All Forum Posts by: Barry Amado

All,

I was wondering what are your favorite ways to find deals, classifieds, bandit signs, driving the neighborhood etc. What have you personally had the most success with? I'm looking for new ideas. I've been primarily using bandit signs but it seems so is everybody else. This market in North Carolina is still booming. You can't turn a corner and not see a new sub-division going up.

Anyway thanks,

-Barry

Sorry for not replying sooner everyone. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm a litte busy these days. Thanks for the replies and please keep them coming knowing I am jotting everything down and studying.

Thanks again

-Barry

All, I'm currently looking for my first deal. I have a few questions. If I look through Realtor.com and find a house like this one for example...$72,000 3 Bed, 2 Bath 1,296 Sq. Ft. 0.21 Acres and find this info from Zillow.com ZESTIMATE™: $89,565 Value Range: $80,609 - $102,104. Is it common practice to contact the seller of this property or would this be considered unethical since there is already a realty company trying to sell this house. Would this property even be one you would consider (I haven't seen it yet I was just browsing realtor.com). I want to do this right without stepping on any toes. I've been contemplating contacting a realtor and forming a team, he finds me properties and I give him a percentage (other details will be worked out). Is this recommended?

Thank you, and any recommendation a greatly appreciated.

-Barry

I have been waiting for this a long time. I have read all the books, posts from this site. I've gotten advise from friends that are either multiple property investors or rehabbers. I've even watched some of the late night "guru's" on those occational sleepless nights. My time is now! I work full time in the HVAC industry in NC and we are currently in our busyest (I had a real hard time spelling busyest...busyist...busiest...oh well you know what I mean) time of year and have been working pretty much from 7:00am to around 9:00pm everyday except Sunday which is usually around 9:00am till 4:00pm. The problem is come September the norm is to drop from 10 to 14 hr days to 3 to 5 hr days with a lot of days off in between......feast or famine. As I said the time is now! Every fall and spring it get's hard to make ends meet and I don't want to go through one of these dry spells again. I have three buyers that have told me if I bring them the right deal they will buy and if they don't I shouldn't have any problem finding someone that will. I am at the point were I just need to start finding properties to assign. I have a contract but I'm not that comfortable with it. I have the know how and the passion but I feel like I'm stuck. Like a diver that knows all the dives but is just a little tentative to jump off the board. Please help! A little pep talk, a kick in the ***, some advice. I keep telling myself that It will be the difference in my family (wife, 6 yr old daughter and 3 yr old son) enjoying life year round or struggling through those lean slow months.

Thank you all.

Barry

I hadn't knowticed it before.

Could someone do us newbies a favor and cover some off these in this form.
FMV = Fair Market Value
ARV = After Repair Value
and so on. I'm about to take that leap and although I know most of them I've seen a few that I am not familiar with. I want to approach my buyers with full confidence and not understanding some of the jargon may not come across as professional.

Thanks in advance for all your help pro's and newbies alike. I have learned so much from this site

Hi All,

My name is Barry and I am a beginner. I am not uneducated however. I have a couple friends that have been doing this for years and have bombarded them with every question I could think of and have done a lot of personal research. The only problem I have is now that I am ready to take the leap I'm not sure if I can turn to them for assistance. I am currently an HVAC technician, I've also plastered, hung sheetrock, had an appliance repair business, worked with an electrician etc. I'm not a kid at 40 yrs but have been wanting to be a REI for a very long time. My biggest problem is credit. Mine in poor to bad because the HVAC business is seasonal and during off seasons I can earn as little as $200 a week. Real Estate is a pasion for me and now is the time. I've been eyeing foreclosures of wich there are many here in NC (Wake County). I have no capital and as mentioned before credit issues. Where can someone like me get money?

Thanks for any assistance.