All Forum Posts by: William Bratrud

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Oak Ridge.

Purchase price: $100,000
Cash invested: $65,000

Purchased from an out of state wholesaler. There was plenty of meat on the bone so we made it happen. so far it has proven to be a great performing asset and we have plenty of equity in this red hot market!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I was referred to this deal by a friend who knew the wholesaler that was offering it for sale. At the time i was living in another state so the price point was very attractive considering similar homes in my area were selling for 600K+ at the time.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This came by referral from a friend at a networking group i was attending. My friend heard i was moving to TN so he put me in touch with a wholesaler from Florida who had this property under contract in TN. I called the wholesaler and asked him what he was looking to get for the contract, he indicated 100K so I ran some numbers and called him back 20min later to lock it up.

How did you finance this deal?

We paid cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Main issue with this property is that the previous owner had died and was a hoarder so four 30 yard dumpsters later she was ready for some flooring and paint. We added a bedroom and a kitchenette in the basement as well as a complete remodel of 1 bathroom and pretty much just spiffied up the rest.

What was the outcome?

We have the place rented at $1800/mo. After all is said and done we got 100% of our cash out and she cashflows around $600/mo. after all expenses

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hire the right contractor. I gave a new kid a shot at painting the interior, needless to say we had to paint it twice.....

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Not on this one

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment in Homeland.

Purchase price: $250,000
Cash invested: $3,500
Sale price: $370,150

13 Acre Ranch wholesale. Picked up this 13 acre ranch with a 3000 s.f. single-family residence and a 1100 s.f. guest house in need of major repairs for $250K. After cleaning up some minor code violations we immediately put the property back on the market for $120k more than we purchased it for. Everyone else was afraid of this property, We saw the potential! Story of my investment life..........

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Affordable Acreage is hard to come by in Southern California especially with improvements on the property.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Lead was sent to me by a friend referral. I contacted the listing agent and negotiated it directly through them.

How did you finance this deal?

Paid $195K personal cash & borrowed an additional $70K at a flat 10% interest on a private unsecured 6 month note.

How did you add value to the deal?

Corrected code violations which equated to essentially cleaning up a pile of trash and removing some minor dead brush piles and greenhouse disassembly. Total cost was about $3000k

What was the outcome?

We put the property back on the market for $379,000 and went into escrow in about 10 days. That buyer got cold feet so we went with a backup buyer who kept it tied up for another month only to not perform. Finally we entered escrow with a third buyer who closed the deal 45 days later and cleared about $80k profit after paying all of our costs.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

The code violation thing was a surprise. It came from a disgruntled buyer who didn’t get the property for a much lower price $320 to be exact. I’m glad I didn’t sell to him and I’m glad he called code enforcement it ended up getting us a lot more for the property in the end. As we dealt with the code issues the market continued to climb and the final buyers were relieved to have a clean Bill of Heath on the property which was issued by the county after our corrections. Roll with the punches....

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Brad Freeman, with Freeman & Associates. This guy is an animal! He always gets me the best price getting in and out of my investments and is a pit bull when it comes to playing hardball with the other side of the deal.

Investment Info:

Mobile home fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $290,000
Cash invested: $90,000
Sale price: $523,000

We bought this property in really bad condition.... Rattlesnakes living in the house, holes in the subfloor, 10 dead rabbits in the crawlspace. After four 40 yard dumpsters and $90K later this thing was a gem and sold for $523K which was $43K over it's appraised value.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

3+ Acre Ranch Property, two homes on the lot, Gorgeous views and close proximity to where I lived at the time.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Contacted the listing agent direct and worked up a strong cash offer

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

See the pictures

What was the outcome?

Made great profit......Cleared over $100k after closing costs

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Hit the market right after Covid hit. Was scary timing but in the end I think it worked in our favor as Covid contributed to somewhat of housing supply shortage as well as increased demand in larger rural properties with people wanting to flee the cities.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

My Mom actually brokered the back end of this deal. She is retired or I would recommend her.

Investment Info:

Mobile home fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $290,000
Cash invested: $90,000

We bought this Home in really bad condition.... Rattlesnakes living in the house, holes in the subfloor, dead rabbits in the crawlspace. After four 40 yard dumpsters and $90K later this thing was a gem and sold for $43K over appraised value.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Very Unique property, great views, great price!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Zillow, Called listing Agent and made an offer through them. They went to bat for me : )

How did you finance this deal?

All cash

How did you add value to the deal?

filled up four 40 yard dumpsters of trash and burned through $90K in rehab

What was the outcome?

Made $100K when it was all said and done!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Flipping is tough when you run another business full time. Id rather hold than sell. $100K is nice but taxes stink and residual income is more important when its all said and done.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Not on this deal : )

Google search Jamestown NY property management shows 6 companies in Jamestown. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment in Riverside.

Purchase price: $305,000
Cash invested: $308,000
Sale price: $365,000

This was a super simple clean and flip. 3 days after the close of escrow we had a crew of 13 guys who managed to fill up 2 forty yard dumpsters in 7 hours including all of the trash from inside the home as well as yard cleaning/trimming in the front and backyard. we immediately listed the property and within 7 days of listing had an offer from another investor for $365,000. we closed the deal and resold with a 10 day escrow netting a profit of approximately $38,000 in less than 21 days.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was about 150K under ARV, there was great potential with multiple exit options

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

An agent/Broker i've worked with multiple times in the past brought this deal to me

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Cleaned out 2 forty yard dumpsters worth of trash and debris, trimmed the bushes and trees, tor out old nasty flooring and carpet.

What was the outcome?

