All Forum Posts by: Robert Ellis

Hello BP community!  Found this site by listening to the BP podcasts and getting ahold of and reading 2 of Brandon Turner's books.  Fantastic info on this site.  I'm so blessed to have found this community at this point in my real estate investing journey!  

Hello Bigger-Pockets Community,

Myself and my business partner recently formed a real estate investment company. We’ve had some success in our local Bay Area market and we’re looking to expand operations into other strategic markets.

We would like to develop some contacts and professional relationships with reputable wholesalers in the following markets:

- Greater Sacramento area – we just opened up an office in Rocklin, CA.

- Seattle/Tacoma area - business partner is from North Tacoma & travels back often.

- Columbus, OH – I have family and friends in the area and travel there often.

- Raleigh/Fayetteville, NC – we have 1 pending deal right now.

If you operate in these markets or know of good ‘meet ups’ that we can attend while we are in the area, please send me a private message with your information and I will get back to you soon.

Thanks and best of luck of your Real Estate deals!

-Ben

Excellent B property for sale. Remodeled, rented & leased to cash flow from day one! This home can be purchased individually or as part of a 15 home portfolio. Contact for more information on this or other available properties!

Thanks to the wisdom of @Joshua Dorkin and the legend @Brandon Turner, and of course our agent @Justin Taber, my husband and I are in contract on our first triplex rental property in Columbus, OH!  Couldn't have done it without all the education from this community, and we are excited (and terrified!) that we are actually taking action!  

I'm starting this discussion to document our experiences and also seek advice/insight from the BP community as we know we have a long road ahead of us before closing... and not to mention the reno!

After a round of counter offers, our offer was accepted Tuesday, we then had our HUD Consultant walk through the next day, and since then have been sending out a rough SOW to contractors.

Our highlight was during the walk through with our HUD Consultant when we opened up the attic entrance, climbed up, and discovered an amazing attic with ample head space! We are planning for an attic master bedroom suite + loft.

All units will need updated kitchen (plus appliances), bathroom (plus new tub, vanity, toilet), expansion of kitchen in one unit, whole new kitchen area for another unit, new floors, paint in all units, plus new HVAC, plumbing, roof... I am getting overwhelmed as I type!

Time is against us as we have to get our contractor quote to our lender ASAP in order to meet timelines.  Our lender said to get them the quote 10 - 14 days before closing.  

We've already scheduled 5 contractors to walk through the property next week.  This was after contacting around 12 contractors, couple of which replied back that given the SOW they are not up for the project/available.  We had one contractor ask if we had architecture drawings - No, we have not had the time!  It seems like our market is hot and is booming with builds/renovations that good contractors seem to be tied up.

We welcome any insight you may share regarding your experiences with 203k full loans.  Any particular questions we should be asking our contractors during our walk throughs?  Any red flags we should watch out for?  

At times I feel we may be in over our heads, but this is a learning experience what ever may come of this!  We are very cautious people, and are trying to be as resourceful as possible! Hopefully others can benefit from our story as well~

Looking forward to our interactions!

- Jenny and Chi

Well, we just closed on a 4plex. 

We did everything we were supposed to. We used the calculator. We calculated for CapEx and even put aside 12K for each door for emergencies.

We hired a home inspector.

Thank goodness we're experienced contractors.

One of the tenants moved out 3 weeks before we closed. The sellers let her move out early. We thought they were being nice b/c they knew we needed to live in one of the spaces. 

Nope, it's because Unit C experienced a major leak in her living room window each time it rained. She noticed mold growing on her carpet. The old owners refused to fix the problem...so she moved out.

Before our final walk through, the owners had the carpet cleaned. And never disclosed the leak. 

Not only that, but when we introduced ourselves to Unit A he also told us Unit C's shower was leaking into his bathroom and had been for some time. 

This 4plex is in Columbus, OH is one of the best neighborhoods, so we have that going for us. 

Do we have any rights here? The home warranty allows for $320 per unit...hardly enough to address these issues. 

Thanks for any words of encouragement or advice on how to deal. 

@Jeffrey Hotz @Robert Ellis @Breana Roides@Joel Tamkin

 Brandon Turner said if you can't find a meetup group with a shared interest in your town to create it!

Thank you all for a fun and equally productive strategy meeting on investing in Columbus Ohio.  I'm very grateful for the high level of participation and different view points and ideas. Looking forward to the next session. 

Thank you guys for taking part in the leaders after hours strategy session ;)