All Forum Posts by: Adrienne Bryson

I like redfin, they're usually pretty good about showing you truly comparable houses. Where realtor.com will show you a map, and zillow will show you off market homes they consider similar, redfin will actually show recently sold comps as thumbnails so you can narrow it down at a glance (for example if your house is single story with no garage you can ignore two-story houses with garages). Of course not as good as MLS, but a decent stand-in. Just be conservative with all your calculations.

Great insight!

Interesting @Roy N. ...  Why would you recommend 6+ unit multis, as opposed to smaller multis and SFRs?  If I were to go "big" like that I'd most likely hire property management.  With that in mind would you still say smaller (1-4) would be a better starting point for a beginner?

Creative solution @Kevin Harrison!  Any idea how much a project like that (rotating the stairs and relocating the closet) would run?

Interesting David...

@Jon Q. I am a wholesaler but looking to get into buy & hold investing, so every lead I get I consider for myself first then as a potential deal to wholesale out.  I'm trying to figure out if it would be worth keeping for myself to rent out with the awkward layout (as I do NOT have the desire or experience to move walls or add bathrooms).  And if not, if/how I would market it to other investors at a fair price assuming that a buyer would want to, or at least would strongly consider, changing the layout.

Ok so this is an approximation of how the house in question is laid out... Orange being the ground floor and blue being the attic/second floor.  I feel like the upper floor could potentially make a really nice master suite.  Being in the house it simply doesn't "feel" like a 3 bedroom.  And I wouldn't want to market it as a 3 bedroom and feel like I'm misrepresenting it.  Especially when considering making it a rental, there are "person per bedroom" occupancy limits so determining how many bedrooms this house actually has would make a difference.

@David Dachtera if you were to market your childhood home, would you call it a 2 bedroom?  3 bedroom?  1 bedroom with office/bonus room?

I don't have an iphone... But I'll see if I can throw together a basic floorplan visual

Wow John that was quite the rant!

First @Casey Kooiman find out if the wholesaler is selling the condo, or the contract.  Get all the information you can from the wholesaler including comps, SOW, any info regarding tenants, pictures, etc.  Approach it like you would any other purchase, using a title company/attorney and (if you want) an agent.  Read the contract and do your due diligence before signing anything.  If the wholesaler is selling the contract don't pay until you close with the seller.

Contrary to what some believe, wholesalers aren't "out to get you".  However there are some scammers, and a lot of newbies, so just keep that in mind.

Another question:

Would you do anything to the house to alter the layout to flip or rent for a higher price?

So I'm working on a lead right now and the house has a really weird layout.

It's considered a two story house with 3 bedrooms.  But it seems like it would be more accurately described as a one story house with one bedroom and usable attic space.  In the house you have to walk through the bedroom (with a closet, window, and door) on the first floor to reach the stairs, which go up to the second floor directly into the second bedroom (with a closet but no doors and no windows), then on the opposite wall of that room is a pass-through (not even an actual door) to another room (with a closet and window).

It's a very strange layout that feels like it's being used in a way other than how it's intended.  I'm not sure if I can comfortably price it with 3 bedroom comps knowing that buyers would most likely see it and use it as a 1 or 2 bedroom house.

Any advice?