All Forum Posts by: BJ Ralphs

1 out of 10 might respond. everything works to some degree. Go get em!

I look at it kind of like this. how much of the JUNK you get in the mail do YOU read? -Now, add in the extra stress someone in distress might be experiencing and apply that mindset to reading the mail - Me, not interested. 

I personally throw almost everything away without even looking at it. - Now I might be extreme, but DM can be very expensive for the small return of 1% or less. 

Finding the deals....Ah, its the hardest part of the process. When I was a kid, There was no such thing as "Flipping" - My folks just bought an old house,fixed it up and sold it . Then didi it again, or kept the house for a rental. lol. - Now with TV shows glamorizing flipping it seems that anyone with a few extra buck is trying to get into the game. That being said, there are so many ways to find property. - I personally feel that wholesalers in my area are marking up the properties beyond a profitable level for the flipper - i have deals emailed to me all the time but they are all $25-$40 grand too high for the numbers to work - YET THEY SELL SAME DAY! So Bandit Signs, Craigslist, MLS searches, Meetings....I won't pay $4000 per month for direct mail to find 2 deals. that seems insane. Here in Southern CA deals are out there but very expensive, which means an investor will have a LOT of money on the risk table should the market turn or something changes. Sorry for the ramble but this posting did trigger me. Just keep digging, driving neighborhoods, searching for owners, going to meetings and talking to people. Deals are out there.

Hello

I'm looking for an investment group or club in the Portland /Vancouver WA area - Moving up there in a few weeks. I would like to connect with wholesalers, Hard money lenders and investor friendly RE agent  in the area - 

isn't all of this info available from a title company? 

Born and Rasised here - I never thought I would be saying this, but...I'll be leaving California soon (and that includes kids and grand kids so more that just "one")  for the following reasons. 

Traffic is out of control - it took me 17 minutes to travel 1.5 miles on the 405 the other day. That is typical afternoon drive home. This is no way to live. 

Taxes - highest in the country - Services? Water, Power prices keep rising - typical electric bill for me is $$350 to $450 month - State income tax 13% - REALLY! Sales Tax 7.75% - Property Tax 1.5% - Car registration? I just paid over $400 to register my car. 

Highest Gas prices in country? Over $1 of it is taxes. 

Price of property - my kids will not be able to purchase a normal home for under $500,000 and that would be a piece of junk out of town with a 1.5 hour commute one way - With jobs paying $20 per hour, they cant qualify for home loans 

an $80,000 year job is working class poor - Rents for a basic 2 bedroom apt in a ghetto like Anaheim or Garden Grove are $2200 or more - Now add health insurance, taxes, car payments, child care, basic necessities and you're broke. 

Homeless EVERYWHERE - car smash and grabs, drugs, every bus bench taken over by a homeless encampment, trash, feces, urine. - its just gross. Period. 

California is not the same state I grew up in. Sure the weather is great! - but who has time to enjoy it. 

California is a dessert. Drive through LA, its UGLY!!! - Orange County if nice but still dry. We can't water our lawns or wash our cars without a neighbor reporting us to the city. 

People here are basically rude. Unless they want something from you. Even homeless will Flip you off if you don't give them your money. (That is, if they are conscious) 

I could go on and on. its a sad state of affairs in California so, yeah...I'm out. 

I am licensed RE agent in California but will be moving to Northwest soon - I need an investor friendly agent to work with Oregon and Washington. (Near Portland/Vancouver area) I won't be licensed up there, so I need an agent on my team. Contact me so we can talk 

Thanks

BJ 

 This is exactly how I see it. I just wanted to hear someone else say it. My GC has to feed his family while working on the property so I was thinking I would pay him some $$$ and then deduct his payouts from the final profits. And yes you're right, the loans get very expensive when you add it all up. Thank you for your thoughtful response. Very helpful!

I am a Real Estate agent and my partner is a contractor. we are going to form an LLC to do flipping. I will provide all the downpayment $$ and make the deals with lenders, find the properties as well as market them when they are complete. My partner will do ALL rehab. - demo, to completion.

Here's my question: 

If my partner was NOT a contractor I would have to pay regular contracting rates. so..what is fair. he gets discounts on all materials needed which I will be paying for (out of our hard money loan - we will both be on the hook for the loans) if we are splitting the profits after sale 50/50 should he provide labor at a discounted rate - I don't expect him to work for free, but Is it fair to pay him full regular contractor prices and split the profits with him? --- If I hired another contractor and did this without him, I would pay the contractor the going rates and keep ALL profits myself. - so i'm trying to decide how to structure this where its fair for all. 

any thoughts? does anyone out there have a similar relationship? 

btw, the contractor is also my brother in law, our goal is to keep it all in the family and help each other. 

Thanks for your thoughts!!!