All Forum Posts by: Olivia Story

Welcome to Biggerpockets neighbor!  Im also in Puyallup.  You found a great place to learn. There is a BP meetup group that meets regularly.  You should check it out. Let me know if you have any questions.   :)

Welcome!  I agree, lots of great information on biggerpockets.  Plenty to keep anyone  busy  learning for a while!  I'm also in Puyallup.  Maybe we should organize a local meetup?  

Pierce county is a great place to live! I'm in Puyallup. When you get here, we should meet up.  If you have any questions about real estate or living here, I'm here for you.

I'm in! Looking forward to it. 

I'm new to investing and am looking at a deal where I need to contact a hard money lender. I looked at all the HML on the resources pages here on BP. There appear to be many good lenders, can anyone recommend one lender over another? Any good experiences, or one I should avoid? I've done my homework but would like a second opinion on any of them. Thanks in advance for your comments.

@Mike Hurney, I searched for similar properties that have sold in the last 180 days, similar bed/ bath, sf, lot size, year built. I only used properties in great condition. Found the average price per sf, and multiplied it by my subject house sf. I'm still new to this so if I made a mistake, I would love to know where I went wrong. I'm a Realtor, so I have access to the MLS. That's where I got my comps.

I am looking at my first rehab flip property and am having a hard time finding a good offer price. When researching how to get my offer price, I see several methods to get there. The MPP (Max Purchase Price) suggested in J. Scott's book, The Book on Flipping House suggests:

MPP=Sales Price-Fixed Costs-Profit-Rehab Costs

Here is my problem. If the fixed costs include hard money lender fees and interest, how do I know the what to use for my calculations if I don't know the loan amount (as I'm trying to find out what to offer)? Do I just guess? Use the listing price? Same goes for closing costs. I don't have the loan amount yet so I'm not sure where to get that number.

The other method is the 70% rule. As I understand it, you offer 70% of the ARV. Is that right? I have tried both of these methods and they each result in different numbers for offer price.

I know the septic has major issues and there are clouds on title, but these still need some research. Here are the numbers I have come up with:

ARV- $286,587.00

Current List Price -$95,000.00

70% rule- $200,610.90

Fixed costs:

Purchase costs

Closing $2,850.00

Hard Money lender fees $4,750.00 (I estimated 5% of the current list price)

Hard Money Lender interest $14,250.00 (I estimated 15% of the current list price)

Holding costs

mortgage payments $1,500.00

property taxes $1,000.00

Utilities $1,000.00

Insurance $200.00

Selling costs

Commissions $7,737.85

Closing costs $7,737.85

Home warranty $300.00

ARV- $286,587.00

Fixed Costs-$41,325.70

Profit- $20,000.00

Rehab costs -$70,000.00

MPP- $136,602.60

So the 70% rule says $200,610, and MPP says $136,602. The list price is $95,000.

Please, I need help! Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have been learning and reading so much in the past year about investing in real estate, specifically rehabbing and flipping. I feel I'm ready to make my move when all of a sudden, someone tells me that to do this in WA State, I need to have a contractors license! What?! This is the first I heard of this. This is a bump in the road but I will do what it takes. So I looked at the requirements on the State website but am still a little confused. Can someone from WA State tell me their process of getting their contractors license? I need insurance? How much does this cost?

I understand the importance of forming a legal structure for my business and I will soon, but how soon? Before my first project? After I have some experience under my belt? I'm just not sure. I intend to start slowly and do one rehab this year and increase the number of units as my knowledge and skills develop. Any suggestions and insight is greatly appreciated.

I'm new to investing and hopping to start my first purchase this summer. My question has to do with hard money lenders. My initial thought is this would be a great option for me. However I'm not sure where to find a good lender. So far I have come across websites that look almost too good to be true, offering 100% loans. Can someone please tell me if these are legit?