All Forum Posts by: Nathan Johnson

Last year my wife and I decided to take the plunge of flipping a house. All last summer I talked to anyone I could about it and I had numerous people interested in investing but when the runner hit the road, no one dove in with us, which is totally fine. We've built our own homes and built homes with my in-laws and it just seems like the next step to a little financial gain. We bought wreck of a house in our home town in Mid-Michigan at the county tax default auction. My wife did the bidding because it was the first full day of school in August and I'm a 5th grade teacher. We, as well as my in laws have a good amount of equity in our personal homes since we both served as the GC for them which is how we financed the deal. The market is on fire in our small Mid-Michigan town so we knew we could make some money. We're about 5 months in which is a little longer than we hoped, but that's okay. All of the neighbors have stopped by and said how much they appreciate it and how excited they are for us. I truly did not anticipate the feeling of satisfaction of helping a neighborhood be revitalized and of a new family getting an amazing home that is beautiful! The plan is to have a neighborhood open house next week to really get people excited about our work and the transformation. Our passion is now to recreate this feeling in similar neighborhoods for other families. I've done 85% of the work myself with my father in law and we've had two single moms who've recently gone through divorce contact us about buying. One even made a verbal full price offer. We are pretty much all in at 120 and have an asking price of 179. Not too shabby for our first deal. Thanks.

My first flip is about to finish up. Bought the house at a default tax auction for 68k + 10% so we were into for about 75k. Put close to 45k into it and are looking at an offer for 179. Pretty happy with about 60k profit! I've done a ton of the work along with my father Law and hired out some stuff.

I just started talking to people. I have experience building and remodeling homes and would love to do the construction work while having an investor foot the bill for cost and then split the returns. Over the course of this summer I spoke with lots of people: co-workers, other dads of kids on my son's sports teams, friends. There are lots of people who have money and would love a 5-10% ROI. I currently have about three different guys that are interested. No deal yet, but that's okay. I have skill, time, and passion. Most guys that I've talked to just have money that they'd like to build.

Emily Brozovic we pretty much decided the farmhouse is a lost cause. We'd have to put about 100k into it and for my first deal that's pretty overwhelming. When and where does that REI group in holt meet? I'll look it up. I'd love to talk more.

There's both sides of the coin for sure. I've been speaking to people about what I want to do, flip houses for profit, for the last year or so. In the last couple months I've been really excited and pretty much talk to everyone I know about it and especially people who I know who have been involved in real estate deals in the past. Lew Payne is totally right! There are people who would love to invest because it is often a better ROI than stocks or other things. Investors would love to have someone do the dirty work. Contractor work and labor have great value to people who don't necessarily have the time, skill, or desire to "get their hands dirty." While showing enthusiasm and passion, two different guys have offered to back a deal. Nothing has been settled on but I'm confident as we move forward. Lew Payne, I'd love to hear about some of the contractual aspects of your deals and how all parties are covered.

I like Robert Leach response, even though the numbers are arbitrary. 8k for. Kitchen is low, but if you can install cabinets you'll be good to go. Perhaps there's no need for HVAC update. As mentioned, there are a ton of variables. Going to Home Depot to get an idea of prices isn't bad either, but cost of labor obviously needs to be considered. You need to go through the house, decide what needs to be done and go from there. Best of luck.

Thanks for the encouragement guys.  After going through the house two more times, it really seems like the whole thing is a loss.  You'd have to rip it down to studs and re-do a ton of stuff.  Probably have a over 100k into it, not including purchase.  Not worth it for sure.  I've definitely make some great networking contacts through this process and we're moving forward.  I have at least two guys that are eager to find "the next deal."

Emily Brozovic that's great that you just went through your first deal. Did everything work out well for you? My wife and I joke that she usually has the vision and I just do what she says. A perfect partnership! As of yesterday, I looked at a farmhouse in 5acres in Mason that needs a ton of work but I could get it For 50k. It needs engineered septic and well so I'd be at like 80k already. It probably list for at least 150k when all said and done I spoke with two guys who would be willing to back the deal. Now I'm just dealing with nerves, looking at comps and details. I'll check out that flipper group for sure. Thanks for the tip. Best of luck. I'd live to connect more.

Mark Douglas thanks for the input. We live in a fairly small rural community and the across town is pretty darn similar. I did check with an agent and we discussed comps for sure of finished homes. I've lived in the area all my life and have had my finger on the market for the last 10 years. I'm excited, but don't want to dive into something too quickly, but I also don't want to wait and not move due to nerves.

Over the last couple months I've really thrown myself into talking to people, discovering leads, and looking at properties. All the while I've been learning. Today I said a deep prayer about allowing God to place something in front of me that I can "lean in to." I want to make that jump! Within an hour I spoke with a mentor and he encouraged me to keep digging. I called on a local farmhouse that was listed for 65k and the agent told me the price had just dropped 10k and wasn't even posted yet. The house was a wreck, needs engineered septic and well, and a ton of updates. 5 acres 3 maybe 4 BR, two big barns and would probably sell for 170k if redone well. I certainly don't have cash to go in at all, being a teacher. So I spoke to a couple of guys today not necessarily asking for money but just talking and they both basically told me that they were ready to go all in to back it! There's another comparable across town that I'm looking at tomorrow and then we'll see where it goes. I would provide most/all labor and subcontract everything else. I'd be their feet on the ground. Not providing any cash seems so foreign to me. I feel like the labor/expertise that I bring to the table is less valuable than the cash, even though I know it's quite valuable. What type of deal/percentage cut is typical in an investor/flipper relationship?