All Forum Posts by: Paige Rockaway

Great question! I haven't found any myself that don't ask for credit card info. 

This may or may not be a "good" show to you, but I'll watch Flip or Flop. You can get an idea of room to room renovations costs that can be scaled to your market. Mainly I watch it for the design ideas. It has basic design information that'll help sell a property such as using subway tiles backsplashes, floor plans, granite vs quartz counter tops, colors to sell homes.

Hi Craig, We had good luck with Homes Depot compared to Lowe's. We've had materials ordered from Lowe's and they couldn't locate the order so we're waiting and waiting for them to find the order. (Could always be that particular location.) For paint use something like Sherwin-Williams. They're paint is better than big box (I used to work there.) You can still get cheap ($25/gallon interior) paint that you won't be doing coat over coat. Good luck!!

Hi Ken, Like what a lot of people have said already, your agent should know ARV. You'll want an agent experienced with flips and has contacts such as contractor in case the guy you have lined up is busy. Some agents prefer you to only work with contractors they approve of. My fiancé and I both worked full-time when we did our flip. His schedule was more flexible than mine to answer calls. If yours isn't flexible, state what if any things your contractors can do without your approval if problems come up. Usually they can work on something else if there's an issue. Don't let working full-time deter you. We stopped by nights and weekends to check on the house. It wasn't unmanageable at any time. Good luck!!

@Adrien C. and @Claire Trammell, 

Thank you both so much for the advice! 

@Claire Trammell thank you for breaking down the response rate stats. I'm going to take your advice to see what's circulating so I can get my game plan together! 

Hey BP!

I was just wondering what everyone's direct marketing campaign best practices were? One of the BP podcasts I recently listened to suggested typing letters that looked hand-written and personalizing them, while others suggested to make it look like bill so that people read them. Some people have even suggested using bold paper colors like highlighter yellow or orange. Just wondering what works best to capture people's attention, yet still look professional? Also well as do postcards or letters work best? 

Thanks everyone!

Hi Mark,

If I were you, I would save that money for a down payment. That is where it would be better spent. You can learn way more out of reading books - I have the BP book on how to flip houses. You can even download the Kindle app and find free or cheap rehab or property management books. What's going to be more important than a mentor is having great relationships with a real estate agent that understands your needs, a bank that understands what you're doing, and a lawyer who can clearly explain the processes to you. Usually one person can direct you to another. (A great contractor of course helps too! You may be able to ask your real estate agent for recommendations). It may help to have a partner. My fiance is the person who usually contacts people and figures out the profit potential - I supply the cash basically. We both have equal say and together make joint decisions. Maybe the mentor guy is legit, but would you get any of the money back and what documents would you have to sign? I think you can do way better yourself even if you have to figure it out as you go. There are tons of tools on here to help you plus FREE advice. 

Good luck! 

Hi Mathew,

Woah! At least she's now out - and not allowed to re-enter! It's very possible that her family came, saw all the trash, and only took a couple items like maybe medicine. They were probably just as overwhelmed looking at it. If you have the sister's number, you might want to give her a courtesy call asking if they took everything they wanted. Since you probably won't hear back, as long as you're now legally allowed to dispose of the belongings, I would let them know the date you plan on getting the dumpster. It may or may not motivate them to take some more stuff. My dad recently had a tenant abandon her belongings after she was evicted (she got hooked on drugs). The saddest part was seeing that she left her family photo album with her kid's artwork and her sonograms. I'm sure once you start to see the trash disappear you'll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hiring people to haul the junk may help your stress level! If anything, this project will be conversation piece. 

Good luck! I'm sure everything will turn out. Let us know how it goes.

Hey Jason,

I think white cabinets would make it flow - and it's the trendy thing. I would check Zillow in your area and look at pictures of what people are selling around your price point that are rehabbed. Like Samantha said, you can always paint the doors and trim yourself - I would definitely hire someone to paint the cabinets. 

Good luck! I love the flooring and the gray you chose looks really nice! 

Thanks everyone for the welcome! I got a little busy over the New Year.  @Devin Woods we're looking around the Bethel Park, Dormont, and Baldwin areas.