All Forum Posts by: Nick Coonis

Welcome to BP @Greg Roberge I have property in Acton that I am hopefully moving to this year. This site is great, you could spend hours on here research any real estate subject. Listen to the podcasts too, they are a gold mine!

No problem @Jesse Reese I would love to hear what you ended up doing. 

@Darius Moody I completely agree with you and I am going to do the same. I think gaining those certifications WILL give you knowledge and experience. Also, I think it will give you more credibility to your clients, partners, banks, etc. 

@Darius Moody I say get one. What's the down side in being trained on local codes? Especially when you plan on building, adding on, remodeling, etc. Not to mention the advantages in acquisitions. I thought about getting one myself or at least going through the schooling. I think I'm going to as well.

@Jesse Reese they have loans for prefabs that can include the purchase of the property. Find a lender the specializes in manufactured or prefabed homes. I already owe my land, but I got an FHA loan with my land equity as the down payment.

What type of prefab are you thinking of? We went with a Modular, which is not the same as a manufactured. It's built to the ICC residential code, just like a site built home and after it's installed it's deeded with the county as a "single family home" not a manufactured or mobile. Modulars appreciate the same as a site built homes, but they also aren't as cheap as a manufactured homes. We ended up spending $155,000 for a 1800 sqf 4 bed 2 bath, and that's just for the house. You also have to add on site construction costs, utilities (if they're not already in place), permits, etc.

I'm in the middle of building a home on 10 acres in Los Angeles county, and my total out the door costs (not including land acquisition) is $293,000 for a 4 bed, 2 bath 1800 sqf single story ranch home. That number also includes all utilities (which the water is very expensive for me because we couldn't dig a well), county permit fees, and financing costs.

But like @Rob Beland said, every project is completely unique and the numbers can be drastically different. 

@Richard D. go for a modular or manufactured home. Manufactured homes these days are much more the just trailers, and they are very affordable and can be luxurious. There are financing companies that deal specifically in pre-manufactured homes. 

@Blake Reynolds 

Plus I've tried remembering where I heard certain things by flipping back through the podcast titles but it never works, I can never find it. Taking notes would have been great from the beginning. Those podcasts are a gold mine!

Welcome @Ryan Blevins This site is only good if you want to learn everything there is to know about real estate investing for free...

@Blake Reynolds is correct, except I would suggest starting from the first podcast and working your way through them all. I tried hoping around at first and then couldn't remember which ones I had listened to and which ones I hadn't, so then I just went back and listened to them all. They contain a wealth of knowledge. Take notes when you listen and note which podcast # you heard it on so you can go back later.

Also these forums are great. Search through them and reach out to anyone who is talking about a particular topic you are interested in. Mostly everyone is very welcoming a more than willing to help with advice.

Awesome! Great job. My wife and I have be kicking around the idea of getting our licenses. This is inspiring!