All Forum Posts by: Shaun Reilly

Hi Tim, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have. You would probably want to check out the Eastern Mass REIA in Rockland (Used to have a 2nd meeting in Taunton but don't think they have been doing that one recently) and can also try the House Flipping School Meetup in Plymouth and the South Shore REIA by the Cape. Going the other way I would highly recommend the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (Alternates monthly with their Worcester location with the next Waltham one being July). Lots of other choices as you get around the city and north as well.

Had a similar start to you.  We bought a place in 04 but wanted to move in 07 and didn't want to sell at the "bottom" so rented it out, still have it.  Also enjoyed people mailing me money so bought a couple more in 07-08 since it was the "bottom".  None of these looked very good in the short term but real estate is very forgiving over time and those all do pretty well now.  Of course not as well as essentially the same place as these that I bought for half as much in 2012, that cash flows a bit better.  :)  

Hi Kyle, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have.  In addition to Mike's meetings and Justin's quarterly (next one got moved from June to July) you definitely should check out the NEREIA in Chelmsford and the NH RE Mastermind group in Nashua (Next meeting is this Wed).  Also my personal favorite is the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (Alternates monthly with their Worcester location, but next Waltham one is tomorrow).  If you want to look more in NH there is also the NHREIA in Manchester and there are many other options around Boston and South of the city as well.  

Hi Jonathan, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have. My favorite is the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (alternates every other month with their Worcester location, next Waltham meeting is Tuesday). Other ones in and around the city are the previously mentioned Boston Wealth Builders in the city, the Boston Area REIA in Medford and the Boston REIA in Dedham. Many other options north and south of the city as well.

Hi Chris, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have. You should definitely get out to the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (They alternate monthly with their Worcester location but this is a Waltham month, actually it is next Tuesday). Besides that other events in the area are the Boston Area REIA in Medford, the Boston Wealth Builders in the city, the Boston REIA in Dedham and a whole host of others both north and south of the city from the Cape up to Manchester NH.

Hi Andrew, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have. Most of the ones I would have mentioned have been already by some others. So beyond the Black Diamond meeting (Which is my favorite and there Waltham meeting is on Tuesday FYI), the NEREIA in Chelmsford, Mike's North Shore meetings, Justin's Quarterly one and the Boston Wealth Builders you can also check out the Boston Area REIA in Medford and the Boston REIA in Dedham. We covered north of the city pretty well but there are quite a few other options south if you want to look into some more of those markets too.

As mentioned I have done a lot of investments with HUD homes. Though not any very recently and never as an owner occupant so my exact experience isn't quite the same as what you are looking to do.

Generally what other people have said is what I believe to also be true as in you need to live there for a year to comply with bidding during the exclusive owner occupant phase, but not at all if you do after that period. As well as if you buy anything via an FHA loan you need to live there for a year.

So nothing all that special there with a HUD house.

Generally though with the idea of buying a place, living in it while fixing it and then selling it for a profit you should keep a few things in mind.

1) A year, or more, is a long time and the market can change so there is a gamble.  If things go up you get a bigger profit than you anticipated!  However what looks like a good deal now could be a lot worse if things go down.

2) Since it is your primary if you stay there 2 years you don't pay any taxes.  Being a primary residence that you live in at least 1 year you are looking at Cap Gains rates already, but if the spread is big enough NO taxes might be worth considering.  Of course this will greatly amplify the risk and reward side in point #1.

3) In case everything does go to hell in a year you should make sure whatever you buy isn't a place you aren't counting the days to get the hell out of or stretch yourself way to thin getting into it. It sucks to get stuck with a bad investment but it is really horrible to get stuck living in a place you hate and can't afford to sell or get foreclosed on because you are dipping into savings just to make your payment from day 1. You can mitigate this somewhat by running the numbers as a rental and see if it will at least break even if you moved out and rented it (OO residency requirements will be the same for becoming a rental for HUD and FHA). Over that time frame the rental market can shift too, but there should be much less volatility than the sale side.

J has a point is it High End of HIGH END!

I have not done it myself but people that I know that do new builds and usually hear anything from $120-150/sqft.  This is for good finishes to REALLY good finishes in nicer areas.

Rental grade in Lowell will cost you less but going all in in Weston I'm sure will be a lot more.

Why can't you offer less than $40K?

If it is a rental that she is current on and doesn't have some big hardship then probably not a good candidate for a short sale but if she just wants to get rid of it then she might bring money to the table for the privilege of not owning it anymore.

If the place needs a lot of repairs and some bigger houses are going for as little as $75K (BTW $75-120K is a BIG range, you need to tighten that up a lot) around you then it is very likely that it is not worth $40K.

How motivated did she seem to be rid of it?  Unless it is worth a lot closer to that $120K high I don't see it being worth much more than what she owes. 

Hi Kevin, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have. My favorite is the Black Diamond meeting in Waltham (alternates every other month with their Worcester location, next Waltham meeting is May). Other ones in and around the city are The Boston Wealth Builders in the city, the Boston Area REIA in Medford and the Boston REIA in Dedham. Many other options north and south of the city as well.

Hi William, welcome to BP.

This is a great place to learn. Make sure to listen to all the BP podcasts, read the articles on the main blog and be active in these forums to learn a ton very quickly about any topic in real estate you want to know more about.

This is also a great place to meet people that can be assets to your business. Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.

Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have. You can look into the South Shore REIA by the Cape and the House Flipping School meetup in Plymouth. Heading a little more north there is the Eastern Mass REIA in Rockland, which used to have a 2nd meeting in Taunton but I don't think they have done that one recently. Lots of other options as you get up to and north of Boston as well.