All Forum Posts by: Mateusz Prawdzik

@Sterling Fields What Gabe said was correct. Couple things, make sure that you have an offer or roundabout number in your head that you want to present before going to meet or talking over the phone, that way you can say it towards the end of the conversation and see if they are interested. The most important part is to find some how you can relate and talk about what is going and their situation. Don't just jump right into what you want to talk about, make sure they feel comfortable and want to tell you. 

Next, Leave out the realtor. No point, you are the cash buyer so you are putting it under contract and then assigning it. A realtor kills that whole process. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.

Most owners don't want inspection contingencies. I am assuming you are very new to the game... you ever try to make an offer to a bank or an MLS listing with inspection contingencies... lol, as soon as people see that they reject the offer. You are assuming all problems with the house (as long as the house isn't about to fall down.) This is incorporated into your offer right away, so do your homework and make sure that you get a good contractor since you don't know what you are doing (over time this will change, as you do more and more houses.)

Finally, do a title scan when you sign the contract, a preliminary title search takes like 1 day. Usually on the contract, it says that the title has to be currently clean or else either party can back out with no problem. Additionally, there is usually a 3 day review clause that allows you to back out no matter what before the 72 hour mark is over. 

Please do your homework prior to going to see the house, you don't understand how many leads you will lose if you go there and don't know the answer to a question the person might have. It has happened to me when I was starting, you want to be prepared for a *****how.

If you have any other questions, please reach out to me. I am a developer/rehabber so most of my experience is on that side of REI but I am very knowledgeable on other aspects as well , so don't be afraid to ask. I am always here trying to help out any way I could.

@Tyler Ettner Hey Tyler, sounds like you want to buy and hold for passive income. I wish I could help you out as far as the market in the area that you are looking goes, but unfortunately I cannot. Passive investing doesn't only have to be thru rentals remember, right now with escalating prices in housing, the cap rates don't really make sense unless you find a killer deal. With that being said, lots of passive investors are investing with rehabbers and developers and making a ROI or net profits when the property sells. Have you ever thought about doing that? I have plenty of investors that think like me and say that rentals don't make much sense right now, but they invest passively other ways where it makes sense for them.

I am mainly a developer/rehabber so most of my experience is on that side of REI. But if you have any other questions, please ask, I am always happy to assist any BP'er or investor in the industry.

@Mike D'Arrigo Taxes are bad here, but appreciation is good here hahaha. You want to ride the wave and flip for a good amount for time before the market starts to settle. The Luxury market here already is sitting pretty low... Anything over 800k + isn't really selling or moving anymore. I have tons of friends and me personally am sitting on 2.4M that doesn't have any showings at all. I have another 800k that is coming up and I am scared that is going to be sitting. But the appreciation here has gotten a little out of control. If you go to my profile and read the thread that I just posted about the sheriff sales to someone, it is pretty crazy. Here I will link it. Please read it and let me know you're thoughts. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/41/topics/485861-new-york-and-new-jersey-court-auctions?page=1#p2993398

@Brian Lau @Lucifer Vîrroc Hey Guys, I just did the same thing you are doing Brian not too long ago. I started doing just recently I was trying to grow my business to a new level and social media has brought it a long way since I started it (2 weeks ago). Ever since I made it, it's been meetings nonstop, it's been nothing but positive feedback from the people and the followers. I made it for the purpose of educating and inspiring people that age is just a number and that no matter what if you hustle enough, you will succeed. With that being said, now 20 (just turned 1 week ago), I have collectively with my partner done 8 deals within a 10 month time frame and we are looking to grow to new levels and I think social media will definitely get us there.

If you have any questions about REI or just want to connect and talk, please connect with me and ask any questions you might have, I am always looking forward to answering anything that you might have to ask. I am a builder/flipper so most of my experience comes from doing that, but I am very knowledgeable on most levels on REI. Don't be afraid to reach out, I help and educate everyone because as network grows and gets smarter, my company and I grow as well.

@Solon S. Okay, so I live in Jersey and just recently started to go back to auctions for the reason that I am looking to for something to pick up as I try to have 4 properties going at all times. I am selling 2 shortly... So there are a couple of things happening now in the market and the auctions. 

1) 800k+ in most of the US is sitting. My partners 1.1M Chatham is Sitting.. Our 2.4M Chatham is sitting. 900k Berkley Heights sitting. My 800k Bergenfield is almost done and is going to be sitting. There is a lack of inventory for the properties that are luxury because of some uncertainity in the market and the richer don't want to spend right now. I think it's because of the tax code change Trump wants to do.

