All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gornto

Both please! I personally am interested in fix/flips but have an investor interested in adding to his SFH rental portfolio as well.

What is everyone's opinion on mechanicsville? 

Hello BP,

I am looking for possible handyman specials preferably in towns of 20,000 or more. I'm interested in Gainesville and Tallahasee specifically but would consider properties in Hamilton and Madison Counties as my family lives around Live Oak and Jasper. Thanks!

This was one of the first questions I had when I first decided to focus on investing actively in RE. 

Originally I read around and found that no, it wasn't necessary to be licensed unless you want to be more actively involved in RE as an agent. I didn't see myself in the traditional realtor role, but I decided to start the GA Pre-Licensing course for the education. What I'm trying to say is, there is a lot of valuable information/experience/connections associated with being a real estate agent that anyone investing in RE would benefit by knowing. There are many subjects that I would have never learned about, covered in great detail-so I consider it worth it. Maybe a license will help you, maybe it won't-but you can't go wrong investing in your own knowledge/skills IMO.

I agree with Silvio and others who say hire it out to one guy that just needs the work. Investing in painting equipment really pays off but it takes more time than you think to learn how to apply paint to any surface. If you DIY, be careful not to rush the prep work, id recommend using a shop vacuum or dust mop on your walls if you sand them. A good prep job makes a project go quicker and last longer. 

Think about your time vs $ when deciding to do it yourself.

750 sq ft interior 

Experienced painter-16 hours x($20-$25)= $320-$400 labor, plus materials

DIY-16-24 hours x ($0)=$0-labor, plus materials

Understand that you won't be able to match the speed of a professional, but it may be worth your time to hire someone who has professional experience. Consider how much you make per hour and decide from there. I'm a painter by trade and I'd hire it out to a reliable guy rather than a company. 

That being said I bid 730 sf yesterday to a family friend at $1100, with a condition I'd take $100 off if she would make us lunch one day... Her ribs are to die for LOL! 

I think it is a lot of contractors dream to get into real estate investing. To me there are a few good reasons why investors have a hard time wanting to partner with a builder/contractor. 

Unless (like Mark said), the contractor agrees to cutting out some overhead/profit for the work he/she would be making profit off your investment before you do, and would want a split of the profits of the deal once the property is sold. I'd say explain your position to your contractor on this, if he wants to make a profit off a joint venture ask for a cut for yourself. Not everyone is the same, but living and working by the "golden rule"-treat others as you would like to be treated-works for me when trying to establish a deal that makes both parties happy. 

There are a lot of benefits in my opinion to an investor and contractor partnering-depending on the contractor of course. My opinion is based on mostly SFH, which I have the most experience with but am I by no means an expert.

-More control over labor costs

-Contractor Discounts on materials (bigger money saver than most think)

-Access to Tools/Equip you may otherwise have to rent

-Access to the contractors network of sub-contractors

-(Possibly) Deminished Overhead Expenses

I personally wouldn't mind removing all company profit, and leaving overhead at a set amount say $1000/month to attract my own investors/partners. Or heck, an arrangement to split the profits with the investor on a rehab job... I'm in the same boat as your contractor friend, a good eye for deals but not enough skin in the game to move on all the houses I want to without help. I feel like successful established contractors won't need equity partners like a smaller handyman would but we all got to start somewhere. Just my two cents, hope it shed some light on the subject from a contractors perspective. Good luck and keep us in the loop with how it works out!

Trying to figure out how to divide my time between two growing markets!

I used legal zoom for my last LLC, fairly easy and they can provide all of your registered agent services like filing dates, etc. If your looking for something very simple, legal zoom is always there.

Welcome to BP! Good luck investing, this is the place to visit if you are looking for insight... I have a few of those books myself lol

I live in a college town of approximately 100k residents + 25k or more students, lately the rental market has been more student oriented and it seems that rents are rising in general. I have had my eyes on a 4br about ten minutes from campus, it has an appraisal value of 81k and is listed at 65k. Would this make a LTV of approximately 80%? This kind of property seems like, if nothing else it would make a great property for me to live in, set up an office in, and rent out two rooms to pay my expenses. It may require a few thousand worth of materials and a few hundred hours of labor before it would be in a good position for a flip, but I am no stranger to this kind of work either. Before I schedule a viewing to inspect its condition there are a few questions I have. Is it really worth it being a landlord in a college town? My gut tells me the property would be more valuable to hold, increase equity and cash out 2-4 years down the road to finance another property. Any advice on financing? Are foreclosed homes eligible with any FHA programs?