All Forum Posts by: Larry Turowski

@Jason Nguyen it looks great so that’s not an issue. You don’t give any details or the address so it is either an unpopular size/configuration or location. Ultimately, it all comes down to price.

The listing is stale now so you might need to lower it more than you initially would have or take it off the market for a couple of weeks. 

I usually sell my flips in a matter of days. If they aren’t selling I drop the price quickly. I gauge dropping the price based on showings. If I’m not getting at least a showing a day on average I’ll drop the price 5% within a week. Rinse and repeat. Maybe even 10%.

Ideally you price it right from the start. But if you do enough you’ll occasionally misjudge one and have to drop the price. Hopefully not too much. 

@Shannon Glanton I started in 2008. I had some money saved, had a HELOC, attended a local REIA group, started networking, found out I could flip rentals by buying a non-performing or under-performing rental, fixing it up, etc, and selling it to a buy-and-hold investor. The price points in my city were very doable for this and I figured, worst case scenario, I'd have a rental that had pretty good returns. It turns out I bought just before the bottom dropped out and I did end up holding the rental. I never wanted to be a landlord. I wanted to flip.

Well, here it is 14 years later and I've got about 40 doors and have flipped or otherwise been in maybe 50 other deals.

As @Mike Gonzalez said, you can only learn so much from books, podcasts, etc. While forums are even better, nothing beats talking with other investors and asking them this question. Hear how they got started, why they chose the particular path they are now in, the pros and cons, etc. You'll find you start to resonate with some strategies and not with others and it'll help you decide what you want to start with. But like me, from there it might branch out into other things as well.

@Yusuf Sarii are you from the area?  This is a fairly rough area.  As @David Lee Hall, III said, this is a rental area, not a flip area.  If you look at most sales, they are in the 60k range, give or take.  You need to do your own comps by comparing it to other solds in the area, not going by what propstream or zillow say.

Maybe it is worth 80 in current condition, and I only say that because the market is crazy right now, and to me that is crazy high.  I probably wouldn't pay more than 50 for it.

@Honor Dunn I don't think you're ready. You're still considering strategies and locations per your post. I know it is hard to nail down. But your really have to define your goals and craft your strategy to match those goals. You're like I was with a quarter to spend at a candy store when I was a kid, not being able to decide what the best items were.

One thing that really helps is talking to people. Find people on BP that are doing something that you think you might be interested in, DM (direct message) them, and ask if you can have a 20min conversation. You'll be surprised at how many people are happy to talk with you. Find a local REIA in your area, maybe there is one with out-of-state investors. Network and take investors out for coffee. Prepare some questions. Not sure which questions--listen to what they ask in the podcast interviews. How did you get started? What is your strategy? Why did you choose that strategy? How has it worked for you? Have you tried anything else? What are the pros and cons?

Books and blogs and forums will only take you so for most people. Network, network network!

It's overpriced--by a lot.

@Alicia Ayers It sounds like you haven't done your research to know that you are doing the right thing.  Either bail and possibly forfeit any deposit you may have given, or do some more research to determine the true value of the house (comps may be accurately reflect that value of you house or may be low due to condition or current market) and if you are confident that you bought it at the right price for you, then proceed.

@Sabine French you didn’t share the numbers. Will the house still be worth more than the total purchase price plus Reno/holding costs?  If so, then it is just not as good a deal as it could have been. If not, then factor in some extra margin in the future. Every project I do seems to have a gotcha.

Fairly early on in my investing career I lost a bundle on a house that had termite damage I missed. Deciding to lick my wounds and keep in the investing game is one of my proudest accomplishments.

Learn from your mistakes, realize that there is still opportunity out there and move forward from where you are.

@Zachary Rosa Personally, I want to have equity in every deal by either buying below market or by forcing appreciation by some value-add improvements. So, regardless of how it cash flows, is it a good deal?

That aside, it doesn’t look super compelling, but it probably is worth some deeper analysis as @John Underwood said. 

The price—what else?  I got it for a fraction of its as-is value.

@Michael Weis Some would say never invest unless it is cash flowing. I’m an opportunist so I’d disagree with that. I bought a “rental” during COVID that had a non-paying tenant. Talk about not cash flowing!  But it was a great deal, even if I had to carry it for a couple or three years.

So is it a great deal, as in, could you flip it and make a good return?

Or are you banking in appreciation?  Some investors do and have made sky high stellar returns but that doesn’t sit well for conservative types like many here. 

And I don’t like your agent telling you to be patient. It sounds like he doesn’t know what he is talking about at best and more likely just wants his commission.