All Forum Posts by: Valerie Hiscoe

I have to reserve judgement until I know what price point you're aiming for and whether it's a flip or a rental.

@Hannah Robertson

@Ghazanfar Hussain Khan

I'm not really what you'd call a 'learner', but I can't figure out what you're referring to when you say ARV either. The 'After Repaired Value' is usually what the property will be worth after it's repaired. Are you meaning the $190k will be your total investment and you expect the value to be around $320k?

I think people might be able to be more helpful with your question if you give more information. (For me you'd have to start by telling me what a water tap is and how it can be foreclosed on.) If you provided the details used in your calculations - such as purchase price, holding costs, rehab budget, etc (all the costs used in the flipping calculator from the menu above) we'd be better equipped to give you answers and suggestions. It is very difficult to understand how you go from $59k to $190k to $320k, so it's probably best if you provide a breakdown of your rehab scope and costs as well. We would then be happy to help.

Hi @Gene Principato

How is your journey into the world of real estate investing going? It's been a while since you wrote this post and a lot of people stop start stop start etc so I was wondering how you were doing.

I have investments in Arizona right now but am thinking of relocating, probably to either Florida or Texas. Port St Lucie was one place that was specifically recommended to me so I thought I'd see what you thought.

Hope things are going well.

I have to disagree about there being no such thing as investor-friendly realtors. If every realtor understood investing, they'd all be doing it - and many don't. A realtor who specializes and understands investment properties is just as important to have on your team as a lender who specializes in the same. They are able to look at things differently and think 'outside the box'. You'll be hard pressed to find a realtor who will put in an offer for $1000s, sometimes tens of $1000s, below list price if they don't see what you do and know that they'll probably have to present 100's of those offers to get one sale just as you do. Although they won't waste their time with you unless it's part of a plan that they know you're serious about. Their time and reputation are their most valuable assets, but I've found that shockingly many realtors are also incredibly patient, helpful, and supportive if they think you're the real deal. They also hold the keys to the other people you need on your team - they'll most likely know the lenders, the inspectors, etc, etc, all the contacts that you'll need.

One of the best places to find them is going to be at some of the meetings, so I'd see what you can find and go from there. They'll tell you what you need to do in order for them to need to do something for you.

Hi Theresa

I'm pretty new in my investing career too but I've made enough mistakes to be able to give a little advice.

From your post, it was a little unclear but it sounds like you're renting out the home you own for just enough to pay the mortgage and you're not crazy about being a landlord. It didn't seem to mention whether you pay rent at your grandmother's or not, but if you don't,  it seems like you're in a good position. Although I know what you mean about being a landlord - every month I wonder if I'm going to have to evict someone. All said and done though, we all want to be or become landlords (ideally with a property management company doing the hands-on work) because that's how you make passive income. What you need to do is clarify how much sense it makes to be a landlord of the particular house you have right now. And make no mistake, sometimes the only thing more valuable than cash, is owning property, so you don't want to do anything without having a long term plan. As well as the fact that you may end up in probate court at any time.

I'd therefore recommend you take the next couple of steps ASAP. 1) Find a lender who specializes in dealing with investors in your area (probably by asking on these forums because they're unlikely to be found at your local bank), 2) Order 'The book on flipping houses' from the menu above, and 3) If you haven't done so already, work through 'The beginner's guide to real estate...'. And the www.biggerpockets.com/starthere

And maybe just one more, OK,  two more things: Learn enough so you never have to blindly trust. You'll be taken advantage of. Period. You have the resources from this site to get there. And two, avoid doing stuff from a distance that you can't get to regularly, unless you trust someone who has as much or more to lose than you do.

As I said earlier, it sounds like you're in a very good place to start making this happen for you. It can be demanding but if you have a plan and stick to it, even ploddingly, you'll change your future.

Hope to hear how it goes for you. Take care.

On a $75,000 property, $6500 seems like a lot to expect in an increased appraisal. How much would it increase the rent? Are there touch ups or repairs that would still take you from 'average' condition to 'good' condition (which is pretty well the extent of one comp over another for an appraiser).

When you're talking about $75,000 properties, $5000 or so goes a long way towards a down payment.

There may have been a good reason it wasn't part of your initial rehab - what was that?

@Andrew Ahn

The books and 'homework' above might be interesting and helpful for you too, comparing $100 to the knowledge of the numbers @Scott Schultz above has available for easy access. There's lots of fun stuff you can do for preparation.

Not knowing the price of cabinets seems to be a real red flag to me. Saying that your GC will come in later to do an estimate pretty well confirms that you are putting yourself in a very dangerous situation. You need to have a pretty good idea of the cost of repairs you will be doing, and a very good idea of how much you can sell the house for afterwards, because, as Brandon Turner has tried to drill into us, you determine your OFFER price with those numbers, not by what looks like a good deal. If you don't have 'The book on estimating' and 'The book on flipping houses' from the menu above, that might be a really helpful place to start. If you don't know the price of cabinets it means you may not have had a chance to do enough homework yet and that will put you at a huge disadvantage because 1.) contractors, for whatever reason, may not be accurate, or even close, with their estimates, and 2) realtors, also for reasons of their own, may be over-optimistic about the ARV. Saying "cosmetic work, to say the least" can cost from $1000-$10,000. Per room, if there are problems you're not seeing.

My ignorance was very badly taken advantage of, first, by low estimates and high price tags, and then the sale price being 30% off (yes, of the total sale price), so unfortunately, my advice comes from bitter experience. A very expensive lesson that I hope you won't need to go through.

My very best wishes that this works out well for you, but, at the very least, get lots of evidence of your ARV so you dont spend too much, and write up ironclad contracts with your GC, making sure to include time frames. Good luck.

Everyone wants an island, even if it weren't to be the best use of space. But which in this case it is so, so much the better. I have a bigger concern however. Kitchens are usually best having three distinct areas. Cooking, cleaning, and storage (which translates to cupboards for food and the fridge). With both of your proposed floor plans, you've combined your cooking and storage areas leaving not enough room for either. The least expensive way to help remedy that (other than moving the stove to the island) would be to reverse the placement of the stove and dishwasher (also giving you direct outdoor venting for your fan). As well, dish storage in an island is not practical whereas pots and pans would easily work across from the stove, even better perhaps hanging from a pot holder above the island. (If it were a chef's type look you're after). Unless you were to actually USE the kitchen, the lack of storage might not jump out at you but, if you're going to add storage, might as well make it work well.

Good luck with the flip Andrew!

Your numbers sounded so good, it sounded like you'd be able to get all your money back out refinancing. How much would you need to leave in?