2) The bank wants to much. Classic case was yesterday.. I went to go look at a house in Scotch Plains yesterday. My max bid was 270k (I was willing to pay that.) Bank started 400k... on a POS that needed like 250k into it..

3)People don't care what they pay. See this all the time... People that are newbies literally don't care what they pay, they just want to be in the business because flipping house is "cool"... "Everyone is doing it, I want to do it too." These CNBC shows are causing people to NOSE DIVE into a house they will go upside down on.

4)Too many people in general. I use to be able to take up 3-4 seats the auction like 1 year ago... now you go and you have to cram 3 people into one spot... 

Those are the things I am observing. 

Next, let's talk about 20% down. You need 20% down on the winning bid.. You need to come up with 80% cash to close on it or wholesale it within 30 days (I have seen people drag it out 3 months if you know the secretaries at the sheriffs office). I don't know if HML will lend on sheriffs sale properties. I think they can't because they can claim first lien on it, so you need to come up with cash, buy it and then refinance out.

I am starting to go again and check out where the prices are at, but unless you befriend the sharks and agree with them to take some and lose some... chances are you are losing everything on the auctions because A) the sharks with out bid you. B) the bank wants too much. C) the newbies come and are willing to pay crazy amounts on it. 

Wait for all this uncertainty to settle down... Wait for the correction in 1-2 years... and then buy in bulk 30%-50% on the dollar and build build build build, wholesale wholesale wholesale... 

OR....

Buy decent notes now and then when the market corrects... Default the borrow... Collect a 500k asset on a 50k Note... 

@James Green@Leo Lanza @Cody Z. I totally agree with the fact that all these new people getting into the business because the market is going up and trying to just make a quick buck without any investment don't know what they are talking about. They pull random numbers or miscalculated numbers out of hat and call it a deal because they think it makes sense. TRUE wholesalers do their own flips and actually know the rehab cost. TRUE wholesalers market and spend LOTS and LOTS of money on marketing and mailers in order to acquire that one good deal that wants to sell. I have been there and done that when i was starting but you have to know when to move up. I am now developing and flipping full time and only wholesale or give properties that I don't want to be bothered with that I got a better deal elsewhere. 

There is no such thing as get rich quick, if you want that go to the casino with 10k and go on red. Big risk = Big Reward and there is no such thing as no capital and making money. There is no free lunch and these new wholesalers don't seem to understand that. Additionally, to this, there are good deals on the MLS, I have wholesaled a couple I am not going to lie. But I was there 10 mins after it was listed and called the agent at 10-11pm and told them to put it under contract, I didn't even want to see the property. These are deals where I was willing to call 10-11pm and I was looking at the MLS at that time when realtors usually post the good deals when someone else was not. So I put it under contract and for being in the right place at the right time, I made 30k. But that is VERY RARE. LIKE VERY only happened once.

@Keith N. Benjamin Moore Owl Gray, Stone Gray, Bunny Gray, Smokey Shadows (or something like that). These colors if they still have them, are really good neutral light gray colors. Flat color on the walls. White ceiling Flat. Semi-Gloss moldings and doors. @Chris

@Jennifer Petrillo You made a basically a 100% return on your money, so you did great. This was your first deal? The %age and the points seem to be really high that you paid for the private lender. I am also a builder/flipper in Central/North Jersey (union/Morris/Bergen counties), I would love to connect with you, maybe I can answer some questions that you might on the matter. I do all the property managing myself, I am 100% against hiring a GC at this point in time of my business because I haven't scaled to a size where I need to have someone else help manage the properties. IF you have a full time job then that's a different story. I am always willing answer any questions that you might have, as you grow, my company and I grow. Let's connect.

@Robert Campbell Hey Robert, I live very close to you. Welcome to BP, I am glad to see that you are finally taking steps forward and trying to invest. I am a builder/flipper in the North/Central Jersey area and I have grown my business pretty rapidly since I started back 10 months ago. I would love to connect with you and find out your goals and maybe offer some guidance and tell you about some of the mistakes that I have made so that way you don't make them and lose money like I did. Connect with me, I would be glad to answer any and all questions that you might have. I am more of an active investor that builds/flips for now because cap rates don't makes sense to me, so most of my experience comes from that side of REI, but I am very knowledgeable in all areas of REI. Let's connect. Welcome again!