All Forum Posts by: Tamara Elliott-Deering

I have a house under contract in Taylor, Tx. Quick numbers purchase price $72,000 rehab costs/repair costs approx. $55,000. ARV approx. $180,000. I will either assign the contract, or partner with someone. I am a contractor as well as a Realtor so I can handle the construction I just need a money person. You would be in first position on the lien.

If you are interested in more information message me and I will send you a package with the property details and the information on me and my experience. You can also call me on 512-629-3090. I'm in the central time zone and I try and turn off my phone by 8:00 PM but I start answering again at 7:00 in the morning.

I look forward to speaking with you about my deal.

I think the floor tile is the problem. There are ways to make the wall tile work if you choose the right paint color and flooring. If it's in good shape, I would try and remove the bottom row of tiles (very carefully, because you want to save them and reuse them) and remove the floor tiles. If you break too many of the tiles on the bottom row then I'd go ahead and rip out the sheet rock as suggested in a previous post, if your going that far, just tear all the sheet rock out and put in new green board. It will be faster to rip out the drywall and have new installed and textured than to try and remove the wallpaper.

From an investment standpoint, this house doesn't make sense. A renovation or restoration always takes more time and money than you think it will. Plus these houses are impossible to comp and buyers usually don't pay a premium for things they consider standard like plumbing, electrical and HVAC which is where most of the Reno money goes. I'm speaking from experience I did a full restoration on an 1880s house two years ago but I knew going in there would be very little profit, I did it because I'm crazy and I really needed to save the house.

If you bulldoze over 150 years of history much bad karma will come your way. It sounds like you're just trying to find a buyer and share the commission if that is the case, there is a website and weekly ezine called Circa that will advertise the home to the right market for $45. Emphasize the land, take great pictures of the period details like rosette and crown molding, and the staircase, we old house lovers are suckers for staircases. If you have any history on the house you can put that together for potential buyers. It may very well sell, you almost had me convinced and I can't afford it and hate the cold.

Congratulations you are doing great. Keep up the good work

No one can predict the future but with the doubts you have and your inexperience I wouldn't buy the property. Look for a deal  you're more comfortable with, investing is risky enough without having to wrestle your doubts every day.

Wow, I can't wrap my head around a deal with so few zeroes. Congrats, I hope it works out for you with numbers like that I don't expect you'll be investing in TX anytime soon.

No owner signature no contract simple as that. If the brother is acting for the sister there must be a power of attorney in place. Always check ownership records before writing a contract.

First step - define your investment strategy both short term and long term and establish a timeline and plan to accomplish your first investment.

Second step, learn your target market a d your numbers. Knowing how to properly analyze a deal is critical in our crazy Tx market, I'm seeing a lot of "deals" come across my desk from investors who made a bad deal and are looking for the greater fool to clean up their mistake.

Third step, take action, do one thing every day that moves you t o ward your goal.

Best of luck to you.

You must use a Realtor to make the offer. You can offer less than asking price but I. my experience and in a hot market Fannie doesn't negotiate, they usually ask for highest and best offer by a certain date and time because there are almost always multiple offers - many of them below asking price. Finally, if you're offering all cash you must show proof of funds and they often require it to be a bank statement not a letter.

You've started quite the conversation, I think most of us wish we had started when we were 15. My advice for you is slightly different. You are saving up for a car which is great you will need it for all practical purposes to work in Texas. But what you can do right now is start a small service business, every homeowner has maintenance tasks we hate to do or projects that we could use some help with. Exterior painting, moving dirt, rocks, gravel and prepping gardens, unplugging a drain or installing a toilet come to mind. Look around your neighborhood for older people who look like they can use some help or someone who has just brought home a truck load of stuff from home depot. See if they need help. Earn money doing stuff that will benefit your investing career. I recommend that you first property be a fixer that you live in and do as much of the work as you can yourself. This hands on experience is invaluable when it comes to hiring people and writing and understanding a scope of work.

As for college it's up to you, the best architect I know worked his way through college in the trades. It really helped him understand the difference between what can be drawn and what can be built. Construction Management is also a great field to study if you're of that mind and structural engineering is great if you enjoy math.

One last thing, like you I was always afraid of not having enough money, my specific fear was ending up a homeless bag lady. I would suggest reading "Your Money or Your Life" by Joe Dominguez it changed my life and put things into perspective, if I read it at 15 I would have taken a much different path. 

I'd love to know how your doing on your journey so keep posting.