All Forum Posts by: Kuba F.

Hi Everyone,

Kuba Fietkiewicz here, founder of REIkit.com real estate investment software, based out of Los Angeles. 

Real estate investors today know that finding deals is not as easy as it was just a few years ago. Properties on the MLS are going for tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking. This makes finding a deal on the MLS very difficult, although there are still deals to be had if you can find a property that is hugely undervalued.

The alternative to the MLS is to think outside of the box, and utilize every single method, strategy, and website that can possibly net a deal. Such sources of deals can be as well-known as putting out 'We Buy Houses' signs on every street corner. Not so obvious methods would be looking at property seized by the IRS or other government real property surplus sites.

That's just one example of how to find wholesale and off-market deals online. For the other 54 methods, check out this post: 55 Resources to Find Real Estate Deals Online

Let me know if I missed any online techniques on the site or in the comments below.

Cheers!

Kuba

Hi Everyone,

My name is Kuba, founder of online real estate investment software REIkit.com. Today I wanted to talk about an investing mistake that can be easily avoided.

Here on BiggerPockets, you see questions from the community such as, "what is the biggest mistake you've ever made in investing." People want to know what actions they can take to not make the same mistakes.

For my own flip disaster story, on my first flip there were a number of events that went wrong that I could have foreseen. In retrospect however, I never would have purchased the property in the first place had I known what I do now. One of the main reasons why the flip failed is because, when calculating the ARV of the property I wanted to buy, I did not adjust my comps for features.

If I had taken just 30 minutes to compare the subject property features, like garages, against the comps, I would have discovered that the subject just didn't have features that all of the other comps did, erasing $10,000 dollars of my expected profit when it came time to sell.

My frustrated experiences led me to create REIkit.com, and one of the first tools I built is a free ARV calculator, that also includes a free comps adjustment tool, to help others avoid the same outcome.

You have nothing to lose by trying out the ARV calculator and comps adjustment tool at the link below, except an expensive mistake:

https://tools.reikit.com/comps

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out in the comments below or I am available to chat on the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

@Matt C. absolutely! Just to take measured steps toward your goal and you'll get there.  You don't have to solve the entire puzzle all at once, just move the ball forward each day.

Welcome @Matt C.! 

If you haven't already already joined one, you will get a good overview of the investing scene in your area (or the area you want to flip in) by networking with other investors, wholesalers, and agents in person. BiggerPockets has a great list of groups here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/real-estate-clubs/

I get the analysis paralysis completely. The best way to feel comfortable purchasing a flip is to know that all of your numbers (after repair value, rehab costs, and holding costs) are as accurate as possible. Learning how to analyze potential deals that you come across now will give you the ability to know a good deal from a bad one when you're ready to buy. I wrote a BiggerPockets post on how to find comps and adjust them for that first step of finding ARV that might be helpful: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/68395-how-to-find-real-estate-comps-and-calculate-after-repair-value

Is there any other part of flipping that is holding you back from getting closer to your first deal?

@Pete Budagher Welcome to BP! Do you have any idea how you'd like to invest at this point? Fix and flip, BRRRR, Buy and Hold or House Hack?

When you're ready, a great way to get a deep understanding of what works in your area (or the area you wish to invest in) is to join a local real estate investment club. BiggerPockets has a great list here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/real-estate-clubs/

Hi Everyone,

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

I wanted to take a minute to talk about one of the most important steps, that you might be missing, to get your ARV valuations as accurate as possible.

You probably already know that in order to get to an After Repair Value, you need to find sold comps. It is very rare, however, to find recent comps that are exactly the same as the subject property.

For example, if you have three comps with a garage, and your subject property doesn't have one, that's a $10,000 difference that will dramatically change the profitability of your deal. I know this from experience, because that's how much I lost on that exact scenario in my first flip. The step that was missing was to adjust the comps by assigning dollar values to each feature, which I found out takes only 30 minutes.

As a result of that experience, I built out the free ARV Calculator with a Comps Adjustment feature on REIkit, so that others could avoid the same outcome. Anyone can use them, and I encourage you to try it out because it's so crucial to your success.

I'll leave you with the link to the tools:

https://tools.reikit.com/comps

Let me know how it worked out for you in the comments below or chat on the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

@Daniel Winschel Welcome to BiggerPockets. Sounds like you're on the right track with your research, and I get how daunting the design aspect can be.

If you were flipping houses, the design process is an easy fix and I would highly recommend an interior designer to take a look at your blank slate. We hired one on our last flip and the minimal cost was worth every penny. We knew exactly what items we needed (including size and color, paint color schemes, countertops, etc.), and exactly what work was needed to create the vision, and we worked those costs into our construction estimate.

However, you are talking about a House Hack or a BRRRR, in which case you just need to get the property into a habitable state, with some flourishes thrown in to make the place more homey and attract renters. My recommendation is to find similar properties that are renting in the area and see what their conditions are, especially if you can get a look at the interior. That will give you a better idea of how to improve (not over-improve) a property you are thinking of purchasing.

Speaking of purchasing, you can't purchase comfortably without knowing all of your costs and being able to analyze a deal. With rehab project costs, for example, at a minimum you need to know how to do a walk-through on a property with a checklist, and then estimate construction costs so that you can intelligently vet contractor bids. I wrote a BiggerPockets blog post outlining common projects and their average costs here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/72452-how-to-estimate-construction-costs-for-these-29-common-rehab-projects

As far as analyzing deals, this post explains how to find comps and calculate ARV: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/68395-how-to-find-real-estate-comps-and-calculate-after-repair-value

Finding comps for multi-family properties is slightly different than finding them for SFR, generally in that you often have to widen your area and go back farther in time to find them as they are not sold as often, nor are they as common as SFR.

Happy investing and feel free to reach out if I can help.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Kuba and I run my 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/8a10533a

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

I'd love to hear from you what you think, good or bad, so feel free to leave a comment below or you'll find me on chat at the site.

Cheers!

Kuba

@Clint Worland Depends on your needs. What is lacking in your current spreadsheet that you'd like to see in the updated Pro Forma? Are you looking for another spreadsheet or to upgrade to an online software?

Hi Everyone,

My name is Kuba and I'm the founder of REIkit.com, a house flipping software company in Los Angeles. I'm excited to be a part of BiggerPockets and wanted to let the community know about a free tool that I built out, called the Comps Adjustment Tool, that anyone can use.

If you've ever found yourself in a situation where you were looking for comps as part of your After Repair Value calculations, but everything that was coming back was just not the same as your subject property, you need this tool. More bedrooms? Less Bathrooms? Pool? No pool? This all matters.

On my very first flip I did not account for the fact that all my comps had a garage, and my subject property did not. That was an expensive mistake that shaved $10,000 off the profitability of my flip. If I had just taken a few extra minutes to adjust my comps, I could have avoided it entirely, instead of finding out months later when it was time to sell. It's exactly why I built out the tool, so that others could avoid the same scenario. Wouldn't you like to know if you're going to lose money, before you make the deal?

I encourage you to try out the free comps adjustment tool: 

https://tools.reikit.com/comps

If helpful, here is a video on how to adjust your comps:

https://tools.reikit.com/education/how-to-use-comps-get-an-accurate-arv

Feel free to reach out to me here in the comments or on the site chat if you have any questions or suggestions.

Cheers!

Kuba