All Forum Posts by: Michael Woodward

@Will Barnard ....yeah, once she explained the rest of the details I encouraged her to move forward (although VERY cautiously....read the rest of my posts to get the full picture). I think you would agree that her original post sounded like too much risk for someone's first project. That's what I was responding to. Regardless, it's not unwise advise caution.....especially for someone's first project.

I think it's also important to realize that not everyone has your real estate/business savvy so you can't assume that everyone else can handle a project like this. There are a few people that can dive right in with the sharks but most people need to just get their feet wet first. There's an awful lot of people that lost everything by getting in too deep too fast.

She's taking a bold step with this project and I want to see her succeed.

Good clarification by @Adam Johns ..... drop your price to get it in line with comps first.....then do the incremental price drops to stay on the hot sheet.

Ryan, I've asked several Realtors in the past about raising the commission to encourage cooperation but I got a really flat response. They told me that raising the commission wouldn't really have any effect. What Realtors want are houses that will sell quick regardless of the commission (assuming it's within the normal range). It's not worth the extra hassle of multiple showings and the begging and pleading it takes to talk someone into buying something that's over-priced. In fact, I've had several occasions where the Realtor voluntarily LOWERED their commission to help close the deal. If it's priced right with the right appeal, they'll be all over it.

Thanks @Chris Piper !! Much appreciated!!

@Ryan S. , I think most of us have been in your shoes with this scenario. You've probably heard investors say that "you make your money going in". This is why it's CRITICAL to get your analysis right before you buy the property. I partnered with a guy about 10 years ago on a project that he wanted to keep throwing money at. He literally said, "We'll just raise the price if we spend more than we planned." I had to exit the project because he was setting us up for disaster.

You've got lots of great advice already here. I would add one trick that you might want to consider. I agree with @Ron Climer that if your house gets shown, it will eventually sell (assuming you get the price in line). What you can do is drop your price $100 every week or two so it will keep popping up in the MLS hot sheet. Listings get stale pretty quick and you have a price challenge to deal with so you need to refresh your listing often......after you get your price in line.

My project criteria (all calculations done BEFORE I buy):

- ARV estimate must be in line with the neighborhood (be conservative!)

- Pad remodeling costs 10% for safety factor

- Assume $5000 in buyers closing cost assistance (typical these days)

- Must have good curb appeal (no weird designs, ultra-modern, mid-evil, etc)

- NO BAD NEIGHBORS!

- Floorplan must have good "flow"

- Neutral colors and decor (off-white/beige walls, white trim, white ceilings, etc)

- Price it 5% under comps

This criteria usually results in a sale within 15 to 30 days. Hope this helps. Good luck.

@Kari R. That paints a somewhat different picture of the project. If you're able to approach it slowly and take plenty of time to do all of your due diligence, you will probably be ok. I agree with @Will Barnard that a good mentor/adviser would be valuable.... especially to help you anticipate the hidden surprises. Just make sure that you don't make any "assumptions" about cost or time. It will take some effort but you really need to get three estimates (both cost & time) for every part of the project. Take it slow and be careful and you will probably be ok. I hope it's a great success for you!

It will be difficult to get help unless you give lots of detail about the situation and ask some specific questions.

@Timothy Brillant , I think it's an excellent question. I work a full time job as an engineer and am flipping one house roughly every two months. I want to be up to one house per month by the beginning of 2014 so I'm automating everything I can. I have a family that I want to spend time with so automation is critical.

I'm still working on my systems so I don't have any files or procedures to share but I can tell you that most of my business is run through Microsoft and Google products. My primary tool for project evaluation and tracking is Excel. I use my Android phone to link to my home PC which is a little cumbersome but it's good enough for now. Eventually I want a complete system to seamlessly connect all of my data but it's going to take some time (and money) to develop. I talked to a software developer about my plans a few months ago and he quoted something between $10k and $15k to do the whole thing.....including mobile app interface.

Sorry I couldn't offer more. I'm going to check out the iFlip site suggested by @Chris Piper . Good luck!

@Joe Boggin , You need a local investor, contractor, or highly experienced Realtor to help you determine the value.....or better yet, all three. You need LOTS of local data to determine values.

Are you looking for advice or are you looking for a contractor to come to your location? ....need more details....