All Forum Posts by: Brian Zabowski

Hello everyone,

I have a deal under contract for a house I am looking to flip. I was wondering what important information I should be presenting to any potential investors I show this to so I can get funding for this project.

What I have so far,...

• Picture of the House 
• MLS page with info
• Sold comps within same school district/city in the last 180 days
• Interior photos
• Itemized list of repairs (totaling around $5000)
• ARV based on nearby comps
• Funding needs
• Holding costs
• Exit strategies 

Is there anything else that they would want to see that I may be forgetting? This is my first time presenting an offer like this and I want to be sure to do it right. Any input would be appreciated!

I wanted to ask those who have done both, is it better to cold call an owner and ask if they want to sell or possibly speak to a neighbor and see if they could introduce me? I ask because I have a potential property that I may be able to get under contract but the lady is currently in a nursing home while the house sits idle. Just wanted to get an opinion or two on how to best approach this from someone who has been down this road before.

 Yes you do but after a year you can move. This also lets you get an idea of how the property works and functions so you can take care of it better than just inspecting things every so often. If you switch jobs or have a kid, along with many other things you can qualify to move out and get another loan I think. This way you are not necessarily stuck the whole year but its a start. You could always rent out the home you are living in now while moving into the multifamily. That is also an option. 

First of all listen to all the BP podcasts. They all have valuable information in them that will help expand your knowledge in Real Estate. Second, listen to their book recommendations and start reading. This will get you information that you need to form your own approach. As for me I'm looking to do a FHA loan with some house hacking on a 2-4 multifamily property and repeat this every so often until I can pull some equity from the properties by forcing appreciation and making extra payments. Then 1031 that to an apartment complex. If you want to talk more in detail just message me, I'm always down to talk about this.

You should have the house under contract. If the home owner violates it you can sue for breach of contract. If you didn't get it under contract and they go behind your back you could look at it as a lesson learned. Good to get the dishonest people out of the way sooner rather than later. If its someone worth working with they wouldn't do that.

 This is a good way to get a good return but as a newbie starting out that way seems like a bad idea unless you have experience from a job or worked in the field before. 

Avoid condos. The HOA is something you can't control. I'm sure there are people out there making good money with them but until you have experience I think avoiding them is the best option. I know I am.

AFAIK you can change the title to the LLC but may trigger the Due on Sale clause of your contract which have the bank possibly come a knocking. If you do a little hand-holding with the banks and explain this is for asset protection they will usually not enforce it. From what I gather though this is one of those things where asking for forgiveness is better than permission.

Would this be your first time buying a house?

If so you can apply for the first time home buyers bonus to help you out with that.

I personally will be buying a multi-plex in the future and am going to use that to minimize the down payment and use it as my primary residence to get a lower interest rate on the house. Then if you live in it for 2 of the last 5 years you can sell it tax free with the sale of personal residence loophole from the IRS and get the ball rolling in the right direction. Hope that helps.

Hello! My name is Brian Zabowski and I am a new investor to real estate. I've been using the site for a few months but I figured it's time to introduce myself and tell everyone what I'm about.

I live in south eastern Michigan about a half hour drive north of Detroit in the suburbs and plan to invest around those areas. I'm currently renting at the moment but I'm looking to make the move to get a multi-plex and do a little bit of house hacking to get the ball rolling. I am interested in buy and hold properties with lots of cashflow along with properties that will appreciate long term. In the mean time I'm considering doing some wholesaling to help fund the future house purchases and break into the business.

Currently looking to learn as much as I can about the business and get my License to cut costs but also gain much needed experience. I'm also looking for a mentor who is looking for someone eager to learn as much as they can about the industry.

That's pretty much it! If you have any questions for me feel free to ask!

-Brian