All Forum Posts by: Amber Butler

Kevin Tunney Thanks Kevin! We like to move pretty quickly and sometimes it seems like things are not progressing quickly enough, but I am glad to be here and learn so that does not happen.

Monica Breckenridge Thanks so much for responding to my post Monica!

Thomas Handy Yes, we are looking more towards South Philly right now. But, I did just get my real estate license and plan to use it actively, so if I see any other areas we can expand.

Jeff Sielicky thanks so much. Your input is greatly appreciated. I definitely will do that.

Jon Holdman Thanks so much Jon that really helped a lot and completely answered my question.

This is my first deal, so I know already the odds are not really in my favor.

We placed our credit scores on the slides, but in terms of our personal financials what documentation besides a credit score should we be providing? Also what kind of personal guarantee?

Steve Luo Check out this link.

http://www.redfin.com/about/real-estate-careers

I think your friend might be a redfin partner agent, but probably not an actual redfin agent.

Yes, my husband and i are focusing on rehabbing. So far, we find the most difficult part is finding funding. Currently, we plan on using hard money but with the terms some of the lenders are asking for, I believe he wants to lean more towards private money if possible. If we can't find some lenders, we will just have to use hard money. I think of the process so far it has all been fun up until this part. But after having rehabbed a couple properties and built up capital, we want to get into landlording as well. I agree there is definitely an array of information to absorb and differentiate between what goes with what, but we are keeping momentum up and speaking positive and learning a lot.

Redfin is a little different then other sites like Realtor.com and trulia. I attended an event by them targeted towards new home buyers and they seem like a pretty reputable company. None of their agents make commission, they are strictly salary based. There are definitely benefits to using the site. They claim that everything on the redfin site that the agents can see the home buyer can see as well (minus of course the times when one can view a property.) They also have tools where you can price a home and have an agent do a CMA for you. This made it a lot easier for me considering that they get it back to you within a matter of hours. When you work specifically with a redfin agent and purchase a house from them, you get a percentage back of the commission. With their partner agents who service areas that redfin agents do not service, you get a lower commission back. You can also schedule tours to see a couple homes right off the website, which I tried to do once, but was not very beneficial to me. The redfin agents (in Philadelphia at least) do not service areas that have houses listed less than 100k which was not beneficial to me since I was looking at houses to rehab. But, overall, I pretty much use redfin for everything, because they service my area. There listing are updated as soon as it is updated on the MLS from what I was led to believe. When I was considering rehabbing in NJ in an area they did not service, the listing information was not as accurate, so I used other sites, but the agents at redfin are extremely helpful with any questions that you might have.

Hello all. Newbie here.

I have a question regarding approaching family members about private money. I am originally from California, but looking to do business in Philadelphia. Well I am going back to California very soon to discuss the possibility of some family members becoming private money lenders. I have most of my presentation together, but I am wanting to be fully prepared with any questions they might ask. Currently, these are the topics my presentation consists of:

I go over my personal background as well as the background of my husband and our coach. (Whom is Peter Giardini)

The current market in Philadelphia where we will be rehabbing

A little about how we analyze whether the property is a deal or not

How we pre-screen contractors and select them

The liability and insurance we will be purchasing for the property

Our marketing strategy

Our exit strategy

Terms and Conditions of the loan including interest rates

And pictures of potential properties we will be rehabbing (including the example scope of work, our deal analyzer, and repair cost estimation if wanted for additional information)

I am wondering if there is anything I have left out. Considering I have never approached someone regarding funding for private money what type of typical questions or objections do individuals have that I have not addressed in my presentation? One thing I am wondering about is the fact that the lender will not be within the same city where I will be performing the rehab. How will I be able to overcome this objection? Also what will be the best way to present to family members that will get them to say yes?

Hello to everyone. My name is Amber Butler I have actually been a member of bigger pockets for a couple months, but it was not until now that I have actually decided to start participating even though I literally go on the website everyday lol. Anyways, I am a new investor who is ready and more than willing to learn and make connections. I am based out of Philadelphia and am in the process of establishing an LLC with my husband who is my business partner. I also have my real estate license in Pennsylvania. I am truly looking forward to everything this website has to offer as I already know it is a whole lot. Thanks so much