All Forum Posts by: Sean Walton

Personally there is nothing ethically wrong with wholesaling a property if the seller understands that you need to make a profit in order to stay in business and help people in difficult situations and as someone who does this for a living you can sell a house quicker than they could. Similar to how a professional tile guy could do a quicker and better job than they could. However if this person is your friend who just lost their father, you should make sure they are ok with you making a good amount of profit. In this situation I would partner up and make them fix and flips. That way your friend won't feel taken advantage we he sees your assignment fee

I looked at it as a place for the guests at my wedding to stay. The location is beautiful but the architecture is bland and looking a little dated. Not that that will affect cash flow. It seems to be at max occupancy in the summer but winter it is probably sleepier and not especially close to UCSC for visiting staff. I think with any vacation rental you should ask what your goals are is it: 1. To have as a vacation home and any rental income is icing on the cake 2. To break even on cost and any days you get to use it are icing 3. You want it to earn you money and you will use it from time to time Not knowing how much you keep out of the rental every night it is hard to say how much you can make. I would inquire if they let you self manage or use Airbnb vrbo etc.

Hi @Abe Macias I'm not sure how it works in El Paso but unless there are a lot of other R-2 lots nearby it may be a tough sell to get it rezoned. It may be easier to do a lot split and build 2 SFRs or possibly a SFR with an in law or guest house in the back depending on the size of the lot.

When you say it was out of your price range do you mean the range where it would be considered a good deal or range you can afford? If the latter I would look to partner with someone or market it to your buyers list. Most people say to market to your list consistently for 6months but vary the piece of mail you send. Different people respond to different things. I would give that seller a call back after 15, 30, 60 and 90days. 400 prospects is not a lot. Expect .5 to 2% response rate as far as calls and you may get a deal after 60 to 100 calls so unless you have a very targeted list you will probably need to up your amount of marketing

Sketchup has a free version that is pretty good and probably adequate for basic plans an visualizations. I use revit for my architecture work. It is very robust and can give you material takeoffs and 3D renderings but takes a while to learn

To amend my comment zoning or planning plans should be a lot quicker and cheaper but building permits should be a lot more that 2 months and $4500

Mel C. It really depends on the amount of detail you need. If you just need bare bones permit drawing that seems a little long but if you don't have an established relationship you probably aren't going to jump to the top of their queue unless you offer to pay more. Adding a second story probably takes involving a structural engineer and verifying the foundation and walls can take the increased load If the 2 months includes back and forth with you on design decisions be as quick as possible responding and don't change your mind I like to say in designing anything there is time, quality and cost and you only get to choose 2.

You can have them buy your list from listsource for $0.15/lead or buy or generate it yourself. You can also search bigger pockets I think there is a code for 10% off your first order. Also there is a platinum card on yellow letters that gets you 15% off for 6 months that will pay for itself if you send a lot of mail. As for your list criteria that is a tough question absentee owners lists are used commonly because the owner has less emotional attachment to the house and may be open to seller financing since they are already hopefully getting a rent check. If you are planning to spend more that $1000/month in marketing it is worth doing a lot of research or hiring a coach to make sure you are mailing to the right list. Also do it consistently for at least 6 months and vary the mail piece. It usually takes several touches to get a call.

Probably means it was permitted but not certainly. I would still try and check the building department's online permit records

Is the property in a very secluded area? I would be surprised if no neighbors noticed and complained. A new second story doesn't usually fly under the radar. 

It may be that that permit was abandoned but they pulled a different permit. Or maybe they ran out of money before the permit got final sign off and then were foreclosed on. You can usually search permit records online by address or APN. Also check the assessor's record to see if the square footage matches the current or single story.

Getting it permitted now would take architectural drawings but also check with the abandoned permit they might be able to get the old drawings off the computer or microfilm. You would probably have to take all the drywall off the inside walls to verify structural elements, electrical and plumbing were done right.

Unless you are planning on living in the property forever you are going to have to deal with it. There is liability to renting out a place you know was not permitted and may not be up to code and thus potentially hazardous.