All Forum Posts by: Madison Wilson

Good morning everyone!

I wanted to write a quick post about recent experiences and lessons I have personally gone through regarding doing work yourself in your property vs. hiring it out and the pro’s and con’s that come with each!

(This is just my opinion and observations for myself for the future, everyone will be different and I would love to hear your opinions too!)

To do yourself:

Pros:

1. Cost is the one that is the most obvious. If you are on a budget, doing as much of the work yourself is absolutely a power move. The thing to keep in mind is that you will trade more of your time instead, and depending on the scope of the job, amount of times you have successfully completed it, & the situation (if a unit turnover and time is limited) you should factor in a learning curve of watching YouTube videos, trying things for the first time and messing up and having to go to the store to get more materials, etc. 

2. Over time, you will become more well rounded in different aspects and gravitate towards being more of a “Jack of all trades, master of none”, and be able to know what a fully complete and proper result looks like (if you delegate you can have a fully hands on high standard) and the more you learn, the more you can cut expenses if you have the time :).

Cons:

1. The result that you envision may not be the result that you get the first time or couple times around. It takes time and practice to start to achieve an early level of proficiency in different areas.

2. It may take longer to complete because of the learning curve and procrastination from lack of knowledge and being a little nervous because you do not want to mess it up, it is natural and a normal part of the human to respond to challenges of uncertainty like that. 

To delegate:

Pros:

1. The amount of YOUR time it takes to get that result you are looking for will drop tremendously . It may take a little while to find a go-to contractor, but once you do never let them go!

2. The result itself will hopefully be very high quality. In the book "Who Not How", without spoiling too much, the author mentions a concept of being committed to results. The better results you have, the higher quality your unit is, the higher rent you should be able to extract from it, and the higher returns on your COC.

3. You will be able to focus your time on higher $$$/hour tasks and adopt more of a “project manager” role in your real estate business. 

Cons:

1. You will have to pay a premium for labor, materials, & skill set of the contractor you are working with. Best case scenario, they get you an awesome result in a timely period that aligns with your situation.

2. Finding a solid contractor can sometimes be difficult. But like I mentioned above, once you find them for that particular field, pay them well and keep them as long as you can! These folks will be part of your “millionaire investor circle” for that particular area. (definitely read the millionaire real estate investor by Gary Keller!).

3. You will be potentially less aware of some of the more granular processes and final results for the projects that you pay for to make sure it was done correctly unless the contractor shows you. You should still learn in this area over time!

For me, I have experimented with both with my househack in the past 6 months, and I believe it depends on your situation. I am a very tactical and hands on type of person, but it does not fit my vision to be this way in my business to buy properties. I envision to hold more of a project manager & visionary that is out and about creating meaningful relationships and talking with sellers etc. It means more to me to work on finding the “WHO’S” to help me in these areas and create awesome mutual relationships and pay them very well and receive an awesome result on the back end.

What has your experience been & thoughts on the dynamic between doing work yourself & delegation?!

@Joel Polanco

In my experience, if you are getting a reasonable amount of showings, but no offers, it is not likely the price because you are getting traffic.

Is your agent reaching out for feedback using the Showtime app and process? Are there noisy neighbors, a busy street, a smoking odor in the house? You just never know why buyers are turned off but your listing agent has to dig deep.

Also, how is the listing agent marketing your listing? Gone are the days you could just throw it up on the MLS and expect multiple offers.

For me personally, when I list a home in Tampa I do the following

1. Market it on instagram with pictures and videos ( I am always surprised at how many leads I get through social media).
2. I reverse search the MLS and write done every agent that has sold a home in the last 6 months in the neighborhood and call them personally and let them know about this listing
3. I hold a brokers open so other agents are walking in and seeing the property and getting their buyers involved early on
4. Many home buyers do not have a buyers agent, so many times they will call the listing agent directly and I have to be ready to show the home in a moment's notice.
5. I knock on the homes 5 to the left, 5 to the right and 5 across. That is 15 neighbors. Many people want their family, children or relatives to live close to them so that could spark interest and generate buzz.

These are just my personal strategies. They have worked for me. Nevertheless, the market has slowed in this region, so I would not be alarmed that it has not sold in 24 days.

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

Hi All,

I am selling my primary residence in Gibsonton, FL (about an 20 mins away from Tampa) because I just got a new job and I'm moving. The comps for my SFH is $386,000. Originally I listed it for $392k and..... crickets. On 8/7/22 I reduced the price to $374k and I've gotten some showings, but still no offers. The house has been on the market for 24 days now and I am getting somewhat impatient because I am moving on 9/2/22. Should I reduce the price further? What's the best way to get the house sold? Also, I do have a real estate agent.

Joel

Hey Andrew, 

Few pieces of advise...

1) Start small. Don't take on a huge project for your first flip, or multiple projects at once. There will almost always be bumps in the road with any given project, and on a small scale those will be valuable lesions you can learn from, on a large scale, they can be devastating. 

2) When figuring out what neighborhood to flip in utilize Redfin to comp properties. I personally love using the "map nearby homes for sale" function and adjusting the filters to view sold homes in the immediate neighborhood (not 1-2 miles away) with similar square footage, layout, and interior upgrades your aiming for. The most recently sold homes (3-6 months) are going to be the best in determining your ARV.

3) If you're bringing on a GC do your due diligence! (i.e GC agreement, read reviews, if they are licensed look them up to ensure they are in good standing with the state, etc). A large part of the projects success is in the hands fo the GC and unfortunately not all GCs are entrepreneurs aka good at money management. I would advise against paying any deposits upfront, and definitely not pay by the hour. If you use hard money financing you'll likely have reimbursement style fund control (contractor get paid upon completion of work) and require lien waivers both of which will protect you. 

Good Luck!

I'm looking to start investing in real estate and its a big decision, so I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on your first flip. I'm looking for advice as to where to start and if possible a mentor. Does anyone have any initial first steps and some advice on your first flip

About Me

I'm a 29 year old working professional. I've been working in tech since I graduated college. For the past couple of months, I've thought about how I dont see myself working in this industry for the rest of my life. I figured I might as well focus my career on something that I enjoy. I have experience with renovations, since I completely renovated my condo (demo, tiling, flooring, cabinet install, plumbing). My parents also own a couple apartment buildings, so I've been renovating managing them with my parents. 

Financials

I currently own my condo, and have around 55k of equity in it. My current salary is 140k a year and I have around 120k saved in my bank account. 

Real Estate Goals

I really enjoy the construction aspect of real estate, so that's why I'd like to be more hands on. But I do realize that it makes the most sense to hire construction out to a GC or subs. I would initially want to start off in flipping houses in the chicagoland area and eventually have a combination of rentals while still doing flips.