All Forum Posts by: Robert L.

Hey Adam, I can totally relate with where you were going on this one. I was in a relationship that ended while in an apartment lease and things ended badly between us. We both moved out and broke our lease, after speaking to management. Even though we were both on the lease, the collectors ended up going after me. Took some time to recover from that. But, life goes on. So, as others have talked about, if you want your relationship with her to grow and start off on the right foot, you have to be willing to take the risk on her. That's life, Bro. But, I'll say that if you're looking for someone to go in half on the payments and put in their fair share, you should find out pretty quick if she's the one you're looking for. But, by the time she's moved in, you're already so emotionally involved in the relationship, it's probably going to be difficult to be that rational. Just speaking from my own experience.

Oh, I think I left out one important point; Unfortunately, one of the tenants (Father & Son), the father, has passed on. The son cannot afford to continue renting the house. So, he'll be out at the end of April.

Thank you to those who offered to look over the numbers.

The owner purchased in the '80s for $127,000 and it's been a rental for him. Owns it free and clear, as well as his primary, which he will likely also want to sell soon.

ARV is at $350,000

It is a 1288 Sq. Ft. House (4 beds/2 baths).

The neighborhood is a good starter family neighborhood.

Since the place needs a lot of work (Needs new kitchen, it still has the original kitchen. Potential Termite remediation (in Kitchen and the patio covering in the backyard). Master Bathroom updating. Hall bathroom has a new cabinet, but original counter top was put back on. Nicotine remediation (both tenants smoked in there for 20 years and the owner simply painted over it last year and requested they not smoke inside). Will need new flooring and a cool thing, I noticed the entryway and kitchen has hardwood, I'm not sure if there is hardwood under the carpet that was put in a year ago (cheap rental carpet), after a toilet flooding. I'm guessing, by its age (from '58), the heater box needs to be changed out. Electrical isn't bad, but there's not much of it and should expect to add some to bring it up-to-date) I realize I am probably estimating high, at $35/sq. ft. for Rehab (I would like advice on that), including a 10% rehab cushion and a $10,000 addition for selling perks. So, a $60,588 rehab and 10% fees = $35,000.

I have the potential profit at 10% = $35,000

I have my high offer at $209,412, after the wholesale fee of $10,000.

The seller's motivation, besides age, is that his kids and grandkids are out of town and he is commuting out of town every week to visit his family and a girlfriend. I've been told he plans to move, soon, to be closer to them.

So, I believe, it is going to be a benefit to him to sell quickly, without having to worry about the house(s).

All the above. Start off with the basics, if they call you're going to find out if they're motivated to sell or not. Talk to them and be friendly. I've learned really quickly that when a potential seller calls, you just need to have good customer service skills. Build rapport. If they're not going to sell, they may be a reference to a future seller. So, stay positive regardless. With there being a co-owner, you want to be giving the local owner the benefits of working with you in the conversation. Speak soft, so they understand you and hopefully can retain what you're saying. Because, they are going to have to be able to recite that info to the co-owner. Since I don't have experience on the contract end, I'll only speculate that you would be electronically sending the contract, which would already have the local owner's signature to the co-owner and having them electronically send it back to you with their signature. Not too complicated. It's all going to depend on the people you're dealing with. I just had an owner call me the other day that was very impressed with my handwritten letter. By the end of the conversation, he said he would refer business to me as he comes across people who want to sell their home.

Hi Dylan, Welcome to BiggerPockets. My Wife and I are also in Ventura County (like Cornelius and his Wife). I've only been working on my RE investing business for 2 months now, but have learned that it is best to focus on one strategy to start with. Personally, I like Wholesaling because it forces you to learn many important aspects of REI (marketing, people skills, negotiations and of course, the numbers. If you don't have a good deal, then you'll learn pretty quickly what a good deal is, because no one will want it if it's not going to make money). But, it is a lot of hard work and dedication. Be dedicated to the business for the long run. If you haven't already, figure out your "why" and it had better be a good one. 13 years ago, I got the motivation to invest in real estate and my "why" wasn't strong enough, so my motivation didn't last long. I was single at that time. Now, my "why" is strong, my motivation is much stronger and I'm in it to win it. Even in just 2 months, especially studying the current market, I've faced doubt a few times. I'm not letting it stop me though. I've been working the business about 15 hrs a week (spending anywhere from 2 - 4 hrs a night and a couple nights a week I do sleep a full night; I don't want to burnout) And with that perseverance, we have a potential deal in the works from word-of-mouth. My mother-in-law's friend referred us to a motivated seller. Isn't that Sweet? Be sure to listen to all of the BP Podcasts, they may help you with your decision of what strategy to start with. Not to mention all the great information in them. Depending on your situation, you may choose to Buy and Hold for cash flow, like Brandon. If so, be sure to join in on his periodic webinar on building long term wealth with multi-unit/multi-family dwellings. Realistically, quitting your job should be your 3-5 year goal. That is, if things go well for you. But, if you don't like your job now, you may want to consider finding a job you do like and can be friendly to you receiving phone calls related to your REI business. It can help you with your REI. Fortunately, for me, my job is a bit flexible and I can usually receive the random phone calls. The job has nothing to do with REI, besides me knowing the technology side of things (finding information). I can't stress enough on the "WHY", why do you want to invest in real estate (not the "real estate is the best money maker" answer), have it in your face all the time. Since it sounds like you are single without kids, you don't have your why bugging everyday. So, make a dream board and hang it up where you're forced to see it at least once or twice daily. You mentioned for your "WHY", quitting your job, settling down for a family, and traveling. So, build your dream board with a picture of a family, a dream home you would want to own and places you want to travel to. Hopefully this reply is helpful, it's a collection/summary of what I've learned. To your success

