J Scott - Author of Flipping/Estimating Book - Ask Me Anything!

[J Scott]

Hey everyone!

First, thank you so much for all the support after my recent Podcast episode and the recent BiggerPockets release of the 2nd Editions of The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs.  I've gotten a tremendous amount of email and private messages with the kindest of words, and I sincerely appreciate it.

Unfortunately, there's been so many emails and messages that I haven't had the ability to respond to everyone, despite my best attempts.  Many of them contained questions -- and I hate not being able to respond to all the questions I get!  So, I wanted to start a thread to give everyone an opportunity to ask questions -- and since I get many of the same questions over and over, I thought this might be a good resource for future questions I may get.

Anyway, if you have any questions about the Flipping/Estimating books, about any aspects of real estate strategies, about investing in general, about running a real estate business (or any business), etc., I'm happy to do my best to answer. 

There are a lot of tremendously knowledgeable people on this forum, so don't post here if you have a question best answered by the whole community.  

But, if you want to address something specifically towards me, this is the place!  Feel free to post in this thread and I'll do my best to respond to everyone!

Also note that I created this thread a few years back -- might be worth checking first to see if I've answered it there:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/774...

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Bjorn Ahlblad:

I have a 10000 sq ft 2 story building with a flat roof so the roof would be 5000 sq ft. What should I expect to pay to have a new layer applied. It is located in a small town in Western Washington if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance!

The biggest determining factor will be the type of material the roof is made out of.  PVC, Rubber, Built Up, Tar/Bitumen, Metal, etc...

Generally, you'd be looking at somewhere between $4-7/sf in much of the country (and I'd think western Washington should be in that group).  If you're doing PVC or metal, it will probably be higher than that.

The nice thing with roofs is that you can probably get a general idea of price over the phone, since roofing costs are pretty much independent of the actual property -- as long as you know the material and square footage, you should be able to get general pricing over the phone.

Feel free to shoot me a private message, and I'm happy to refer you to a few serious investors I know in that area...

[Paul Strauss]

Originally posted by @Bjorn Ahlblad:

I have a 10000 sq ft 2 story building with a flat roof so the roof would be 5000 sq ft. What should I expect to pay to have a new layer applied. It is located in a small town in Western Washington if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance!

Do you know what kind of roof it is? TPO, EPDM, Mod Bit, PVC, etc?

Get me that and a zip code, and I'll get you a good round number.

[Bjorn Ahlblad]

@Paul Strauss it is a 'rubber' roof located in 98520-rain country! Thanks for any help.

[Jose Juarez]

How many flips have you completed to date?

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Jose Juarez:

How many flips have you completed to date?

We've done about 175 (give or take) of our own flips/builds.  And we've been involved in another 200 (give or take) deals outside of our own flips -- everything from partnering flips, lending money, single-family rentals, multi-family, notes, etc.

Most of our flips/builds were between 2008-2015; the past three years have been more focused on other types of deals, lending and partnering.

[Hans M.]

Super looking forward to seeing the updated edition!

[Kumar Tummalapalli]

I know this is a open ended qn but - uncoventional advice always strikes me , in one of the podcasts you mentioned doing a gut rehab ( or rehab with extensive scope ) might be better than a lipstick rehab .

Many of the investors I spoke with suggested to start slow , but in my personal life and professional life , i had success taking up complicated projects so on any project i tend to ask , why should I start slow

Some of the advantages of complex rehabs ( gut/extensive rehabs ):

- lesser competition

- better room for negotiation

- higher value rehab , so better contractors might be interested

- Ability to add more value

- Opportunity to learn more ( I am not experienced )

Disadvantages :

- More risk of finding things one after another which are interlinked. 

- No DIY possibility and aso need skilled contractors

Advanatges of lipstick rehabs :

- Easier to see the scope 

- DIY possible

- Less risk as its more cosmetic

Disadvantages of lipstick rehabs :

- Lots of competition and some times from retail buyers as they just see the price difference and think they are getting a deal and that they could work on it over the weekends

- major value add might not be possible . For ex replacing a good but outdated tile with a new tile . 

=============

Are there anythings that you would add - that might help investors in similar dilemma .

[Paul Strauss]

Originally posted by @Bjorn Ahlblad:

@Paul Strauss it is a 'rubber' roof located in 98520-rain country! Thanks for any help.

Cool. I'm an insurance appraiser- I'll throw the basics into my estimating software and give you a round number sometime tomorrow morning. 

[Bjorn Ahlblad]

@Paul Strauss Thank you so much for your help.

[Samantha Jorgenson]

@J Scott

I recently bought your books and loved them both! Very informative and well laid out. With that being said, has enough changed in the 2nd edition to warrant purchasing them again? I just purchased the 1st set a few months back

Thanks again!

[Larry Rhodes]

Hi Jay, just love all the informative info you provide us. In awe of your success in real estate . I was listening last week and heard you discuss about buying in the possible upcoming recession. Can you tell me where I can find that info again ? Can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks in advance and keep on keepin on. 

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Kumar Tummalapalli:

I know this is a open ended qn but - uncoventional advice always strikes me , in one of the podcasts you mentioned doing a gut rehab ( or rehab with extensive scope ) might be better than a lipstick rehab .

