Newbie in Richland, WA

[Abby Stevens]

Hello everyone! I have been listening to BP podcasts for several months and decided it was time to get moving. My name is Abby Stevens and my husband, Kory, and I own a General Contracting business in Richland, WA. We just set a goal to flip 3 houses this year. Kory has 12 years under his belt in construction and I have a degree in interior design. We know we can be successful in the fix and flip business because we have already been successful in completely rehabbing our primary residence, (which we purchased for 58K. We put another 50K into rehab and it would currently sell for around $140K). Our relationship has always been based on our love to work on projects together, so we are excited to start moving forward. Right now we are just starting to look for financing and are looking for a realtor in Richland who is experienced working with "fix and flippers." We would love to get to know anyone else from the TC area! 

[Thomas Franklin]

@Abby Stevens Since you are interested in fix and flips, I propose the following action plan that I successfully utilize. The first step would find an Investor Friendly Realtor assuming you do not have access, to the MLS. I would suggest that you interview several Realtors and ask them the following questions, to ascertain if they are truly Investor Friendly, or if they are throwing you a sales pitch.

1. How many investors do you currently work with and how many investors have you worked with, in the past?

2. How many transactions have you closed, with investors?

3. Do you currently own any Investment Properties? If so, what type do you own?

4. Are you a member of any REIAs?

The next step would be to work with the Realtor and determine the hot markets, in your County, with the greatest number of sales over the last 90 to 120 days. Personally, I would prefer 90 days because markets are always changing. This list would contain the zip code and corresponding name of the municipality, and a breakdown of the number of SFRs. This will be your Farming Area. From this data, you can utilize a website bestplaces.net that will give you a breakdown of the percentage of homes that sold, in various price ranges, for a given zip code. This will identify the retail price ranges, in which you can list the rehabbed property and the price ranges, of distressed homes, you should target.

You can use the Realtor to help you find deals and also use Wholesalers. If you acquire a property, from a Wholesaler, once the property is rehabbed and ready for the Retail Market, allow the Realtor that provided you the zip codes, to list the property for sale. This creates a WIN-WIN Situation and gives the Realtor incentive, to work harder on your behalf.

I hope you find the above information to be of useful value.