Future Rehabber's Progress Getting Started

[Kyle B.]

I've just gotten started in real estate investing this year and decided to start a forum where I can post my progess so far. I realize it's a bit cliche to do so, but I thought this would help keep me motivated and also allow me to get great advice from the BP community when needed. Hopefully it can get other newbies motivated to get going as well. I'll start by updating my progess on a weekly basis and see if it generates any interest from the BP community.

A little background on myself, I'm 25 years old currently living and working in Chicago but looking to rehab in northwest Indiana. My family as well as my wife's family is from this area, and there are a lot of properties in this area at lower price points, hence why I'm focusing on NW Indiana. I have no background in construction and had very little knowledge of real estate getting started, although I feel I have learned quite a bit over the past several months.

I began working with an agent back in mid-April, and also have a local mentor who has flipped 30 or so homes in the area over the past several years. Also, my wife's cousin is a contractor who has helped me out with repair estimates and who I plan on hiring to do a lot of the work on a home I purchase. Since April, I have put in offers on about 10 or so homes, all of them bank-owned (usually HUD, Homepath, or Homesteps). I, don't not have any accepted offers to date. All these homes are listed on the MLS, which have been very competitive to this point, especially in particularly desireable areas. One anecdote: a house in a very good area with extensive mold issues came on the market at a very reasonable price. I eneded offernig a few thousand over asking as the listing agent let us know there were a lot of offers on the home (and my numbers still worked at this offer price). After submitting, the listing agent came back to us saying the offer wasn't even close to highest; that there were several bids significantly above asking price. This isn't the outcome for the majority of properties, but just gives an idea of how many investors are out there looking for deals.

Below is what I have currently have going on:
- One pending offer still out there, which I made a week and a half ago. This is a small 3 bdrm / 1bth with an unfinished basement. I estimated the ARV in the low $90s. Comparable homes are selling from $105-$110, but his home is on a less desirable street and very close to railroad tracks. My offer is about 15% under list price and there is one additional bid on the home. Would love to get his under contract, but the longer I don't hear back makes me feel the less likely my chances are
- This weekend I plan on seeing 4 homes, which by chance are very similar to one another and in the same general location (bi-levels with about 2,000 sq ft, the lower half technically not above ground). There is a solid comp range of about $130k for these homes. I saw a similar home like these last weekend, which needed a lot of work (~$55k in repairs). Had an offer in for this property only to find out it was already under contract - would have been nice to know this beforehand, although it isn't uncommon for deals to fall through. Have seen this with a few other homes I made offers on

Well done if you have gotten through my entire post, as I felt I began writing a novel. We'll see if this generates interest from other members, as I'm happy to share my experiences with the community. I will plan on providing an update of how my weekend house hunting goes early next week.

Thanks!