All Forum Posts by: Sabrina Sanchez

Sent you some information and contacts in a message. 

Hi Ethan,

Run numbers on both scenarios and see which one has a better return on your investment for what your goals are. Also if you want a faster return then there's the flip but if you want a return over time theres the rental side.  Benefits to both strategies but the numbers determine which one might be better.

Hi Chris,

The range and stove are going to vary but I do like getting some of my appliances from the company scalamos! The mirror in the bathroom sounds like it would be relatively cheap. I had one of my bathtubs refinished and glazed for $500.00 so I think its worth it. As far as the cabinets, it depends if you just want to repaint them or replace them. If you can save them I'd get a professional to repaint them and change out any old hardware.  Best of Luck!

Hi Adeniyi! Welcome and nice to meet you. I think you're off to a great start! Back in 2018 when I started my journey I felt overwhelmed by not knowing what to do next. One of things I did was become an agent and then I joined Candor Realty, an investor focused group. But that was just the beginning. From there I started going to Meetups, meeting people, listening to the biggerpockets podcasts and reading. I do think that getting out there and meeting people  will get you to a point but you're also going to want to pair yourself with an investor friendly agent that can also take a deep dive with you and what your goals are. If you have time feel free to come check out our meetup this month, its free and we'll be discussing short term rentals! It's at the Hangover Pub in Worcester, Aug 17th from 630 to 830 pm. Feel free to reach out if you ever have any specific questions. 

Aside from everything esle everyone said there are also loans (203k) that allow you to combine the cost of repairs and the purchase of a home - but they are not easy! I would agree that the first renovations you do will likely come out of pocket whether its through a credit card or savings. I would join a local landlord association after seeing if they get discounts at places like home depot and there's always the option to partner with someone too! 

Hi Andrew! This is something a lot of new investors struggle with especially if they havent built a team yet. One of the things that has helped me personally is knowing how much the materials costs but every job is different and every contractor is different! I've also asked contractors to give me separate bills too. That way I can see a little more into their quote. But when it comes to rehab costs, one thing to always do is get multiple quotes if you can. 

Hello! I am currently learning a bit about seller financing and wondered if anyone had any attorney recommendations or if there are any seller financing focused attorneys on here from Massachusetts. I would love to chat! Preferably Worcester area, but if not Massachusetts works. Also, does anyone have any strong opinions about seller financing during these times? I like to think a deal is a deal no matter when, as long as the numbers work!

Hi Samuel,

First feel free to reach out and chat over the phone with me! I know starting off can seem hard!

What other types of bumps have you come across? With the annual property taxes you might be able to look that up in the town public records or ask an agent to pull it for you. If you don't have an agent, I would start building a relationship with one even if you don't buy a house right away. Just explain where you are in the process. Rehab estimates are very hard and it's partly because every contractor will have a different price. I tend to google things and then ask around in fb forums or in my network and that tends to help me. With experience, it will become easier. A decent market is a market that you decide. You have to know what you want to achieve and then from there look at markets that will get you that. If you develop a relationship with an agent they can send you properties to analyze so you can decide what markets work. If out of state, then find an agent out of state. Tip: the MLS sheets may have more information that may help you plug in some of those numbers as well. And One last thing, BP has a calculator, have you tried it!

Hi Charlie,

You can try to ask for an estoppel certificate ahead of time to see if there are any existing deposits and find out more information about the current tenants in general. This will help you know ahead of time if there were any deposits made other than the first payment of rent. I don't believe you can go and request a new security deposit as they have already signed a lease and the lease goes with the land aka the terms don't change with a new owner. However, when you renew one, you can ask for a security deposit and any other terms you’d like.

If you can get an estoppel certificate definitely compare the amounts to your numbers as they may be different from what you expected or what was advertised. If the seller gives you a hard time they may be hiding something.

With the estoppel certificate you can also verify the terms with the tenants so you don't find surprises later. We recently had a tenant request their security deposit when we sold a property and we came to find out that a relative was the original tenant on the actual lease who had moved out and took the security deposit.

Now with all that being said, I would still consider that every state is different so you might want to reach out to someone that is part of a landlord association or someone with experience in your state as well.

This is amazing! Congratulations and cheers to you for not stopping just because others didn't see the vision!