All Forum Posts by: Sean Walton

Joe Thompson there are some good replies on this thread: DIRECT MAIL PostCards on the BiggerPockets forums http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/471189-direct-mail-postcards I agree with Ori Skloot it really depends if time or money is a more limited resource. I've heard it is better to do a 6 month cycle so maybe fewer addresses than you planned for your 4 month cycle. It takes on average 7 touches to get someone to reach out. The good thing about your "competition" is they can be part of that 7. As long as yours is on their table when they decide to sell

@Jamin Eastman there is a lot to break off there and I will only comment on what I know as an architect.

1. Has he been paying to renew the building permit. They generally expire if no construction starts within a certain time frame and if construction isn't completed within a certain time frame but most cities let you renew the permit. If it hasn't been renewed you will probably need to hire an architect and structural engineer to update it to current code. That might even mean the steel members need to be bigger but I doubt that.

2. Construction project management is not for a novice. I highly recommend partnering with someone you trust who has experience with it or hire a project manager or construction manager to oversee things and teach you along the way. They will save you money in the long run avoiding pitfalls.

3. I would talk with 3 local commercial brokers and see what rents you can realistically expect. 

4. Talk with a few local contractors who do this type of work with copies of the building plans and see roughly how much it will cost. Steel is  more expensive to build with than wood so you can't just use cost per sf based on other construction types.

Good luck

An architect cannot stamp another person's drawings. They need to be done by or under the supervision of the architect stamping. It is against the law in most if not all states to market or represent yourself as an architect without being licensed. I don't know about your jurisdiction but in some places if it is all a single story, single family home you shouldn't need an architect to have done the drawings. Does the design change load bearing walls? However if his titleblock says architect and he represents himself as an architect at least in California you need to stamp and sign the drawings regardless of if the building type requires an architect. E.g if an architect produces an interior design set of drawings anyone off the street could submit they would be required to stamp and sign them anyway. You could try hiring a structural engineer to do structural drawings for the house

It depends on your state (so this is not legal advice consult your lawyer)

Usually the answer is it depends on how you do it. Often if you use the property to market the property i.e. posting pictures online or having showings that can be construed as brokering without a license

2. Not sure what you mean by execute the sale. (execute the sale of your purchase agreement contract?) I think you need to read up on your terms more. A double closing is not an assignment nor does it usually mean there is an assignment involved. You legally take ownership for minutes or hours. In some cases you will need transnational financing. Sometimes A can fund C but those are more heavily scrutinized and in most cases your end buyer needs to have cash and everyone will know how much money you are making. But generally with double closes since you take ownership however briefly it gets around brokering without a license.

@Brian Bandas that is the challenge I'm running into. I've sent out 9100 pieces of mail and so far only 2 people have contacted me with a lot of motivation to sell. One of those I lost to my competition and one had a family emergency come up and doesn't want to sell yet but I keep following up every month. I'm mailing to 70% NOO (absentee owners) and 30% Owner occupants. I don't track which they are unless I first determine if they are motivated so I can't say which list is doing better. NOO have less attachment to the home and don't need to find a new place to live so people say they are easier to work with but I think they are also marketed too more heavily because of that.

I'm doing cluster marketing 6 different mail pieces. One sent each month from yellowletters.com. 1st post card, 2nd patriot letter in an invitation envelope, 3rd Very large post card that sticks out, 4th professional letter, 5th about to mail out yellow letter, 6th zip contract letter. After that I'll pull a new list and start the cycle over. I agree some people ignore all post cards. Some ignore all professional looking envelopes. I'm looking forward to the zip letter (think government mailing. parking ticket looking) I may get a lot of angry call but at least it will get opened a lot.

200 to 400 pieces unless it is a very targeted list or hand written letters is probably only going to get you 1 to 8 phone calls per month

@Mark Pedroza thanks for the suggestion. It's probably time to start planning our next happy hour I'll work on that soon

I think it would be hard to enforce unless you enlist the help of the non-smoking tenants which them may involve you in a lot of other complaints that as a landlord really aren't your responsibility. 

Does the unit already smell like smoke? If so I don't see a huge benefit to enacting the smoking ban now unless the other tenants are complaining about it.

I would ask yourself if you can't afford a $5000 turnover right now what happens if tenants stop paying and you have to evict or if you have a major unforeseen expense unless the 2nd duplex is a smoking deal maybe you are expanding too fast?

@Naveen Gene it looks like a HML already reached out to you but there is also the bigger pockets HML marketplace just make sure to do your due diligence as far as I can tell Bigger Pockets does not do extensive vetting of the people on there. Also HML lenders need to be licensed so check their license against the state database to make sure they are legit. Beware of any HMLs asking for large upfront fees

Looks great congratulations

Banks will fund old houses with a conventional loan as long as they are in livable condition, meet certain HUD guidelines, you plan to live in it and they appraise for enough to meet their loan to value guidelines. A local bank that is keeping the loan in house (portfolio lender) has more flexibility but if you don't have a track record rehabbing and you don't plan to live in it they may not be willing to lend or you may need to talk to 20 before you get a yes. If the above will not lend you can either talk to friends and family and see if they are willing to lend you money or be an investor in your project. Once you have paying tenants for 6 or 12 months most banks will give you a comercial loan and you can pay back your investors If the above are not an option talk to hard money lenders. Their rates are significantly higher than the above but if you can still profit when you pay them off 12 months after completion of rehab with a couple extra month buffer then go for it