All Forum Posts by: Rafael Norat

Hey Jeremy. Congrats on getting thru your first rehab! That's an accomplishment in and of itself. I too am just wrapping up my first one and have dealt with plenty of issues. I would suggest comparing your contracts with seasoned flippers in your area and see what added value you can pull from there's. Also run things by your attorney who should be able to provide you with good insight as well. If he can't, find yourself a new one.Over time, you'll develop a good team that you'll be able to trust and work well with. We went thru 3 crews on 2 projects to finds a couple of good workers that we can build with. Plenty of lessened learned along the way as well. So keep moving and building! The overpaying is a bit of a cat and mouse game too. We felt it was in our best interest in over-paying out a contractor who wasn't performing well just to get him out of the house and get a productive crew in. Sure we paid extra at the time but saved time and headache over the long run as well. I'd rather stay away from lawsuits and arguments and keep things moving. Love and learn!

Hey Jeremy. Congrats on getting thru your first rehab! That's an accomplishment in and of itself. I too am just wrapping up my first one and have dealt with plenty of issues. I would suggest comparing your contracts with seasoned flippers in your area and see what added value you can pull from there's. Also run things by your attorney who should be able to provide you with good insight as well. If he can't, find yourself a new one.Over time, you'll develop a good team that you'll be able to trust and work well with. We went thru 3 crews on 2 projects to finds a couple of good workers that we can build with. Plenty of lessened learned along the way as well. So keep moving and building!

Hey Sarah. Congrats on getting started. I would do a local search of BP members in your area and meet up to share ideas and needs. Identify what you bring to the table and determine what you need to fill your gaps. There should also be meetup groups in your area that deal with real estate. Those can give you great networking opportunities. Define your criteria as well (what's your goals are, areas of interest) to avoid spreading yourself thin. Be focussed, patient and get out there! Best wishes.

Hey John,

I would suggest visiting an area first before pulling the trigger, especially since your are just starting out. I invest 2.5 hours away out of state and am still very much hands on, as the management and maintenance there require a bit of my input at this time.

With that said, TURNKEY is not literally turnkey in  most cases.

Take your time and get out there if you really are interested in the area. You'll learn tons by just going..

Hope that helps.

Rafael

Hey Josip,

I would also consult with your CPA on this, as I'm sure he has a preferred entity strategy and would make things easier to handle if you are on the same page.

Rafael

Agree on the j Scott book. Otherwise, find someone with experience and have them walk thru with you. Any network groups near you? Team up with others and leverage their experience. In NJ, 30k is usually a light rehab. In PA, 30k can be an entire rehab.

Considering anyone can get up and decide to be a wholesaler the next day makes the title a bit too easy to acquire and leads to alot of unexperienced efforts. Most wholesalers I've tried to deal with usually pad their comps and ARVs too much. I personally have gravitated more towards realtors because of that and have had better experiences.

With that said, I give props to anyone trying to putting together a good honest effort. I personally run direct mail campaigns for my own purchasing. Wholesaling's a tough gig!

Thanks Deshawn. Divide on conquer!!

Mike,

Hillside has up and down in areas, but better the Irvington in my opinion. A lot of people from there seem to be moving to Hillside, as its a bit better (area, schools). There really wasn't a bad house on the block. Some areas of Hillside are actually pretty nice. I have a great realtor that knows the area well. That's the key. Someone who know where you want to be. She found it on MLS. But, it actually wound up on an auction website. We did a pre-auction bid and got it.

Thanks man!

So I coined my own term “Pleasant Nightmare” after a started my first 2 flips.

One in Sparta, NJ

• Bought it for $175k
• Rehab budget $125k
• Should sell for $425k

One in Hillside, NJ

• Bought it for $95k
• Rehab budget $35k
• Should sell for $220k

I have 2 partners. What’s interesting is that I’ve been reading the E-Myth along the way, which discusses your 3 basic business owner personalities:

1. The Entrepreneur
2. The Manager
3. The Technician

Any business must balance these 3 well. We have naturally each taken a role based on our own backgrounds and personalities.

I take on the Entrepreneur role, as I envision

1. 2 houses flipped year 1
2. 5 house year 2
3. 10 houses year 3

We have our 2 flip projects now acquired in June and set to be on market by September

My partner Lynn takes on the Manager role. She is essentially the site manager and does all the day to day stuff, babysits the contractors (for a part literally!), and reports to myself and Steve (The Technician).

And Steve is the Technician. He knows how to build from the studs up. Lynn consults with him reviewing the task items, assessing the contractors work, any changes needed,…

So, together, we each take a personality and try to balance the business growth as much as possible.

So I coined “Pleasant Nightmares” based on all the mishaps we have had along the way here in our first journey together. TOO MANY TO LIST! We have gone through 3 contractors on the Sparta job, received a fine for the contractor opening up a wall improperly, watched contractors come to work 1pm, completed tasks out of order which holds work up, had days where no work is done costing us money!!

That’s the nightmare side.. Now the pleasant..

We bought it at the right price to take these hits, learn, and still make money.

My partner was about to spend $25k on a flipping program. Nothing against that, but she essentially invested that in these 2 projects and is learning tons! We, together, are learning, making money, and building a great network of workers to get us through the present and help us build the future.

Bottom-line: I think you need “pleasant nightmares” to grow, expand, challenge yourself, and ultimately create what you envision. Mitigate your risk by surrounding yourself with people you know and trust. Fear will always lurk where there’s risk. But financial freedom doesn’t come through absolute security. Otherwise, everyone would be free!!