All Forum Posts by: Taylor Shapiro

@Jonathan Makovsky I can't help you with Middletown but I can vouch for @Raymond B. who knows a thing or two about the area. Just don't count it against him that he's soaking up the sun down south while we're suffering from this cold weather :)

You might want to look into Meriden while you're at it. It's about 15 mins west of Middletown. Just like @Karin Crompton mentioned though, the town is pretty varied but a good one for rehab/flips in the $150-200K ARV.

BTW, @Craig Hansen , how's "Romantic-Willimantic" REI doing? I graduated ECSU in '08. Ahh the memories...

Being that I exceeded all of my RE goals this past year, I'm very excited to crush it in 2014. This will be my first year in RE "by myself" after working 7 months with my mentor in which time I flipped 3 houses with him.

-Currently in the process of getting my RE license. Should have it by the end of December.

-Hang license with smaller brokerage in my area (Already chosen)

-Raise PM for rehabs ($500K)

-Rehab 3 houses (net $75K from total profits)

-Find 5 others in my area who are consistently rehabbing SFHs to expand my personal network

-Systematize my Rehab business

-Keep any and all panic attacks to a minimum :)

@J Scott, what does this process typically cost?

I'm assuming you would only contact an engineer/foundation companies if you were confident you could close on the deal? Or maybe depending on how much you're dishing out for the inspection(s)?

I've never experienced a rehab that had structural damage

@Nicky Valeiron, @Jon Holdman makes a good point. Ask yourself these big picture questions. There's so much to learn in REI, but if you narrow your focus onto a specific technique (flipping, wholesaling,rentals, etc.) you can whittle away any excess information that would only clog your mind with unnecessary stress.

I'd bet that you feel lost because you're trying too hard to take everything in all at once! Don't worry, I was the same way.

You're interest will naturally lead you to the answers you're looking for. You'll find holes in your understanding and then search for the answers to fill those holes.

Keep reading. Like anything else, it comes with time.

@Drew Liljedahl, welcome aboard!

I was just looking at a place in Avon that might fit your criteria. "Higher end" type that's been vacant for a while.

Why focus on the higher end homes, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm in Simsbury- lot's of those around the area!

I remember seeing these posts years ago. Matt H. (OP) seemed to be on top of the world back when he was an active member. He was riding the appreciation wave all the way to the top.

Here's a post that caught my eye: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/9594-life-altering-financial-desicions-to-make-

Michael Rossi seemed to know exactly what was coming with the 2008 recession based on his response.

2 guys on total opposite ends of the risk/reward spectrum, with tons of value shared through their posts...

@Spencer Shadrach

Do yourself a favor and get the book. This goes for anyone else who's interested in rehabbing houses but isn't sure where to begin reading/learning.

Not only does J's book describe all of the major aspects of rehabbing a house from start to finish, it also comes with a second book that explains how to come up with and estimate rehab costs.

Well worth the investment.

@Christopher B. I'm interested, as i'm sure your story could shed some light on the OP's question-

How did you buy your first investment property with no money? Was this a rehab or a buy and hold?

@Rick H. thanks for your insight

As I mentioned before, this is the first time I've ever inquired about a vacant property. We've only dealt with the MLS in the past. I was thinking of sending them a simple, hand-written yellow letter or leaving a note at the vacant property. For some reason I feel as though calling them would be too intrusive/have a negative effect.

Thoughts?

It looks like I'll be teaching myself how to pull title this week :)

BTW- @Account Closed and @Tim G., is there an online database you'd be pulling title from? How would you be able to gather that information without being in the same state/town as the property?

@Account Closed and @Tim G., appreciate the responses.

I'm 100% getting ahead of myself with my earlier post. I wanted to be prepared to at least explain the process of tying the property up and paying him the agreed upon amount when I finish rehabbing and sell the house.

As of yet, I have not contacted the homeowner. I will do a reverse lookup on the property tomorrow morning and try to contact him. I'd like to pursue this one instead of hoping he'll contact me through the info I left his neighbor. This will be my first time speaking face to face with a motivated seller.

I'll wait until I speak with the owners to do a title search.