All Forum Posts by: Douglas Larson

@Justin C. 

That's how it's done! Opportunity always finds those who are actively looking for it!

Great job and keep us posted on the flip!

@Mike Gallagher - actually I wanted to build a 600k spec home and sell it for $1m. Maybe next time I'll have the guts, and the cash to do it!

@Andy M. - Not really a rock star but hopefully I can retire before i'm too old to enjoy it! Hey, got any deals for me?

@Celina De La Torre - if your'e in the SLC area you'll have to try the SLREIA meetings and lunches. There are some great investors and networking opportunities!

@Craig Coulson If you are familiar with classified ads on KSL.com, you may find good success there! I have purchesed time share weeks there myself for Bear Lake and also for vacations in San Diego.

It's also very likely that your timeshare resort will be able to fill that week easily. Are you not happy with the split they give you?

@Zaheer Jabbar 

Sounds like you are talking yourself into the 2nd one (and the 3rd one) already! It's hard to argue with good cashflow, even if you are buying at market value. I don't know anything about your market, possible appreciation or forcing equity by rehabbing in your area.

There are areas within an hour of me where I can buy old, ugly houses for 40K, but the 20-30K in work needed to raise the value would not be a good investment because ARV is only 75K at best, and the types of tenants I could attract in those neighborhoods are not the kind I want to manage. Also, this area has not seen appreciation that even keeps up with inflation over the last 30 years.

If you have an area where you can invest 25K, minimal repairs and then cashflow an honest $500 per month, you have a nice little goldmine! Appreciation on top of that is a bonus! With 20 of those (well-managed) you'll be retired and living on a carribbean island in no time!

@Reggie Maggard 

 Hi Reggie. It looks like you are pretty new to BP. Welcome! There are better locations to ask a question like this on BP - like  for example. 

Also, use the search box in the upper right to find great threads on whatever you are looking for. Most topics are covered in great detail already. Try this search link below for threads on Lease-options:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93...

Also, if you are fairly new to real estate investing you can't beat the free and cheap resources on Bigger Pockets like the  and the .

Have fun and Make your Own Luck!

While this statement is technically true, there is much more to the story than the headline.

First, both sales represent a bit of a let down as I actually thought my net from these two deals would be closer to $250K. Second, each of the sales represents weeks or months of work and lots of patience. I don't actually make 185K each week.

The first property sold on Monday. It was a large home in Alpine, Utah that I purchased from a wholesaler in May of this year for $420K including the $10K wholesale fee. Renovations took 2 full months and about 8 different sub-contractors including landscapers, painters, an electrician, wood floor re-finishers, granite installers, cabinet makers and carpet installers. I am a hands-on rehabber and while I am supervising the subs I swing a hammer too. The home fell out of escrow once and took almost 7 full months to sell from purchase to close. My net was $44K. Not bad but not great. It was especially frustrating when the first buyers could not get financing and we went back on the market in early September. The hard-money loan on $360K was costing me about $120.oo per day! Ouch! The final purchase price was 565K. It was really a nice home and my wife and I discussed moving into the home ourselves. In the end I'm quite relieved it sold.

The second property sold on Tuesday and it was a large, view lot in the Salt Lake area. I bought it from a bank 4 years ago. The asking price was 99K but I eventually got the bank to accept $38,500. Of course, 4 years ago it was easy to find great deals on vacant land almost anywhere in the western states. Builders were just not building and banks had entire subdivisions on their books. I did not do any physical improvements to the property but I did spend many hours with engineers and city planners defining exactly what could be built on the lot and with what modifications (like soil retention, drainage, engineering requirements, etc.) I had the property on the market at $269K for many months and thought about building a spec home but a cash offer finally came in and we settled on 190K. I decided that a 400% increase was acceptable. No need to be greedy.The true net after 4 years of taxes, surveying reports, HOA fees, title fees and agent commissions was 141K. Overall, it was a very good week and I feel blessed. I'm just finishing up another rehab project and I hope to have a mellow winter including a tropical vacation, some family time and some good snowboarding!

The first pic is the big home and the second pic is the view while standing on the lot.

@Derek Woods 

That countertop looks very cool! In an urban loft or modern house, concrete counters like your pics above would be an awesome solution and at ten bucks per linear ft. you could save a ton of cash!

@Sandy Uhlmann 

Wow! Pictures are worth a thousand words!

I've never seen epoxy like this. For a budget renovation where time is more plentiful than $$$, I would totally consider this. For an upscale remodel, the cost of granite is so affordable these days ($35-$40 per sq. ft. installed) that I'd never do anything else. The pic below is a recent remodel with custom "charcoal gray" granite with 6cm edge. It's very uniform and looks a lot like quarts countertops, but far better priced.

The bathroom shot is "white sand" granite, also with 6cm edge.

@Sandy Uhlmann 

I have never used the DIY epoxy finishes but I have had the professionals come out to spray epoxy on old, outdated tile shower surrounds and ugly old bath tubs. I had them spray my pink laminate countertops in one house too. The result was amazing! - and it seemed pretty durable. I think it's all about the surface prep. Those guys sand the surface and use some kind of acid and then a primer coat to make sure the product sticks.

Hope that helps.

@Tammy Wise 

CLR is a very good hard water deposit remover but it's pretty caustic on the skin and don't spray it indoors unless you want to die!

The best, non-toxic water deposit remover is vinegar. I saturate a cloth and put it around faucets and drains. After a few hours the deposits just wipe off. You can remove and soak a shower head overnight and it looks like new. Using on a shower door would work great if you could remove and lay down the door and soak a towel with vinegar over the whole door. The longer you keep the vinegar on the deposits the easier they come off.

The best way to remove the hard water stain ring at the waterline of a toilet bowl is a small block of pumice. You think it's going to scratch the porcelain finish but it only scrapes off the nasty stains and makes it look great. I wouldn't use pumice on glass though. 

Hope that helps!