All Forum Posts by: Kuba F.

Nice job doing it yourself!  Looks great!

The contractor is not going to tell you what to fix, you're going to tell the contractor that. How are you going to do that?  At a minimum you should fix the things that your buyer's inspector is going to look for, and in order to do that you'll need your own inspector.

This is what I use for exactly that purpose:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/kubaf/fil...

When I first do a walk through on a property I use this while I walk the property with my camera phone in hand to record the whole place top to bottom narrating the whole thing.  

Then when I get back to the office I re-watch the video over and over again and enter the spreadsheet data into my favorite software to do a full on rehab estimate.

Both the punch-list and video are necessary for me.  The punch-list so that I don't forget to check everything while I'm there and excited about the potential, and the video for when I did forget something after having left the place.  Been doing it that way for years. 

I avoided this thread for fear it was a how many pirates does it take to screw in a lightbulb joke.  

Surprisingly good advice in here on both sides.  You don't need a professional to do handyman work, but whoever does work for you should be able to show you that they can, via references, previous work examples, etc.

Hope you get to move on soon to get back to crushing it on your next deal with all the learnings from this one.

It can take a while but it really depends on the work required.

It's sad that there's so much bureaucracy that makes the expeditor business model a viable one.

When you're starting out and you inevitably take longer to do the rehab, even the little holding costs start to add up.  If you planned for 6 months of holding, but take 12 months to finish the project, even a relatively small $100/month insurance bill takes another $600 from your bottom line, so imagine the possibly ballooning of costs when you add them all up: taxes, utilities, lawncare, alarm, etc, etc.  It can get out of control pretty fast.

@Lamond Sykes Hope I'm not too late here. To mention a specific person so that your comment shows up in their BiggerPockets notifications, you can put the @ sign in front of their name and select their name from the list that appears. 

Happy to review your comps.

Kuba

@Brady Higginbotham Welcome to BP! 

Sounds like you're off to a roaring start, and it's great you're joining a local group; it definitely is helpful to meet the major players and pick their brains. 

My wife is from Tennessee and misses Cajun food since we moved here to Los Angeles, so you've definitely got it made from that angle!

Analysis paralysis can be eased tremendously with knowledge -- you're well on your way to that "first one"...

Happy investing and reach out if I can help with anything.

@Lamond Sykes Welcome to BP! 

That's great that you're working towards your first deal. I am pretty familiar with Saint Louis, having flipped a few houses there around the Tower Grove area. Highly recommend joining a few real estate investment groups in the areas you're finding motivated sellers. 

How have you looked for comps so far? Online or through a realtor?

I wrote a BiggerPockets blog post about how to find comps and calculate ARV, hope it comes in handy:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/68395-how-to-find-real-estate-comps-and-calculate-after-repair-value

I've also written about how to estimate repair costs:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/72452-how-to-estimate-construction-costs-for-these-29-common-rehab-projects