All Forum Posts by: Angela Hansen

Just wanted to post an Update: The appraisal that I was worried about came back with the exact amount that I had based my ARV off of! I was pretty impressed. I know this doesn't happen often, but it definitely built my confidence that I have the ability to pick a winner, now the construction begins! Thanks BP and @Account Closed

@Jeff Sprunger  Taking pics of the contractors trucks outside HD is brilliant! I know they are so overpriced and gate keepers of information, but I am pretty much just starting out and already have been burned by someone I thought was going to be a great person and Company to work with. I did have two contractors compete for the roof replacement. They ended up lowering the price for me, so that was cool. Slowly learning... also I think being a female has its own unique set of challenges (mostly from being stereotyped). Thanks for the valuable information.

@Michael Beeman That is a very detailed plan and routine, good for you. I have a daily to-do list but will now start with my absolute priorities for the day first. I always find myself being overwhelmingly busy, but not necessary accomplishing the tasks that will take me the furthest. I also am pretty reactive on email, so I do need to set specific times in the day to reply, instead of living in a state of constant reaction. This weekend I plan on learning more about quickbooks and how to be organized. I am still shopping around for banks. I made the mistake of going to Wells Fargo and quickly realized they had nothing to offer me and really don't know too much about business.

Good luck with those pipes, sounds like you have it under control. Thanks for all of the detailed advice. I look forward to talking with you more.

@Account Closed I appreciate the resources. Unfortunately Redfin isn't available for the area that I am investing in. I did use trulia. This is my first deal using a HML. I should know the appraisal numbers in a few days, and the recently sold houses around the property are actually pretty good since the neighborhood is full of investors sprucing up the homes and selling them. Thanks, hope to learn more from you down the road!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to see how those of you who work with HML are able to analyze the ARV before you ask your HML to order an appraisal (out of my pocket)?

I have a duplex (2 bed, 2 bath) that is rented on one side. Asking price: $92,000. Good area, great schools.

It is fully functional. The only repairs I can see are cosmetic. New carpet, paint, fence around the back yard area maybe, new lighting, a few windows. My HML wants me to come up with a scope of work in order to increase the ARV so that hopefully it appraises and I can be covered by the 70% ARV. It appraised for $120,000 back in 2014, and they haven't done any updating since then besides painting the exterior.

Has anyone experienced this before? Should I be planning out renovations to try and get the ARV higher for the appraisal? How would one be able to analyze before going under contract?

@Jeff Sprunger I went with what you said and opened a Home Depot account. I know that I can purchase my supplies through them, what do you think about their contractor services? Since I am now the designated General Contractor (by default) I will need a few contractors and wanted to see if you or anyone here would suggest hiring through home depot or looking elsewhere? Angie's List?

@Michael Beeman Thank you for the advice. I thought I was in good hands with a contractor who is a veteran and actually has great reviews online. Seems as if we do have to screen them like tenants to really be sure. I also think I am relatively new to this, so they think that I won't know any better or second guess. It actually is pretty insulting to me.  Question for you, how do you stay so organized? I recently opened a business account and I am figuring out quickbooks. Is there a better way?

@Brian Garrett thanks! I did dodge a bullet thanks to the people here. I definitely did learn from the future, sometimes I feel like that is all I am ever doing! :)  

Thanks for all the feedback, and sorry on the delayed response. After a lot of back and forth with the contractor and explaining my position and trying to see his situation it basically boiled down to, he didn't have the money to begin. I don't know how he even runs a business! We parted ways and I am back to the drawing board. I did take the advice of opening an account with Home Depot. I am set to close with HML on 12 April and now have to quickly put another plan in place. Might just use multiple contractors and organize it all kmyself rather than go with general contractor. I do appreciate all of your feedback and any other pointers would be great! I could only imagine if I had given the contractor that much money and he had left. Thanks for saving me.

Hello BP! 

I have ran into a Roadblock on my flip. 

I have a seller financed home that I have put a large down payment on and put around $10k worth of work so far. I have a hard money lender and we are pretty much set to go on finishing the rehabbing. My contractor wants $10k up front before starting in order to pay for supplies, no issues with that. The only thing is my hard money lender bases payments off of draws in small increments. How would I be able to pay him through my hard money for the initial $10k? 
Has anyone negotiated this with their hard money lender or found a creative way without having to go into your own pocket for the $10k? I would appreciate feedback from those who have navigated this terrain before. Thanks!

Thank you to everyone that contributed your opinions and advice. I really appreciate all of the input. I still have not heard back from my (ex) tenants. North Carolina law states that the landlord has thirty days from the day that the tenant moved out to refund the security deposit. Now, I will have to see if that is thirty days from them physically moving out or what was agreed upon on paper. I have been debating on whether to inform their Military supervisor on what is going on, and ask for an explanation, but at the same time I know how they are. I do not want to get more involved in their lives ( they live from crisis to crisis).

My action plan is as follows:

1. Get a repair estimate on the damage to the wall

2. Subtract the repair estimate along with Aprils unpaid rent.

3. Mail the leftover moneys to their forwarding address, since they did give me that information when filling out the SCRA rental termination paperwork.

4. Hire a good property manager and implement an "Abandonment Section" into the Rental Agreement, also use the term "Security Fee" instead of "Security Deposit".

I will have to do more homework on the legalities of the rental agreement before my next tenants move in. I know all of this is a learning experience that is setting me up for success in the future, that is why I appreciate all of the feedback.