Hello All; Two months in and we may have something to put under contract. By way of word of mouth. So far things are sounding good. I thought I tanked when initially being introduced to the seller. I felt like I had what I'll call Newbie's tongue. But, we just got word today that the seller was impressed, that it helped that I spoke slowly. Since he is in his 80's and his hearing is not so good. I also followed up the introduction with a Thank you letter (like what job hunters should do after being interviewed). I asked for advise from other investors on the letter and received advise on adding a line that mentioned giving me a 20 day assignment of contract, in order to involve my associate cash buyers in the area. Which I do already have. He was also very impressed with the letter I sent. Now, to get through the nerves of anticipating the phone call and negotiating the purchase price.

My correction: 93004 = 769 Non-Owner Occupied, both in & out of Cali. Owners. (I was previously removing those who purchased over Assessment = 165. Otherwise, Purchase Price < Assessment = 604) 93003 = 1,379 Non-Owner Occupied Total 93001 = 1,305 Non-Owner Occupied Total I would venture to guess that unless there's an awful lot of vacation homes in these numbers, it might be tipping the scale in favor of renters going mostly for SFRs in Ventura. I was leaving out Condos and 2-4 Units (MFD) while running these numbers.

To help answer the question of whether renters are renting apartments or SFRs. I recently pulled Non-Owner Occupied for 93004 and the listing came up with about 650. That didn't even include most of the Out of State Non-Owner occupied. Which I've recently mailed to for who I'm marketing to. Compare that to the apartment units in the area (sorry, I don't have that available). I can follow up with the 93003, but I think this should show that Erin is pretty correct. It's somewhat even. Especially with a couple large apartment buildings being added a few years ago. I've been hearing on a number of occasions about how landlords in this area are having trouble renting SFRs. I can't say how good they are/were or what they tried to be able to get renters... Just try to run the numbers on buy and hold though. Even if you run the numbers on a property you would find for 65% of ARV, renting/cash-on-cash return will likely come up negative, unless I suppose you bring a lot to the table. Even then, in this market, it is about working hard to get great deals. *** Short-Sales & Foreclosures are on the rise and we'll likely see them rise over the next year or two. So, I'm studying to see if I can work to help out with that problem. Yes, a lot of work, but if that'll be where I can add value and get a good return, I'm willing to put in the effort.

Hi Erin, I realize your dilemma and see that you've been learning our local market. I'm new myself, so take my words with a grain of salt. 😉 To start; I would highly suggest attending the Ventura County Real Estate Investor's Club, held in T.O. (Usually Mimi's Cafe) on the second Thursday of each month. I should be there. I went last month and it was great. Look for a trusted and experienced investor willing to work with you (where you could offer your 5%, in exchange for a good return and some education). I'd be sure to attend the club meeting and build rapport there before investing your hard earned money. Best of luck, -Robert

Great thread. I want to express my appreciation for all the input. My wife and I are in a similar situation. Considering Hard Money for a first flip. I'm doing a lot of work to begin the lead generation and have been over the past month now. I can leverage vacation time to possibly get a good lump sum to go towards a down, even after taxes. And consider borrowing against my 401K. Which will certainly force me to not only make sure I do my due diligence in evaluating my deal and be sure it is a good-to-great deal, but also that I'm going to see the project through. Luckily, I also have the option of partnering with someone, since it would help finance in the high priced market we're in. Even when I do find a deal, 65% of ARV is going to be quite a bit of money.