All Forum Posts by: Arif Sealey

Our small town (outside a big city) is planning on building a mix use master plan consisting of 55 acres near me. They're going to be building condos and emphasizing small businesses. I'd like to hear from those that have experience in taking advantage of growth opportunities like this. What would be the best route to take as a real estate investor?

We recently started flipping homes again. One of the major issues I'm running across is the dreaded inspection report. One of the findings was rust on the heater exchange unit. The unit runs fine and keeps the home cool at 74 degrees when it's over 100 degrees outside. I'd hate to spend money replacing it when it works perfectly fine. The second issue was the outlets inside the house. The inspector said the electrical outlets need to be replaced with tamper proof outlets. When I contacted an electrician he told me the outlets were up to code when it was built and there is no requirement to replace them. 

The last offer we had (last year) the buyer freaked out over it and cancelled their offer. So now I'm faced with either replacing these items prior to putting it back on the market or not. What should I do?

The home I want to stage is $289k which is middle ground for the area. I'll look on craigslist to see what I can find but @Deanna McCormick that's a great idea to just stage the main areas. I can't see spending more than $1500 for a couple sofas, tables and chairs, and a few pictures. Honestly I thought it would have sold by now since it's on the lower end of the price/sq ft range of the neighborhood. 

I think I'll just reuse the furniture in my other flips once it sells so I won't need to budget it for every flip. I just need to get through these first two deals so that I can implement everything I've learned. It really is true that the journey is the most important part!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

We recently completed two rehabs and got a quote to stage each home for $3250 each for 60 days. It got me to thinking of alternatives. Has anyone used one of the rent a center places to furnish their flip? Based on their online prices I could furnish the entire flip for a lot less than using a staging company. I plan to continue flipping so I can move the furniture to the next property when they sell. 

I'm curious as to what the return on investment someone would get from a VR? Please note if you are managing the property yourself. I'm interested in buying a property in San Antonio and renting it out to tourists that come visit. Thanks

Those are major pitfalls. Just out of curiosity I'll ask the company how they mitigate those issues.

Wow that's a huge difference. Thanks

I hadn't thought about that @Jason Hirko. I'll have to call my insurance company to see what the difference in premiums would be. 

I recently finished a rehab project and listed it on the MLS. About a week later I get a call from a company that places people in vacant homes until they sell. At first I dismissed it as more work and risk than it's worth. Then they called again and it got me to thinking of the possible benefits:

1. They bring in the furniture and essentially stage the property for you. This would cost me $1500 for basic staging for 3 months.

2. Potentially there's less of a chance that the property is vandalized.  

3. The homeowner gets 10% of the rent.

Of course there are cons to everything and one of the big concerns is the tender doesn't maintain the home in model like condition or even worse they don't want to leave.

Has anyone used a home tender and what was your experience with it?