are plenty ****** people licensed or not, so a license isn't going to fix that, but even the basic education needed to get a license and ethical requirements are better than nothing in pursuit of the above goals, and the cost of acquiring it is frankly minimal and can be easily recouped if you have any idea of what you're doing.

Thanks for the kind words @Jeffrey Bland. Whether you become a customer or not, my mission is about out how we can help you become more successful, whether you're wholesaling, flipping, or buying income properties.

Here are some of the blog posts that we talked about:

Why Cash on Cash Should be Used for Only For the First Year and Internal Rate of Return for the Project

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/66048-why-should-cash-on-cash-analysis-only-be-used-for-the-first-year

And

18 Essential Metrics to a Complete Real Estate Investment Analysis

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/73755-18-essential-metrics-to-a-complete-real-estate-investment-analysis

I also emailed you the BRRRR blog post and video link that you can find on the site.

Thanks again and I wish you success in your plan, hope we can be a small part of it.

Cheers!

Kuba

@David Morehead

While not a book, you may find a BiggerPockets primer I wrote helpful -- the 18 most important numbers to calculate for multifamily, and their formulas. Keep in mind that some, such as Internal Rate of Return (IRR), require advanced computer calculation.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/73755-18-essential-metrics-to-a-complete-real-estate-investment-analysis

As far as finding multifamily properties, you'd find them the same way you find a SFR, and there are many, many ways to source them:

By building relationships and letting everyone know you're looking for houses and apartments:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/72664-35-relationships-to-help-you-find-more-houses-to-flip-or-wholesale

Looking for them on the internet:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/72016-55-resources-to-find-real-estate-deals-online

and, of course, locating them offline:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/71506-27-ways-to-find-off-market-and-wholesale-real-estate-deals-offline

Best of luck!

@Karen Saxon and family, Welcome to BP (officially)!

Sounds like you both have "teamwork makes the dream work" down to a fine art.

Best of luck on your next investment property, whether flip or multifamily, and again, welcome.