All Forum Posts by: Martin Zawarski

while I was a Keller Williams real estate agent for three years I probably spent $30,000 in seminars, classes and coaching. Now I use Bigger Pockets and HGTV and DIY channel for a good portion of my education.

I live this business

yup that is correct. I put minimal amount of my money in using mostly sweat equity as my portion of down money. I like everyone else here am typically buying undervalued assets so when the home is appraised the bank will lend me 75% of appraised value.

Example I bought a home for $75000 put in $15000 and got 80,000 loan. So I have $10,000 of my money in it bank appraised it at $110,000 and I get $1,100 a month rent for this. After PITI I make a bit over $400 a month and will pay off a bit over $1000 in principle the first year.

I like this deal

When rehabbing a historic home it typically must be a love affair. Let me tell you my experience with a rehab. I bought a small in city farmhouse with four acres in 1981, my second year out of college. I gained approval to build 14 Townes on the property and those were immediately built and still owned today. The home built in1810 (3-1.5) we tried to use as our office for our building company. The city said no and so we moved and rented it out as a residence up until 2005. This was on a busy street and a traffic light was installed at this time, with the light being about 15 feet from the front door, not an ideal environment for a rental. Because of this I approached the city asking for a variance to convert it to a commercial use and I won approval. I soon began rehabbing .

Wanting to do everything correctly as possible was easy just expensive. I had the original shutters duplicated at a cost of 3,000. All the baseboard was removed and duplicated being 1" higher and we ran all new electric and internet behind the base in the wall. This was four times more expensive than normal. We rebuilt the front porch that ran along the entire front of home. It was built on a slab of concrete with no footer. We added a footer and then a wall then a slab and then we finished the porch. Add another 7500.

What started out as a 40,000 makeover ending up costing $225,000 but I went from a rental as a residence at $850 a month to receiving $3200 a month as a commercial office. I have a beautiful home and it was well worth the effort.

My point--- two points. One it must be a love affair and two the numbers should be the driver that justifies the money spent.

congrats!!! Most people have a hard time making that first step. You dove in and you came up aces. I applaud you courage and will power.

I owned a new top floor beach view cond in OC Md, for ten years and it was rented the fully during the "season ". It still cost me $12,000 a year. I did enjoy driving three hours to spend time there in the offseason. I really did. But know a rental of this type typically is not a money maker. The rent received did help offset 75% of my total costs.

I had to sell it four years ago when my income took a hit and made money selling it, and yes I will have another someday soon as I start to build my portfolio back up. This past year I acquired 8 homes that I fixed up and rented. Another 8 and then the vacation home.

Two questions - can there be circumstances where a 1031 is a bad idea? And. Did anyone chose just not to do a 1031. And give the reasons.

I am reading "things That Matter" by Charles Krauthammer. Which is a collection of his writings over the years. And "Bad Monkey" by Carl Haissen, my favorite author . This guy wrote Skin Tight. And was made into a movie with Burt Reynolds and Demi Moore . He is on another planet

on my very first two deals, two months after I purchase the homes and obtained insurance, The insurance company rep came out and saw that the properties were empty. I shortly received a letter stating that my policy will be terminated if the homes were still vacant in 30 days. I called my rep immediately. It was worked out. Now I have a commercial rate which is ten percent more, but the place could be empty for several months..

I used two guys and a truck.. They picked up everything in about ninety minutes in their large cube van and then took it to the waste disposal place. It cost a couple bucks more than a dumpster but they were quick and responsive. But most times I use a dumpster. Depends on your situation.

Hello to all the members of Bigger Pockets. I would like to introduce myself to this community. I am 57 years old and have been involved in building homes all my life until....... The crash. In the last five years I struggled as a salesperson hating what I was doing. During this time I started doing bpo's for banks at $50 a pop and most times did not get paid. Well that lasted about three months but what I did gain from that is that I was viewing properties that we're being flipped in preparing my bpo's

I soon went to a seminar by Armondo and would not pay the $40,000 for his seminar in Vegas, but I did learn a bit more about this great business. In the last year I bought 8 properties as a buy and hold with 1 I will sell making $50,000+. I am so excited doing what I am doing now. I love working on my homes as well as the hunt. That elusive search for the right next home.

I appreciate this community and all that is to be learned here. I was a Keller Williams agent and spent thousands on seminars and coaching all for nothing. Now I get my education basically for free and now I enjoy my life again and love my business.

Thank you to all and especially Bigger Pockets!