From Beautiful Annapolis, MD

[Mike V.]

Hello, everyone. My name is Mike. I'm from Annapolis, MD and I've just recently become part of team that flips houses (Since August 2014). What an opportunity this has been! I am very grateful however I've been given a 'baptism by fire' if you know what I mean. It seems to me that this would be the most appropriate because I get to learn and take action all at the same time. It's been an exhilarating, creative, and fun experience and at the same time stressful and complicated at times. I just don't know what i don't know. 

The role I have been given is to come in and make everything more efficient, especially on the renovation side of things. I will definitely be learning everything, however we are trying to flip these deals fast and it's my objective to make them go smoother and happen quicker. I believe we are loosing a ton of money based on our current pace. We currently have 1 property that we've had since September 2014 ;( . We also have another property that is suppose to close on February 20, 2015 and then we will be cleared to start renovating.

Me and my Fiance call it 'Learning Curve'. There has been a ton of ups and downs, however the biggest thing that has held us back is the false promises and actions of our HVAC guy. He promises to do things on certain dates, but never does them when he says and takes weeks and weeks and weeks to get anything done! It's been the most frustrating thing I've had to deal with. I would fire him myself, but he comes in close to %50 cheaper than any other prices we've seen. I'm trying to prove hes costing us about the same or more so we can find a new guy, but I don't have all the numbers yet.

If anyone over the Bay Bridge, or even close to Baltimore know any HVAC people that have good prices, have integrity, and do excellent work,  please let me know. (I'm sorry if I posted in the wrong spot, I'm still learning everything).

Things are looking great, and I've been promised 20% with no money out of pocket. I haven't seen any yet, but I'm patient and am grateful to included. Eventually I would like to know this entire process all on my own and be able to do everything on my own, but for know this is the perfect vehicle.

I do have some questions and if you could point me in the right direction, I would be very appreciative.

1. Is it possible to find private investors on this website and if so where do I find them?

2. Does anyone know of any investors clubs in the Baltimore, Annapolis, Eastern Shore, Arnold, Severna Park area?

3. Is there a forum section in which I can post about looking for affordable materials, appliances, flooring etc?

4. Are any of you independent Real Estate Investors where you do everything on your own, without a team (aside from renovation work)? I'm wondering only because if my professional flipping partner wasn't part of this, I would have no idea what I'm doing. He's been in Real Estate for almost 30 years. This is my first 5 months hahahaha.

5. Any best practices to hire great contractors or any advice on great contractors? I am really looking to build a duplicatable team. My experience thus far is that contractors come and go, but it would be nice to build a strong foundation, where each person builds a strong relationship. My logic is that it will save us a ton of time by having a strong team. We won't have to find contractors all the time etc, and we may be able to streamline it this way.. (We currently don't hire a general contractor because of the price)

6. What is the number 1 book above all other books you would recommend me read (besides the jscott book) to help in my journey?

7. If there is anything I need to know, could help me out, that I'm wrong about, need a perspective shift on, please let me know! I'm open, am ready to take action, and find ways to take all criticism constructively all while transmuting it into production and results.

I think I'm going to become a Pro Member in a couple days. I have to figure out what all that entails, but I'd like to be taken seriously and feel this is probably a great step. It'll show my commitment level, I'll be able to interact and build relationships with other professionals,  etc. What do you guys think? Does anyone who is a pro member actually recommend it? Is it worth the price? Is it really better than joining a college fraterinity,Will I truly make thousands of life-time connections? ;)

Last but not least, Thank You to Everyone. After reading some other posts and doing some research, I feel really confident that If I follow the advice on this forum and website and take action to make things happen, I can save a ton of money, learn a ton of material, become a real professional real estate investor, make a ton of money, and build great relationships!