Hayward CA first flip

[Hans Christopher Struzyna]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Hayward.

Purchase price: $486,000
Cash invested: $86,000
Sale price: $700,000

This was my first flip investment. I found the property, negotiated the purchase, found the lender/investors, managed the GC and managed the re-sale. As a matter of fact, I found it for an investor (as his agent) who ended up pulling out of the deal and assigned it to me. What a learning curve!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I was looking for flip/wholesale opportunities on the side of my real estate agent business. Once I ran the numbers on this, I realized it had a good margin and I felt like it was a "safe" first deal.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I found it through a cold call and then tons (6 months) of follow up. I negotiated directly with the sellers. They kept saying they wanted over 530k and I didn't think the numbers would work at that amount. I reverse engineered their numbers and found out they didn't even need to go be above $490 to get to their desired net. Always begin with the end in mind.

How did you finance this deal?

Hard money and some private money investors. The private money was an 80/80 loan. 80% of the purchase price and 80% of the rehab over several draws. I had one partner how helped with downpayment and holding costs and two investors who got a fixed return on their cash. My partner and I ended up writing a lot of checks during the hold process.

How did you add value to the deal?

We demoed and redid the bathrooms and kitchen, knocked out a few walls, replaced all the windows, all new floors, new lighting and electrical, paint, roof, etc.

What was the outcome?

The place sold at my desired number and I ended up making the profit margin I wanted.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Message me and I'll tell you a few stories. :)

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am also a real estate agent so I would recommend myself. Most of the other people I used on this deal I would never use again (escrow/title when I bought it, hard money lender, contractor, stager, etc). I have since found much better people and would be happy to share their info should you decide to reach out.