All Forum Posts by: Brandon Rush

Hey BP,

I moved down to ATL from Boston a few months ago and I’m looking to link up with a fellow investor/team to cut my teeth in this market.

I’ve got two construction projects going up in Boston during most of the year, but I do want to be engaged and learning in this ATL market since it’s growing fast!

What I’m hoping to find is a partner/mentor that I can offer some free labor to in return for experience working on their current projects.

What I have experience with in my own portfolio

• Underwriting (I underwrite a couple of deals a day to stay up with any new deals)
• Light renovations in my current duplex in Boston
• Currently managing an ADU project to convert said duplex into a triplex
• Mid- 2022, building a 3-Fam on a lot I own

What I’m looking to gain more experience with a partner doing:

• Underwriting (can never be too good with the numbers!)
• Zoning relief process and, construction management

I’m looking to niche down into either:

a.) small commercial residential/ mixed use (~4-12 units)

b.) Rezoning and building additional units onto existing parcels/ properties

If you, or anyone you know, is looking for some additional support in these areas (or maybe others) let me know!

Wow, @Scott Mac I never would've thought of any of this! I've been going back and forth on if I work with an architect or just an engineer who can stamp some drawings. Working with someone who can share insights like this is definitely a must now. I appreciate your response!

Hey team,

I'm planning on building a 2 or 3 family on a lot I already own in Dorchester -I bought it along with my first duplex deal. I'm looking to connect with a Boston investor that has has built an investment property for their own portfolio that can give me the lay of the land before diving in and consult (with compensation, of course) during the process.

I'm comfortable with underwriting, buying, renovating and managing investments. But getting approval to build and managing ground-up construction is totally new to me.

A few questions that are top of mind to share where my head is at:

• What is the number one lesson that you learned that would have saved you the most time and money if you knew before you started?
• How do you effectively underwrite a build for an investment? Is it just like any other deal?
• I'll have a lot of people working on this project, what things can I do, as the investor/owner, to make sure that everything gets done on-time and on-budget?

Feel free to DM me if you'd like to connect 1:1 or just respond here. I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts!

Hey BP fam,

Is anyone/ does anyone know of an investor friendly agent in Atlanta, GA? I'm looking to move to Atlanta in the next few months and I'm looking to buy an investment property when I do. Ideally, I'd like to house hack a 2-4 family, but I'm open to a fixer upper condo/ SF that I can use as a short term rental when I leave.

I'm going to be in town this week. So, if anyone comes to mind, can you share their info here or DM me?

Thanks a lot!

Super helpful. Thank you so much @Dave Spooner!

Hey team,

I've got a 2,400sq/ft buildable lot in Dorchester that I'm looking to build on. I bought this lot with my first property, but the plots have separate addresses and deeds.

My GC mentioned to me that building a 3-family is likely going to be cheaper than buying and renovating one. That, of course, might not be true right with material costs through the roof -but generally!

The major question I have is: Where do I start? 

Do I go to the city first? Go to an architect or an engineers? Am I looking for specific construction financing?

I've thought a lot about buying houses, but never about building one. Any advice for a total newbie would be greatly appreciated!

HI @Liu Qi, condos can be a great investment. I actually just helped a client purchase an investment condo in Jamaica Plain (a neighborhood you might want to consider when you move). 

The downside to condos and single family homes is that if you want to make rental income, you'll have to either:

-Live in the same unit as your tenants

or

-Invest in renovating the unit to make private space for yourself (likely cost-prohibitive). 

If you're not open to living with tenants, I would recommend you like outside of Boston and find a multifamily. Multi-families in Boston proper will likely be outside of your price range.

Hope this is helpful!

@Evan Polaski Do you mind sharing a bit more what you mean by the MLS won't share sale price? In the MA MLS, once the property sells, we'll see the listing price and the sales price. Either way, I think using public records is a better avenue since so many deals are never posted on the MLS anyway. Are there resources you'd use to see trends in sales off-market? Or do you mostly check each properties public record individually?

@Rob Gillespie - that's SO helpful! I hadn't thought about marketing directly to a pain point in this situation, but that's always the best way to sell. Thank you!

Hey y'all,

I'm a realtor-investor looking to start a business that flips distressed properties into affordable housing (affordable meaning 450k rather than 550k). One of the biggest stumbling blocks my team is running into is forecasting acquisition costs. 

My assumption has been "every home and every seller is different. You can't know potential acquisition costs until you talk to sellers."

What would be WAY more efficient that doing all of the marketing to bring in seller leads in and have those conversations, is if there were some way to track off market sales prices just like we can for on-market sales in the MLS.

Assuming I don't have personal experience negotiating sales prices on flip deals, how would you recommend I go about understanding a reasonable sales price to offer a seller?

If we can't get our acquisition costs down low enough, we'll definitely need to re-work our model.

Thanks in advance!