All Forum Posts by: Shannon K.

One current flip I have is an FHA203K... It is a live-in flip as I am occupying the property for the required time period. There are a ton of rules, regulations, and paperwork... I had a rather horrific experience with the bank during this entire process, but I made an amazing buy and am currently rehabbing it to my liking. I will be in the neighborhood of $80-100k in equity/profit when complete. Overall, a great idea and I'm very happy to be in this house and working on this project!

Major downsizes:  203k loans are expensive!  I had to come out of pocket $17k on a $94k loan for closing costs & fees. Not a happy experience there since I was originally quoted $12k to close this deal and it changed overnight.

Additionally:  The bank required repairs which I could have easily performed myself: Installing new windows, paint the chipped paint on the stairs, repair side porch deck, demolish shed. These things were required of me and I could have easily done them, but was not allowed. I had to pay a bank-approved contractor with the loan monies to complete them.

I am happy with my decision to use the 203K loan on this one. It is a good strategy if you can roll with the bank's requirements :)

It seems now is the time to begin to take the reigns on your own project. If the contractors aren't doing their job, plumbers aren't real plumbers, and GC's have done little work for the money you've forked over, now is the time to rethink your strategy.

Do you have a clearly defined schedule for when you expect things done with these contractors? If you give Mr. GC $10,000, what can you expect will be done for that money? What is the time period? You need to stop being too loose with the freedoms here and start reigning these guys in and making them commit to deadlines. Stop losing sleep and start taking action. It seems you needed more time to research and network to find reliable people before choosing these guys hastily. Its now your turn to begin to delegate the tasks and start getting things done. Ask friends for referrals; search online for new workers; ask workers for previous references; create a payment schedule; put it in writing; set deadlines. Take back the power and finish the task on a positive note. Good luck! :)

Also think about the ventilation/HVAC!  I looked at a property in a wealthy suburb near me with mold covering nearly all 1st floor walls 9 feet up. Made us sign a waiver to enter the place. (We brought masks cause I knew beforehand it had this problem).  

Bank turned off the electric, sump pump couldn't kick on.  6 feet of water from the basement all the way up the stairs to the first floor. By the time they began showing the house, all the HVAC ducts were molded/completely rusted and rotted out from the basement floor up throughout the 1st floor. All HVAC needed to be replaced. Hot water tank = no good. All duct work = no good. Furnace = no good. ~$50,000

Goodness, what area in Buffalo are you buying in that you're in a $1.3 mil price range?  There's a very limited amount of neighborhoods in this area at that range that I can think of. I'm flipping in the southtowns right now :)

Are you using a local investor? I also had a similar experience with a local guy who agreed to 18% and hiked it up to 24% when we went to sign everything. And then also asked me to fund the entire rehab myself too. Completely not what we agreed upon! I'm wondering if its the same guy....

I think its like that across a good portion of the country. I flip in the suburbs of Buffalo and there's a huge influx of new investors floating around here. The last house I bid on had 9 offers in the first hour it hit the market--sight unseen!! Cause I was the first person the agent let in the actual house! Competition is ridiculous; inventory is low; and new investors are willing to overpay on houses just to get one because they aren't educated enough to know better at the moment.

The last few months my buddies have scooped up 3-4 project houses that were half-started by newbie flippers who couldn't finish the project and overpaid like crazy to get them. Now they're selling at a loss to more experienced flippers--materials included! Yay. Its been increasingly difficult to get a good deal on a flip and I put in 26 offers before I secured my most recent flip. I also was overbid on this house 3 times by others and their financing fell through and I got it on the 4th try. Whew! Come this fall, I will have to entertain new strategies for buying...

MLS is fairly tapped out where I am here. Competition is high. Inventory is low. New investors are inexperienced and willing to overpay to buy these flips/rentals. I got overbid/low-balled on 26 houses before I secured my most recent flip. Haha. AND this current flip I had to offer on it as an owner-occ and commit to a live-in flip to get it before the rest of the investors! I did get this house from the MLS, but I also lost this house 3 times to other people before their financing fell through and I scooped it up finally for myself!

I have always scoured the MLS for houses, but I definitely partake in networking, flips with other rehabbers, driving-for-dollars, referrals from friends, etc. Real estate for me thus far has been a very creative business and outside of the box thinking has been the go-to strategy for me.

If there is a property on the MLS with the qualifications you're seeking, ask yourself this... why hasn't another investor picked it up yet? If its so great, why hasn't it been scooped up yet already? Perhaps it is not the deal you hope it to be... There are good deals to be had if you are willing to fight for them. Certainly take a look outside of traditional means though...

Yes! Very cool, thank you all!  I definitely know how to start it off now.  I just couldn't picture it in my mind to start it off.

Hi everyone,

I'm in the middle of a flip and we've just put up a nice big LVL beam to make an open concept kitchen. I'd like to spend today bracketing & metal strapping the LVL beam into the existing structures, but I'm not clear on how to drywall OVER the bolts on the beam later on?

The screws I have which are rated for use with these metal brackets have fat bolt heads on them. They don't recess flat. 

How do I drywall over these big bolt heads to get a smooth finish with drywall later? I can't visualize a clear process for this. Any help please?

I love white kitchens and am currently working on one myself. Both designs are lovely. I am having a hard time choosing details for mine as well.

I'm a professional bodybuilder so I workout daily. I yell and swear at myself and breathe heavy and make noise in the gym when lifting which seems to make me happy. I always love a good workout to de-stress and take out my anger, lol.