All Forum Posts by: Robert Laird

@Account Closed, kind of. The foundation had a minor crack through the slab and there was some minor settling. We could have "floated" the floor with concrete for around $5,000 but instead decided to pay a local foundation company $18,000 to put multiple helical piers under the house to give the foundation a "life-time guarantee", since we were worried this could come up on an inspection report during the selling process ultimately killing a sale or driving the price down.

In the end, we needed to recoup an additional $18k on the sales side that did not change anything cosmetically to the house. In hindsight, the extensive foundation work was overkill and an unnecessary cost that did not end up helping the sale of the house but hindering it. The house was not in a flood zone, the settling was natural, and not more than 3/4". Floating the floor would have been a reasonable solution, we could have listed the house for less and sold quicker.  

This is obviously very specific to this house, but as a general principle: although structural improvements can be necessary, they do not ultimately increase the value of the home, choose where to deploy your remodel finances wisely because some may help you out on the sales side more than others. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Milwaukie.

Purchase price: $185,000
Cash invested: $85,000
Sale price: $355,000

Contributors:
Justin Leithem, Carlos Carbajal

Fixer single-family home we completely renovated. Since we fixed the foundation and the remodel was more intensive than expected, we listed in fall. Unable to get the sales price we were hoping for, we refinanced the property and rented it out. Finally sold 7/7/2020

How did you finance this deal?

LendingHome

How did you add value to the deal?

Whole house remodel

What was the outcome?

Purchased the property, renovated, rented the property for several months and sold.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Do not over remodel

@Natalie Lopez @Blake Wehling @Justin Leithem

@Jake Gavic @Jeff S. @Tim Herndon @Daniel Lane @Gavin Peacock @Bill Neves @Say Teoh @Ross Johnson @John Murray @Austin Youmans @Steve B. @Juan Reyes Jr @Bretney Lindley @Charles Flaxel 

@Mike Nuss @Dustin Miller @Chris Henderson @Cody Jurgens @Dane Fitch @Jeff S. @Jeffrey Tufenkian @Chris Shepard @Todd Ashley @Mathew Wray @Jason Powell  @DJ Fry

@Jack Shepherd

@Carlos Carbajal @Rapy Narruhn @Patrick Pham @Account Closed 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Washougal.

Purchase price: $200,000
Cash invested: $40,000
Sale price: $300,000

Contributors:
DJ Fry @Carlos Carbajal

A small home in Washougal was updated and flipped in 120 days.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Low purchase price and light remodel with home being built in 1991.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Found this deal through mailers, it was not listed. I walked the property with the owners and negotiated the price down after walking the property. Owners wanted to sell and move quickly.

How did you finance this deal?

Hard money for the 1st position at 12% interest and 3 points. Private money for the 2nd position at 15% interest.

How did you add value to the deal?

Touched every surface, replaced cabinets, counter-tops, and appliances. Replaced floors, repainted interior, and exterior. Built deck in the backyard.

What was the outcome?

Bought the property, renovated entire property, listed, and completed the sale in 120 days. Net profit: $35,000

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Tailor the renovation to the type of buyers. Do not overdo the remodel with expensive finishes, but don't do only half a remodel either.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

DJ Fry with Parker Brennan Real Estate listed the property for us and we accepted a full price offer 5 days later.

@Carlos Carbajal

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Woodburn.

Purchase price: $185,130
Cash invested: $65,000
Sale price: $315,000

Heavy fixer with a foundation repair in Woodburn Oregon was completely renovated into a move-in ready home.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The price was good with built-in equity.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

A friend's family member had inherited the property. The family member who passed away was a hoarder and it took 2 years for them to clean out the property. Once the property was clean, they didn't want to deal with the repairs needed to list the home. After discovering the crack in the foundation we used the foundation bid to lower the purchase price.

How did you finance this deal?

Hard money lender for the 1st position @ 12% interest and 3 points, JV partnership for 2nd position.

How did you add value to the deal?

Retouched every surface. Added sheetrock in the basement to partially finish the space. Replaced some wiring and plumbing. Installed new appliances.

What was the outcome?

Sold the property two months later than projected. Net profit: $42,000

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The foundation crack repair took up a lot of time and finances in the beginning. Larger homes take longer than anticipated. The general contractor was injured 2 weeks into the start of the project, always have a back-up contractor on call.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

RareBird listed the property and it went pending in 10 days.

@Cameron Tope @Luke Teson ListSource works well but you have to pay per lead. This can get costly with high list counts. 

@Julie Fullmer If you have done a transaction through a local title company they sometimes will give you the same data as ListSource for free or for a much cheaper price than the ListSource retail site. It is in their interest to help you to find more properties to buy so you will perform more transactions through their title company. You can call or email them and say something along the line of: "I am looking for more investment properties to buy and understand you have access to public records. If I provide you with my search criteria could you do a query and provide me with a mailing list so I may locate potential properties to purchase. Thank you for your help I look forward to conducting many more purchases through your title company." Hope this helps and happy hunting!

Unfortunately, I will be out of town, but thanks again for putting this on! It was great to see everyone and meet some new investors.

Thanks again @JR Hinds ! 

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and it looks like the weather is going to be gorgeous. See you all there!