Many of the investors I spoke with suggested to start slow , but in my personal life and professional life , i had success taking up complicated projects so on any project i tend to ask , why should I start slow

Some of the advantages of complex rehabs ( gut/extensive rehabs ):

- lesser competition

- better room for negotiation

- higher value rehab , so better contractors might be interested

- Ability to add more value

- Opportunity to learn more ( I am not experienced )

Disadvantages :

- More risk of finding things one after another which are interlinked. 

- No DIY possibility and aso need skilled contractors

Advanatges of lipstick rehabs :

- Easier to see the scope 

- DIY possible

- Less risk as its more cosmetic

Disadvantages of lipstick rehabs :

- Lots of competition and some times from retail buyers as they just see the price difference and think they are getting a deal and that they could work on it over the weekends

- major value add might not be possible . For ex replacing a good but outdated tile with a new tile . 

=============

Are there anythings that you would add - that might help investors in similar dilemma .

Seems like a reasonably comprehensive list.  In general, if you're comfortable doing both easy and complex rehabs, it basically just gives you more flexibility.  Start looking for deals, and whatever comes along, you should be prepared to tackle it. 

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Samantha Jorgenson:

@J Scott

I recently bought your books and loved them both! Very informative and well laid out. With that being said, has enough changed in the 2nd edition to warrant purchasing them again? I just purchased the 1st set a few months back

Thanks again!

Typically, what I'm telling people is this:

• If you've read the first edition of The Book on Flipping Houses, and if you've done at least one or two deals, you probably won't get enough out of the second edition to make it worth re-reading the whole thing.

• If you're read the first edition of The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs and you are still relying on price ranges in that book to help you with your pricing, then the second edition is likely going to be worth the cost -- pricing has changed a good bit in the past 6 years and the second edition is updated with pricing gathered from more than 50 successful investors around the country in the past 6 months.

Also, the second edition of the Estimating book has sections on how to better complete your inspections for each of the 25 major rehab components, so if you're looking to get better at inspections, that's another reason to purchase the second edition.

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Larry Rhodes:

Hi Jay, just love all the informative info you provide us. In awe of your success in real estate . I was listening last week and heard you discuss about buying in the possible upcoming recession. Can you tell me where I can find that info again ? Can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks in advance and keep on keepin on. 

Hey Larry,

Stay tuned...  BiggerPockets will be releasing a book of mine on this topic very soon...  (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be saying that, though!  :)

[Or Basan]

@J Scott why no audio books ?

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Or Basan:

@J Scott why no audio books ?

The Book on Flipping Houses *IS* available in audio format here on BiggerPockets and on Audible as well.

The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs has a *lot* of tables and charts, so it would be very hard to turn that into an audio book -- and it wouldn't be very fun to listen to...

[J Scott]

I HAVE A BIG FAVOR TO ASK OF EVERYONE WHO HAS READ AND ENJOYED EITHER OF THE BOOKS: 

WILL YOU *PLEASE* LEAVE A REVIEW OF ONE OR BOTH BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM?

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

[Brandon Reed]

Hey @J Scott - Do you ever plan on making your books into Audiobooks? Thanks!

*Sorry, just saw your response above :). Never mind!

[Valerie Baumgart]

@J Scott I just got done listening to your last episode on BP and purchased the book/zip forms/ebook bundle. Assuming the 6-tips you outlined during the BP episode are met for a flip/deal, when (chronologically) are you moving on from flipping? In other words, how long after the market indicators you referenced until you stop flipping?

[Samantha Jorgenson]

Thank you! I think information for the better inspections will make it worth my while for sure. 

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Valerie Baumgart:

@J Scott I just got done listening to your last episode on BP and purchased the book/zip forms/ebook bundle. Assuming the 6-tips you outlined during the BP episode are met for a flip/deal, when (chronologically) are you moving on from flipping? In other words, how long after the market indicators you referenced until you stop flipping?

Hey Valerie,

Generally speaking, when I see evidence that we've moved past the peak of the market, and we're on a consistent downward trajectory, I will stop flipping.

BiggerPockets will actually be releasing a full book of mine on this topic in a few weeks...stay tuned!

[Paul Strauss]

Originally posted by @Bjorn Ahlblad:

@Paul Strauss Thank you so much for your help.

 Ok, so I'm shooting from the hip here- guessing it's an elastomeric roof covering. If I'm correct about that and it's mechanically attached (60 ml) you're looking at $4.00 per square foot ($400 per square) and that's just remove and replace the roof-- it doesn't include things like detach and reset of an HVAC unit, etc. or any other components like pipe jacks, vents, flashing, etc. But that's the range you're in.

[Bjorn Ahlblad]

@Paul Strauss Thanks Paul, so that would be 20k plus tax as an estimate that is a fine starting point for evaluating quotes. Thanks for your help. @J Scott I hope we are not hijacking your thread too much!

[Larry Rhodes]

Originally posted by @J Scott:

Originally posted by @Larry Rhodes:

Hi Jay, just love all the informative info you provide us. In awe of your success in real estate . I was listening last week and heard you discuss about buying in the possible upcoming recession. Can you tell me where I can find that info again ? Can't seem to find it anywhere. Thanks in advance and keep on keepin on. 

Hey Larry,

Stay tuned...  BiggerPockets will be releasing a book of mine on this topic very soon...  (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be saying that, though!  :)

[Larry Rhodes]

Thanks Jay look forward to it