All Forum Posts by: Andrew Cannon

Hello everyone, my name is Maria I am originally from Colombia but live in Hawaii at the moment. We are just beginning our real estate investment journey but since I have family and friends in Colombia we want to contemplate investing there. I know this is more of a general question, but anyone familiar with Colombia real estate and can give some tips? TIA

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $360,000
Cash invested: $25,000

Town home in Mililani hadn't been renovated since the 70s. Needed upgrade to bring it to current market value.

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

I was paying too much for rent so I wanted to buy and utilize my military BAH to help pay down a mortgage and save money.

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

Utilized MLS and used a realtor. Was asking 380,000 and offered 360,000.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan and renovating with personal funds along with some credit cards and a personal low interest rate loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

Well the home was cramped and kitchen was tiny do we removed a wall and gave it a more open feeling as well as completely updating the house with new floor, paint, lights, cabinets, appliances.

What was the outcome?

Haven't finished and sold yet as of April 2019. Plan on living in until July 2020.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Underestimated renovation by about $5,000. Hired contractor to do kitchen and he went over time by about a week stopping us from moving.

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

Erica Lehmkhul with Reality by the Sea

I've thought about doing this with vacation rentals! 

Do contractors on Oahu typically need professional plans drawn for small house renovation jobs?

Can I draw my own plans on sketch-up even though I have no planning certifications in order to submit for city permitting?

Anyone familiar with permit timelines for converting rooms into bedrooms and bathrooms?

Back story:

I currently have an accepted offer on a project in Waialua. My plan is rehab, live in it, then flip in about a year or so when I move back to the mainland for work. I have already had a contractor look at it and he suggested getting a professional planner to draw plans of the rehab. The house will need a room/hallway converted into a bedroom, bathroom, and wet bar. This would turn it from a 2bed/2bath into a 3bed/3bath with potential for split rental income for future owner. The plans, I’ve been told, should pay itself back with streamlining permit applications as well as creating clearity of job scope. The house will also need some modernization throughout with focus on the kitchen and bathrooms. All this I’m looking to keep on a modest budget and am willing to do as much of the work myself if needed. I’m most likely going to work with the contractor I have already established a relationship with but am open to get competitive bids. 

Thanks for your time!

@Andrey Y. @Joel Bongco @Isa Nau @Brian Garlington

Thank you all for the advice. You helped alot!

Jessica how is the VA loan bad?

Also I would be using a VA Loan and house hacking this deal if I wasn't clear about that.

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

Hi!

I'm a new investor and really want to start out on the right foot. So far it's been tough finding anything that might cashflow in Oahu. I was looking at this fourplex and using some rough estimates was able to make it meagerly cash flow. Some assertions I used was I would be able to get the property much cheaper than listed. Listed price is 749000 but it's been on the market over 40 days. I am also predicting I could get around $1,300 for each unit as a 1 bed 1 bath apartment with what I believe to be around 600sqf. I realize there isn't much margin for error so I was hoping someone could point out any issues.

Thanks for your time!

Welcome! I am a noobie too but this community is awesome! There is a wealth of information and I have already been able to connect with some people in my area! Best of luck to you!