Re-sold to another flip investor for $60K more than we bought it for

Lessons learned? Challenges?

There are multiple ways to make money in real estate, sometimes a good cleanup is all you need to do to make a decent profit.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes. Brad Freeman with Freeman and Associates was the creative brains and a money partner in this deal. Anyone looking for a great commercial broker in southern California should give him a call. This guy has a way of making deals happen when others can't and he has some very creative methods of buying and selling difficult properties.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment in Riverside.

Purchase price: $305,000
Cash invested: $308,000
Sale price: $365,000

We purchased this fixer upper which was previously occupied by a hoarder tenant. It literally looked like someone died in every room of the house. This was a super simple flip and went down as follows..... 3 days after the close of escrow we had a crew of 13 guys who managed to fill up 2 forty yard dumpsters in 7 hours including all of the trash from inside the home as well as yard cleaning/trimming in the front and backyard. we immediately listed the property and within 7 days of listing had an offer from another investor for $365,000. we closed the deal and resold with a 10 day escrow netting a profit of approximately $38,000 in less than 21 days.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was about 150K under ARV, there was great potential with multiple exit options

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

An agent/Broker i've worked with multiple times in the past brought this deal to me

How did you finance this deal?

Cash

How did you add value to the deal?

Cleaned out 2 forty yard dumpsters worth of trash and debris, trimmed the bushes and trees, tor out old nasty flooring and carpet.

What was the outcome?

Re-sold to another flip investor for $60K more than we bought it for

Lessons learned? Challenges?

There are multiple ways to make money in real estate, sometimes a good cleanup is all you need to do to make a decent profit.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes. Brad Freeman with Freeman and Associates was the creative brains and a money partner in this deal. Anyone looking for a great commercial broker in southern California should give him a call. This guy has a way of making deals happen when others can't and he has some very creative methods of buying and selling difficult properties.

After 19 Years of Working For The Man

I am leaving my 6 figure electrical contracting business this year to go full time REI and sales. Ive been in the electrical industry working as a commercial electrician for 19 years and investing in real estate for the past 3 Years. I have been making more in real estate working part time than in my own electrical contracting business working full time with 3 full time employees. to me its a no brainer. I have loved real estate since i was a kid, and have always wanted to be in the industry but due to life circumstances and poor choices as a young adult i had to go the stable income route. Now i am finally in a position to make the switch and am super excited about this career move. I absolutely love real estate, Building, renovation, property hunting, analyzing deals, etc....to me its like grown up monopoly only with real money. To me its not a job its a pleasure and thats what i most look forward to.

Solomon a wise king once said " Everything in life is meaningless and like chasing the wind, for what does a man gain from all of his toil and labor that he performs under the sun?..... And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and to accept your lot in life - that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look back with sorrow on the past, for God has given them a reason for joy. The Book of Ecclesiastes

This is good advice and i believe that every person should do what they were born to do. The best way to find out what that is is to take note of what you absolutely love and go for it. When you follow your passion you work from your strengths and your God given gifts, and this is a major key to great success and happiness in life. 

Hey justin, good question. for what its worth, heres my tidbit on investing in condos. Ultimately Condos can be ok if they cashflow and monthly income is your goal! but there are some things to consider. 

Some pros to condo investing would be:

1). lower maintenance. ( The exterior is general kept up by the association, You don't need to worry about a gardener, broken sprinklers or snow removal)

2). lower price point ( Generally condos are a bit cheaper than SFRs but depending on HOA the monthly payment could easily offset this perk)

3). Due to stricter regulations in many newer condominium communities and it is less likely that your condo will become an illegal grow operation, drug manufacturing facility or party house

4). Condos can a bit easier when it comes to turnover when a tenant moves out ( Depending on the HOA they theres usually no landscaping or exterior work necessary between tenants since that is kept up by the association)

5). Amenities ( some condominium complexes have amenities that attract tenants such as a swimming pool, a gym or park)

The cons:

1). Appreciation ( Condos typically don't appreciate like a SFR)

2). Less desirable ( can take longer to sell, and the market demand for condos is usually lower than SFR's)

3). lower rent ( in many areas condos generally rent for less than SFR's)

4). HOA's ( condos typically have HOA dues and these can be rather high depending on the association. Many times this is the factor that kills cashflow required for the investment to work)

5). Management ( although leaving the exterior to others for upkeep can be a pro, if there is bad management or a neglectful association it can also be a con. A property is only as good as its management and an association that mismanages its funds and duties can affect the value and desirability of your property)

Hope this helps and good luck in your investment endeavors.

- William

True story,

About two years ago I was approached by a wealthy friend and given the opportunity to manage and invest $500K of his funds into the real estate market.....whats the catch you ask? no catch, After watching me flip two deals he simply offered me an opportunity to invest his funds in return for 1/2 of the profit on every deal I do. As a bonus he insisted that I also compensate myself for any time spent on the projects at a reasonable rate. 

What did I do? I took him to lunch, we discussed the details and I took him up on the offer. We Hired a lawyer, formed an LLC and immediately I put his money to work! Over the past 22 months I have completed several Southern California fix and flips in my spare time and produced a total of about $250K in profit for an average ROI of 50% annual. In addition to this it has generated about $20K additional annual income for my time spent on the projects. After rehab, I sell the property and the profits are split 50/50.

So what the issue? 

I fell like The money should be working harder. I feel like I have been given a great opportunity and I want to maximize the potential. I feel like I should be able to double the money within two years, triple it within 3 and so on.... Yes I know that these are some decent returns, but I also know the tremendous power that real estate has to create substantial wealth when you invest it properly. 

Given the same opportunity, What would you do? How and where would you invest?