All Forum Posts by: Alex Maldonado

So we were suppose to have an open house this weekend for our first flip in Stratford, Ct this weekend but it has rained all week this week so a couple of things outside haven't been completed. The sand from the old pool hasn't been removed and dirt put in it's place because the dirt can't be delivered so the open house will have to be next weekend.

On a positive note, REA notified me that one of my offers has been accepted. YES!!!!!! Original asking price was 89,900. My original offer was 75,500 the seller countered with 83,900 and I countered back with 80,000 and that was accepted. Going to run the numbers again, worked on presentation package, requested inspection estimates and an appraisal, and downloaded house purchase checklist - due diligence period. Also met a fellow BP member on the train today. What's up Zack Grotovsky?!

So last night I was looking around on BP, as I'm a new member and still learning how to use BP, and I was looking for local members. I came across a face that looked so familiar, so I sent him a note (was actually trying to send a message but sent a note instead) introducing myself. Then today, on my commute home from work on the train I see that face again. So I ask him his name and asked if he was on BiggerPockets and introduce myself. Small world, BiggerPockets is BIG! So now I have a train buddy and someone to bounce ideas back and forth with. Good stuff.

Happy Mother's Day weekend to all you mom's out there!

Hi Melissa, it is a single family 3 bed 2 full baths

Hi Kathryn Lauterbach-Bell, do you have any recommendations for contractors in the Stratford area? 

Hi everyone, just wanted to give an update on my first flip. So this is the final week of rehab. Planning to have an open house this weekend as soon as we do a final walk through with our contractor. Also working on getting a jump on the open house. Read some of the blogs, working on an open house flyer, posted an ad on Craigslist, Zillow and Trulia. Received a call from REA that a first time home owner saw the dumpster in the yard and the REA's sign in the yard. She went inside to check out the place and she is VERY interested in buying. REA hasn't even posted the listing on MLS yet but I've had a couple of calls from the ads I made (one was a wholesaler). Have a good feeling the property will sell by the end of the weekend/open house. Going to get a lot of traffic based off the responses so far and the finished product isn't even complete yet. I will post pics after I sign up for BP Pro later this week.

Good morning, this is the last week of rehab of our first flip. Planning to have an open house this weekend. Any suggestions on open house flyers? I read the blog on 7 tips to prepare for and host an open house. Would like to get a jump on prep for the open house. Thanks

Look into rolling your 401k over into a self directed 401k. You CAN borrow from it WITHOUT penalties but when you make the money back it has to go back into the 401k. Talk to a CPA that deals with REIs and self directed 401ks

Thanks for all the welcomes. Things we've learned so far. When deciding on a contractor after getting 3-4 contractor bids, find out how many workers they have and how long the job will take. We had 4 contractors bid on the job. The two we liked were very different, one gave a detailed list of the work. The other only gave a price range. We chose the one that gave a detailed list. We ended up firing him before work started because he only had 2-3 guys working for/with him and would've taken 9 weeks to complete. We went to the 2nd contractor we liked and he has 70+ workers and said he could finish in 4-5 weeks. Also, get a detailed inspection report during the contingency period. We did get an inspection done but it wasn't detailed, only 2-3 pages. During the rehab the contractor found a lot of rot from water in the exterior trim (soffits and fascia) and around the Windows, so that bumped up the rehab budget. Have a meeting with your contractors off site before work begins so everyone is on the same page. Have your material catalogue before you start a flip. Have options in that material guide. Have a detailed scope of work so there is no room for interpretation from contractor. Get invoices from contractor. We used a Hard money lender and they require a draw schedule. Have that detailed so when the HML's inspector comes he knows what to look for. I will keep you all posted as the final week of rehab wraps up. Will need some pointers on selling strategies. Thanks

Hello everyone. My name is Alex Maldonado. My wife and I are new investors. We have one flip that is in week 4 of rehab and has one week to go before we can get it on the market. Our flip is in Stratford, CT. 

I want to do flips to generate income and buy rentals for cash flow to generate wealth.

Currently we both have full time jobs but we both want to leave that life and do real estate investing full time. We knew it was a lot of work and are seeing it first hand. But that is okay, we already work hard, we just don't get paid as well as we'd like. Persistence and perseverance are a must!!!!!

There is so much I want and need to learn, and I often feel overwhelmed by all the info that is out there. But we have a good team in place and have a great network. We attend monthly meetings with other tri-state area investors. We also participate in weekly phone conferences with that same group. That is how I discovered BiggerPockets. 

Some other areas of REI I'm interested in learning about are wholesaling (both buying and selling). Gap or bridge funding.

Hope this is a good introduction. I feel I could go on and on with things I want to say. I look forward to connecting and network with all of you soon. Thanks.