All Forum Posts by: Tom McGiveron

SALD

coincidence, i live on LI. tough market now for flipping and the like.

anyhow, i feel you brother. rei is very overwhelming. once you get into it and begin to understand it, you'll be able to make good decisions that you are comfortable with.

people are ALL DIFFERENT. there are some guys that will tell you it doesn't take "a few years" to make money in real estate, but maybe just a few months! and they're right!

however, that is them, you are you. keep coming to these forums and check out other sites as well. read read read. you've got a job, and kids, bills and a life - so it can be tough to manage. but if you want to become a real estate investor/businessman - then you have to put aside time EVERYDAY, (cept Sundays - God rested that day too...and FOOTBALL'S ON - GIANTS SUCK!!!...sorry bout that...tourette's)

anyway, keep in touch. and if you want a place to start - check out "wholesaling" and "contract" agreements. also, look at yourself, your talents and strengths, draw on them. take a look at where you might be weakest...financing? communicating? basic business knowedge? etc. better yourself in these areas.

good book to read - Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki - it's BASIC, BUT FUN TO READ.

DEAL DEAL DEAL DEAL! TAKE THE MONEY!!!!

oh wait a minute, i was having flashbacks to my favorite show on TV (the only show i actually watch). howie mandell is the man!

anyway.

i'd say that you'd need to give some more information. i know you said the houses in the area are "around 300k"...

how do you know this? what's your local market like? is it selling?

i mean, of course, if you can pick up a house for over 60,000 below market or in this case 20% below market and fix it up to make like 10 or 15k, that's good.

there's just so many variables. forget about the actual house, do you know how you're going to finance it? (i'm sure you do - i just like to ask alot of questions :D ) why is the owner selling NOW. do you have access to speaking with the owner? if not, do any of the neighbors know how to reach him/her?

information is your GREATEST TOOL. numbers are easy (once you truly understand them). in my experience, it's the information-gathering that is a big challenge.

also consider - how long the house has been vacant?

let's say you take a look at it and i'll assume that you actually know the costs of general repairs etc. let's estimate them to be 12,000.

(do you need permits for any of the work - call the town to ask GENERAL INFORMATION about permits and such).

k, so 12k in repairs and let's say 12k in closing costs = 24,000

now let's just saaaayy, you'll have a mortgage payment, and i'll just throw a number out there to save time and typing = 2500 month (includes PITI)

and you plan WORST CASE SCENARIO OF HOLDING TIME - 6 MONTHS
= 15,000

you sell it with a realtor = 3% comm at 300k = 9,000

add it up = 48000 total cost of project soup to nuts

so, you buy for 239k + 48,000 = 287,000

sell for 300k...profit = 13k

basic but you get the point - try this: you probably shouldn't pay more than 180,000 for it.

point? - information is paramount, take a look at it, take into consideration your talents and abilities and CASH and of course the property and the seller, neighborhood and market - all these things will then and only then let you know if it's a Deal or No Deal.

Good Luck man! Let us know how it goes....

research YOURSELF FIRST!!!

what is that saying....KNOW THYSELF.

no prob bigger.

i figured it would get edited. sorry for the trouble, if any.

i wonder how many people post in forums like this and then never are heard from again?

nice answers Ohio.

wacko questions too. :D

"no equity" is not the opposite of money in the bank.

no or negative net worth is.

the term "equity" has many different definitions. but for rei's sake it usually refers to the difference between what you owe on a home and what the home is valued at (or price it can sell for).

sounds like you have negative net worth. net worth is the difference between assets and liabilities. and net worth is a relative term - you can have a million networth on paper but be broker than a bumb in the street.

broke means, you have no liquid cash - that's bad. liquid cash or assets are simply easy to get to with no hassles. liquid is like reaching into your pocket and pulling out money - that easy.

if it ain't liquid, you can't get to it easy because it's tied up.

arnie,

pm me if you like. you sound very motivated.

i was reading one of the many trump books in Borders...of course i didn't buy it! that's where he made his mark. good luck VC.

is that your company name VC skylines?

how long have you been in business?

thanks.

i don't want to discourage anyone from utilizing the services of SCORE - you just have to be forwarned that not all counselors are created equal.

i like the online score contact - you can read their resumes and decide who you want to contact - very cool.

i got free business planning software.

i had another counselor basically teach me EXCEL, which is a MUST for any business owner.

utilize your contacts wisely. many will recommend baby steps...but you can adapt some of what they say to make it fit your plan. they give it to you in common sense. if they're negative, say, "thank you and goodbye" - move on and find another counselor.

best of luck!