All Forum Posts by: Gabriel Ehrlich

I have used them recently. They are the best lender i have ever worked with. The whole team is extremely knowledgeable and communicative. These aren't your average fresh out of school reps and coordinators. While the company is new, each member of the team brings a ton of industry experience. You won't get the salesy BS from this crew. You can rely on their experience as consultants, not just reps trying to get the deal sold. Aside from this, the rates at MOFIN are some of the best i have seen. I can not recommend these guys enough!

@Matthew Baltzell thanks for the feedback. It seems like 20% is the going rate for the "trustworthy" big time company in the area. I also want this not only to make money but for personal use :) 

Has anyone ever invested internationally? Specifically in Mexico? I am looking at some very nice properties in playa del carmen, and a luxury 1br  1ba can be as inexpensive as 50k. I believe I could get 100$ a night at least on airbnb and there is a company that will take care of all management for 20%.

@Michael Ealy good Idea!

Hello BPers!

My latest endeavor is new construction. I was wondering if anyone had a detailed project plan from start to finish. I'd like to build this into my project plan software.

Originally posted by @J Scott:

Originally posted by @Gabriel Ehrlich:

Thinking about this longer i believe the best strategy may be ... a couple new construction deals.

If you think new construction is a good strategy at this point in the economic cycle, I think you need to seriously reconsider your plan.

I'm curious why you caution about new construction but not flips? The profit margins are significantly better with new construction. Even if market were to tank there SHOULD be enough room to at least still break even... Minimum profit on new construction is ~50k. But most of the people I know are making way more than that. Additionally, there aren't any surprises once construction begins, so what you estimate the cost to be isn't too far from the actual cost. Whereas on flips, there are construction surprises...constantly. On a 250k house, the MOST you will make is probably around 40-50k (that's using cash) and that would be a diamond in the rough deal. 

I'm not being combative, its a serious question.

@Brian Pulaski I think that would be a good plan first year! Thanks for taking the question at face value!

@jdmartin I appreciate your concern, and I thought the same thing initially. However, they check out. Additionally, the reason they want me, and not some ultra successful investor is simple, the mother wants her son to have a partner, not a boss. I have enough experience to be dangerous, but not so much that I overtake every decision. They want quick ROI initially, as any startup would - I understand how real estate works and that it's a get rich slow game (if your're focusing solely on rentals). I'm proposing a flip heavy first year to maximize profits followed by a split investment (flips/new builds/rentals) the following year to help safeguard those profits and provide tax benefits. This is all hypothetical, I haven't accepted anything yet.

I really appreciate everyone's reply here, whether it is negative or encouraging - I want to see opinions.

To be clear, i wouldn't just be using this money as an investor, I would actually be building a company with the family, and if successful become a partner. The kick is, if the company profits the first year, the family will invest an additional million and every year thereafter. For everyone asking what the families goal is - it's to build liquid capital quickly.

The son is a real estate analyst that graduated from an ivy league school, hes bright but has 0 experience managing contractors or with construction.  The mother was a big developer in the country she moved here from. Both have valuable skills. My role in this would be to help identify deals, strategy and manage contractors.

Thinking about this longer i believe the best strategy may be a combination of 5 flips in the 250 arv range and a couple new construction deals. I believe this would provide the quickest and largest ROI if done correctly.

If I don't take this opportunity, I might regret it forever, even more so than if I take it and fail. 

Erase everything you know about the situation from your mind... Someone is giving you a million dollars to build a company and invest for a quick ROI, what's your plan?

@J Scott well personally, if I had a million dollars to invest I would continue with my current strategy of flip 2 rent 1. However, in this scenario, the investors want to increase their wealth by a significant enough amount in order to “prove” the process works. Basically, the son has real estate dreams, the family is very wealthy, and this is their way of teaching him how to build a company. If you were given a chance like this at the beginning of your career how would you use it?

I have been approached by a family to help build a real estate business with them. They propose a 1 million dollar investment to begin with. If we are profitable the first year they will add another million, and this will continue year after year. They are interested in the Baltimore market which I am familiar with. However, I’ve never really considered my investment strategy with a million dollars (all cash, not borrowed). They are interested in everything ... rentals, flips, new construction, multi-families. They’ve asked me to write a strategy proposal but I’m not sure what the best way to go is. With a million dollars I’m estImatIng we could do between 7-10 houses as flips in a year. For my experienced investors out there... what would you guys do if you were given a million dollars to build a real estate company from the ground up?