All Forum Posts by: Aldo Chandra

Basically the title. 

Looking to off-load maintenance requests by hiring companies, just wondering if anyone have experienced with the companies I mentioned above?

Hello BP Community, 

Currently I am under-contract through a wholesaler. The house is currently occupied by the homeowner and I need to get my contractor inside the home to inspect and create floorplans. The Seller is being difficult as I am being told by the wholesaler. I do not think they are trying hard enough to get my guys 30-min to 1-hour. 

What are my other options? Should I go ahead and ask the Seller themselves?

Hello BP Community!

Currently on my 2nd flip as a college student and just went through the home inspection. There is a boiler in the basement that is about 8 years old and working pretty well. The radiator around the homes are also good. While I intend to get the top dollar for this flip and I have accounted adding the HVAC to the scope of work, would you recommend to keep the boiler or install a new HVAC unit?

As someone who started in real estate early (couple wholesale deals and a flip), there are certainly an influx of "gurus". It seems as though everyone that does 1 or 2 deals are all of a sudden an "expert" in real estate.

This is the sole reason why people get caught in these paralysis analysis, we get so bogged down into different type of resources and thinking we need all this information. When in reality, we forget half of what we learn within the next couple days. The only way to learn is to take in some academics (knowledge is still important!) and start implementing with that limited knowledge because you don't want to jump in without knowing anything and at the same time, you want to gain more experience.

This is why I like watching old real estate courses, they're more straight to the point and cares about the fundamentals rather than how you can make money with no skills. 

Understanding your "Why".

Real Estate is long-term and not a quick cash cow. If you understand the reason why you are diving into real estate, then you can overcome any hurdles the next couple years.

Once you are able to do that, then become obsessed. Obsessed with attaining knowledge and building connections. Ego is not your best friend. Humility will get you far! :)

@Cole Britting

I am 21 years old right now. I remember going on Quora and BigggerPockets looking at posts from people who are 30-50 years old saying what they did differently. It really boils down to two things, building connections and consume important knowledge that will propel you forward.

Right now, I am doing just that. As a result, I completed my first flip with no money down with a listing sold in 24 hours. I feel as though what our generation should do is to take in some research and academics while implementing what we study. We spend too much time on books, courses, and analyzing, but we get scared to simply jump in altogether and take risks.

One thing that I regret not doing earlier is documenting everything. Our generation is so tech savvy, but due to social media, we think too much of our self-image. We should simply put ourselves out there and put valuable content.

Would love to connect though! Maybe we can be accountability partners? :)

Some investor groups in NJ and PA are starting to use it as well. Looking to see how it is different than using Zoom and other platforms as well. 

Hey Colton

I believe the best way to go into flipping is finding the deal first. Once you are able to find a deal, you can provide that information to the HMLs. If the deal is really good, you might even avoid paying that down-payment.

However, if you do want to get to the technical side of things, here you go:

When you are going to refinance or HELOC on the property, you will get roughly $33k in cash minus the closing cost. On top of that, you can come up with $10k - $20k. Which puts you roughly $50k (more or less). Depending on your market, you may or may not purchase a property outright. If you can, that's great. You may even take Home Depot's loan to avoid high interest and points from HMLs. Credit cards with 0% APR for 12 months can be helpful in this situation. If this price range does not work in your market, then you can work with credit unions or portfolio lenders who are willing to lend to you. Usually the process is the same but they tend to be more lenient depending on who you work with.

For private lending, I would suggest getting to know more investors in forums, local REIA, or even your close circle. There will be people out there you can reach out to raise capital.

To answer your GC question, I would suggest learning everything yourself and take control of your investments. This may take a long-time and you can lose money if you take too long. However, the knowledge and experience are invaluable. Once you get a better understanding of the process of flipping a house, you can build systems around it that you know and start your own development company (if that is your goal). If what you are doing requires permits, then you will need a GC to work on that project.

Feel free to reach out to me for further questions.

Hope this helps!

Hello @Account Closed

I completely understand where you are coming from. However, I believe taking the fundamental steps are very crucial in your age.

First, you have to understand your "Why". If money is all you care about, you are going to be miserable. You have to find a goal bigger than a monetary value to propel you forward. I would suggest reading Simon Sinek books or videos on YouTube to get a better understanding of this concept.

Second, as a high school or college student, your funds will be limited. Your credit age is low and you have absolutely no credibility since you have recently started and taking the step forward into diverging into real estate. There will be no banks that are willing to lend you money and partners are out of the question since you cannot provide anything to the table. This may sound harsh, but it is the truth. For this instance, you need to get a job that is high paying or providing you experience (if you get both, that would be amazing).

Third, increase your desire to learn. The school forces us to learn things that we sometimes find uninteresting, which in times deviates us from learning as a whole. Once you are curious and able to indulge in knowledge of real estate, there will be much opportunities for you.

Fourth, build your connections. Connections are crucial and will play an important factor in your career. I'm pretty sure you know by now your net worth is your network. Despite the pandemic, take the time to reach out to people who are experts and ask specific questions, especially when it results to that person talking about themselves. I would sway away from asking questions you can find online since you will be wasting their time. If you are able to work for free to get connections, then technically it is not free since relationships are invaluable.

Fifth, perform small habits and routines that can be compounded. This means taking small steps to analyze deals, talk with lenders, listen to podcast, read books, etc. Understand that life and real estate are like a marathon. It's a long-term investments and you have to take small steps propels you forward to become successful.

Currently, I am 20-year old immigrant who just did his first flip with no money down. I worked since I was 9 years old and started my first business at the age of 16. I am still in school pursuing a degree in finance with a real estate minor. I believe 9-5 or college can be good stepping stones to understand yourself and to gain knowledge & connections. If you are going into the entrepreneur route, understand that it will be a long hard battle to success.

Wish you all the best and reach out to me anytime!

About $20k - it's a small profit but the experience and lessons were invaluable.