My journey with NetWorth Realty Tampa

[Ken Calvin]

My background

I've been investing in SFRs in my local market since the 2009 crash. I started off pretty clueless but ended up with a few successful rental properties. If I got to do it over again, I would have been much more aggressive. I've been seeing appreciate slow down and last year, I became interested in turnkey rental properties in other states. This year, I started selling my local inventory to buy out of state SFRs. So far, I'm pleased with the higher cash flows and ROI.

Meeting NetWorth

This year, I started going to my local networking meetings. One meeting, David Greene was the speaker and I was introduced to BRRRR. I bought and read his book, started talking to people in Tampa, trying to meet wholesalers, lenders, property managers, and contractors who I can trust. This proved to be as difficult as I imagined it to be. While searching on Craigslist for an "ugly house" to buy, I called the contact and met my NetWorth contact.

Getting acquainted

The first impression of my NW contact is that she is very easy to work with; she answers her phone or calls me back right away, very knowledgeable about the process, and is very friendly. She also worked with a few contractors and property managers, so the referrals would be invaluable. NetWorth also bundles in the hard money lender, 212 Loans. This sounded like a BRRRR dream-come-true.

My first almost deal

I had to apply for a loan with 212 Loans in order to receive deals as they came out (rather than waiting 48-hours like the cash buyers) but that was okay because I needed a lender anyway. After months of seeing deals, I finally saw one that I liked. My contact went to the property, dragged a contractor along last minute, and showed me the house via video call. It looked pretty good and the contractor thought the $35k rehab estimation in the NW packet was about right, so I wired in my $5000 deposit and received the contract to sign. The contract was definitely written to benefit the seller, hands down. Basically, after signing the contract, I would either dive in and hope for the best or lose my $5000 deposit. If I was a lawyer, I'd probably tell my client to run away because of how it was written. Anyway, I decided to go in so I got in contract to buy the house. My contact and I bugged the contractor for 1.5 weeks and he finally got us a bid for $48k. With the bid being $13k over NW's estimation, there was no money to be made, so we would have to find another contractor to do it for less. I wasn't going to throw away $5000 by walking away, but the day before closing, we found out that the owner could not sell, after all, due to how much he owed. Title problems was the only way to get out of a contract without losing the deposit and this qualified, so I was able to get out of this contract relatively unscathed. Also, I thought NW closes a purchase first before selling to investors (double-close), so this would never happen, but I'm glad it did.

My first deal

I came across another house that fit my criteria better. This one would make sense to flip or to hold as rental. The only thing I didn't like very much was the area's crime statistics, but I guess I would have to sacrifice something in order for the rest of my criteria to work. Again, my contact showed me the house with the contractor over video call and I said "okay, send me the contract." I got in contract and my contact helped me get a bid from a different contractor who she likes better. The NW rehab estimation was $40k but the contractor knew the area and decided it would be much more suitable to make it a rental, so he bid it at $43k to rehab as rental-grade instead of flip-grade. I guess I wish NW's estimations were better but at least I'm not dreading it like last time. Closing time came and the closing costs were higher than their financial analysis ($9k vs $7k).

Next steps

I just closed the purchase a couple days ago so I'm waiting for the contractor to tell me the schedule of the rebab and ask for a deposit. I'll post updates about this project periodically and hope that writing my experience helps BPers understand what NetWorth offers.