Chronicles of a newbie

[Brandon Purdeu]

Well I'm officially under the gun. I am in contract on my first flip property and pretty excited to get going. I am in contract with a 1100 SQ FT SFH in North Carolina which I purchased for $31,000. Looking at an ARV between $80,000-$90,000 and repairs in the 20k range.

Just thought I'd share a little about the journey so far. When these pro's say find the right deal and financing will happen they mean it. I posted about this deal on the deal analysis page and had multiple investors contact me about helping make it happen! If your numbers are right the money will fall into place (of course a little work is required on your end).

Don't be afraid to offer a lowball price on a house that has been sitting not the market for a long time. This house was listed at $60,000, I offered $24,000 initially, and after some negotiation got it at $31,000. Motivated seller indeed and right off the MLS.

Work with your contractor. My contractor had and initial quote way to high, he wanted $7200 to repair drywall and paint the interior. I simply told him what I thought fair value was and asked him to come down to it and he did. I used the numbers off homewyse.com and just explained what I was looking for. 

I'm still pretty new in the process but thought I'd share. My inspection was held up today due to a water leak that the seller has to fix but hopefully I'll be back on track next week to get this flip rolling by the end of the money. 

[Brandon Purdeu]

@Andrew Bourgeois I went into the google machine and typed in general contractor. Of course the top hits were "luxury contractors" that build horse farm mansions in the area but I explained what I was looking for and asked if they recommended anyone. I got four names and started making calls. I one name was also recommended by my relator so I had him come out and look at 2 properties with me. He's a licensed home inspector so he was pointing out things that most contractors weren't on other walkthroughs. His numbers were in line with about $20/sq ft and he was on time, clean cut and eager to work. We fit personality wise so I choose him. Talk to local contractors, real estate agents, property managers and conduct interviews and be up front. Your not looking for a custom builder your looking for a quality contractor at an affordable price.

I unfortunately will not be doing anything myself. I simply do not have the time with my full time job and I feel taking on work myself will extend the flip time which equates to about $1,200/month in expenses. I told my contractor that if he comes close to busting budget to let me know and I'll pitch in to keep costs down but that is my last resort. Anyways I feel I need to be focused on searching for the next property, managing the books and inspecting the work of the contractors. I do not want to get tunnel vision, also I know the quality of work I can do will not match a contractor.