All Forum Posts by: Anna Shaw

We operate with a similar business model and moved to it for similar reasons.  My husband is the GC and we needed to keep his (small) crew busy.  Narrowing our margins meant we could keep a steady stream of work, complete jobs more quickly with a consistent crew, and be more competitive in making offers.

A lot of other investors in our market are having trouble making deals work, but we are managing to find them.

@Shaun M. Person across the table is a big one.

I know of a great opportunity right now but it means dealing with someone who is highly unstable and would put a family member at risk of harm. Walked away from that one.

I'm looking for an agent to work with around Fredericksburg and particularly the rural areas south of Fredericksburg (Spotsylvania, Louisa, Orange). We're looking primarily at fix-and flips and need an agent who understands working with investors and willing to show some questionable properties in these areas.

We are qualified cash buyers already actively investing, but haven't found the right agent to work with.

And since I know the keywords may alert a variety of people, we're also looking to connect with wholesalers and other investors in this area as well.

Hi Chris! I'm in the Fredericksburg area as well. My husband and I have done a few projects, but haven't been very active on this site or in the local REIA community. It's a fairly competitive market as it's a more attractive price point for those in Northern Virginia looking to invest and there are plenty of local investors. Deals can be found, but they go fast and there's going to be competition.

@Henry Kaldenbaugh  Thank you for this information.

Looking at a foreclosure doublewide on land as a potential flip and I’m trying to get a clear understanding of what constitutes a permanent foundation. This home is from 2002 and on piers that appear to be dry stacked. It’s a foreclosure and owned by Freddie Mac, so at some point it was financed. Appears this is the original loan it’s origination was 2003.

As I'm looking to flip I'd like to understand more about what is considered a permanent foundation and what is likely to be able to qualify for FHA or other programs. Are piers permanent? Since it was financed originally should I assume it qualifies?

If not, can it be retrofitted with a permanent foundation? What are the options there? Homes are expensive in this area so retrofitting may be worth the expense if it’s an option.

Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Eddy, that is helpful.  I think a credit line is probably the way to go to in order to do what we want to do.

I've also been thinking along those lines with hiring a couple of people that we can sub out to keep them busy if we don't have work for them.  I like the idea of subbing out to the investor community, as I think it could be mutually beneficial.

We've struggled a bit with the labor as well around here.  Two houses in Fredericksburg recently, and the only sub my husband is happy with is the electrician (and maybe the flooring guy). 

Hi Evan, thanks for the welcome.

It was a straightforward purchase listed on the MLS. We realized going in that it wasn't going to be a huge moneymaker, but felt comfortable with the numbers if we renovated and re-positioned it from a rundown rental marketed to college students to an upscale rental marketed to professionals.

Good afternoon from a long-time lurker and first-time poster.

My husband and I are currently on our third real estate investment--and the first one that hasn't also served as our own home. The current investment is a fix and hold SFH in Fredericksburg, VA that we are remodeling from college student dump to an upscale small rental home.

My husband has a background as a high-end builder and has his contractor's license in Virginia. As this puts us in a bit of a different situation than many investors, we are currently trying to determine the strategy that will work best for us. He does not necessarily want to be a full-time contractor for hire at this point because we have a young son and he needs to have some flexibility in his schedule as my job requires a fair amount of international travel.

Our plan is to focus primarily on fix and flip properties for the near term to capitalize on his abilities. The project we're working on currently was purchased really just to get us off the sidelines and back into doing something. Fix and hold really isn't what we are looking to do at this point, but it made the most sense for this property.

At this stage, our biggest issue is trying to figure out financing that will allow us to queue up multiple projects at a time (and not miss out on good deals because our capital is tied up). We haveaccess to private capital to fund one property at a time, but in order to hire a couple of reliable laborers we need to have the next project ready to go as soon as the previous one is complete. I believe hard money is going to be the next step, but I'm still doing my due diligence in figuring out if that is the best option.

My goal in becoming more active on this site is to learn (of course!), to help refine our strategy, and to network with other investors and wholesalers in the area. I would also welcome any advice/suggestions with regard to our strategy/situation.