All Forum Posts by: Michelle S.

Thank You all for the responses! Good tips and experience! It looks like it will cost me around $5k in permits. I work very hard getting costs down in any area, thus yielding a $90k profit on each rehab I've done so far. I am very concerned with starting the build and not being able to finish. I have just enough cash, but even the best in real estate say there's always more cost involved than what you initially project. I will be sure to research warranty requirements here on new builds. 

The Engineer/Drafting designs = Any ideas how to get this down from $3k if I already have plans in mind? 

Any framers in the DFW TX area less than $15k?

Who can pour a least expensive foundation here?

Do we seriously have to pay for a high dollar soil test prior to foundation? 

Have you done this on your own without contractors and a builder? What did it cost you and/or how did you successfully cut costs? Permits or no permits?

I'm in Texas, and have acquired a nice piece of 1/2 acre of land. My team wants to build a home on their own, and we have many years experience rehabbing down to the frame and electrical, so while it is more challenging I am willing to face this type of challenge. It will be all cash no financing. Have you stopped building now due to lumber prices increasing? What about contractors the City insists on you hiring when you do better work yourself? I'd really like to avoid the bad experiences of ppl not showing up, bad jobs, taking my money, etc. If you're a Contractor on here don't take offense - I know that you have to run a business too and have your own mark-ups to survive, however, at this time I am not in a position to pay such ppl. 

Right now the lot is outside the City Limits but they have this semi-bad thing called annexation...where the City will eventually zone the land as Residential, then you have at least $5k in permits to pay not to mention the long process of plan approval, permits, etc. Part of me wants to save to make this happen but part of me wants to go ahead and try to follow City protocol. 

This is one of my dreams but possibly it's out of reach even though I am a very savvy and disciplined person with excellent budget ethic so maybe this is actually do-able? 

Anyone that has new build experience can help if they have anything to contribute here! (Please, no mean ppl...as there's always a troll somewhere!)

What I know about it is I was going to offer $400k for 4-plex, they disclosed they make about $3600 month in rents. So I figured if my mortgage payment was $1700 or so I could make profit. Something along those lines. I am used to single-family flips but am just now getting into multi-family if I can get a decent loan. Or do most multi-family buyers use cash only? Thanks for your help all! 

Patience, I think. I am having to exhibit this right now, as I listed a property same as you around mid-October, fully nice rehabbed and in a highly sought after area of Fort Worth, TX. First Buyer fell through after 33 days in Contract, supposedly we were going through the closing process, underwriting, then escrow, then come to find out the Buyer's sister wrote the pre-approval letter, kept assuring me this deal would never fall through, etc; All to find out she was never approved! So now my property looks bad and there's nothing wrong with it and it should've sold quicker. I run out of patience some days. It was Appraised for $315k and I thought about taking $300k cash for it...but that's not really right considering the 6 months of blood (literally), sweat, exhaustion, and tears we put into it without anyone helping us! It SHOULD be a hot market but in my eyes it really isn't. If the average sold price is $350k in my area then $315k should be no problem. 

Best advice: Stay patient if it's best for your financial situation. If not, make a list on paper of your others options with costs, your profit, etc. to get a large picture of the best choice for you. What puts the most money in your pocket whether you act now or wait is the best way to go. Next time be more modest on the safer end of your projected value. 

Got with one of my local banks today in Fort Worth, TX, and they quoted me 25% down payment if I buy a multi-family property at $400k. Is that normal? My intent is to buy and hold the property for a long time. But giving someone $100k out of my pocket seems steep. Thoughts or experiences? I have excellent credit BTW. Excellent payer. 

Yes! I would also be interested in this group! I am a Realtor and Investor/Rehabber with health issues too so I'd love to connect with other women in this field. I want to be a developer for a home addition and as a woman it's hard to get any of the men to allow me to shadow them to learn the developing process! I figure...I used to literally be a professional race car driver and racer, who gained national attention, so I can be a Developer if I work hard enough! 

I want to do new construction and maybe be a developer. I'm already a Realtor and Rehabber/Flipper. And I work way too hard!

My husband and I are a star team and we do ALL the work ourselves. The first thing I think of is: We get exhausted a lot of the time! It's no small feat to rehab entirely on your own but we do see 6 figure profits doing it this way on almost every house thus far. I do the designing, and also work with vendors, shop for best deals, pick up the products and supplies, then if I have extra time I help with the physical work and do paint, trim, bath tile installs, flooring, roofing, wood cutting and more! And I feel rather unique since I am technically a smaller woman with health issues so I do have to push myself and work harder than most ppl who feel normal. When ppl ask me if rehabbing is easy - I always tell them it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! 

I am there almost every day of the week and Home Depot Mansfield treats me great! 

That realtor dropped the ball a couple times during our first closing transaction, and sometimes she says things that aren't true after I check.

I don't think I know more than a realtor (however in some cases I've found some TX ones to be highly incompetent and bad at their job), I stated that I know more about the home I just rehabbed - which is I do since I built it and designed it, so I would be good with details and questions.