All Forum Posts by: Brandy Horkey

For sure!  I’m not totally new to real estate and I am aware of the stress and frustration that will be involved. I have a great set of resources around me willing to jump in on rehab quotes and work. This also isn’t something I just woke up and decided to do. I have wanted to do this for years and finally feel like I am in a place where it makes sense to jump in. 

I have this condo and while it wouldn’t take me in the red, it won’t get me very far ahead either. At least not for a few years on paper. I just simply wanted to see if a few folks would chime in and give me their thoughts. I will make mistakes and not so great decisions along the way but I want to minimize that as much as possible. 

I am looking to do my first BRRRR but I have a strange situation so I am not sure which route to take.

I own a 3/2.5 condo just outside Universal Studios in Orlando. Originally, I was just going to sell it and buy a house outside of town. My bf has been asking me to be patient and hold off on buying another place for a little while and just live with him until I find what I want, which is fine but here is my quandry…

I can sell my condo and use that money to pick up another house, sure. BUT, I would rather pick up a rental. So I feel like I have 2 options. 

1. Keep my condo and pull out the cash. My mortgage is very low and I have just remodeled the kitchen and remaining upgrades will cost less than $5k. A refi would get me enough to pay off the existing mortgage and upgrades and leave me about $100k to invest in another property. The problem is that my HOA is so high that I will barely make any money off the rent. I will make money but not much.

2. I can sell my condo, and have more cash in hand so that I have more flexibility on what I can buy to fix up. I will be able to pick up something that throws more money my way and will allow me to get into a second house quickly. 

The first option gets me experience right out of the gate but I fear that with not much cash flow, it could hinder bank loans but I shouldn’t be showing any negative cash flow. And I could have 2 rentals with in 6 months 

The second option could potentially get me 2 rentals within 1 yr with better cash flow but now I don’t have any assets(my condo) to start. 

I’m sure I have left out a lot of details that will help but I would love to get some input on how I should handle this situation. 

Thanks!
 

@Paul Bilotti I am in Florida so I am familiar with the area. The book was very helpful to fill in some gaps on questions I had. I started out buying land at the tax deed auction and have moved into this method. I still do auctions but have successfully purchased my first property using this method.  Feel free to message me privately and I am happy to talk more with you any time. :)

@David Flores Super cool! Sending good vibes your way!

I picked up and read Dirt Rich over the weekend. I have decided to give it a go and my first list is in the process of being sliced and diced right now. 

@David Flores Thanks for the update. This method still intrigues me so I like keeping up with how things are going for you. 

I have pretty much stuck with Tax Deed Auctions here. So far, I have purchased 2 lots. One wooded acre and another improved 1/5 acre on a canal. I sold the wooded acre this weekend for about $4,000. I bought it for $1,000 a few months ago. I offered owner financing with $650 down and $95/month.  Closing will run about $1,000 because I am having my attorney take care of all the details since this is my first one. Once it is paid off, I will have made about $2,000 on the deal. I only advertised on FB Marketplace. The property sits behind a business and there is no access road currently. I confirmed with the county that a road could be built and with the business directly in front, electric should be little to no issue. It was a relatively easy sell because of the location and the zoning. It is listed as both residential and light commercial. 

I haven’t borrowed any money to make my transactions(I am quite low on funds currently) and have used only my own cash. The good news is, I now have “income”. Not much, but it’s a start. 

Two reasons for this story...1. I haven’t shared it with many people so I am busting to talk about it! And 2. This is a frustrating business and definitely not for those with no patience. Keep being persistent and I know it will come for you too. 

Know that there is at least one person out here cheering for you!:-)

Brandy 

It has been a while since I've had any updates but I wanted to add a few things today.

I had originally talked about a potential buyer that I had right out of the gate!  As exciting as the prospect of a buyer that fast was, I am glad now that it did not work out.  After meeting with the buyer, we decided to pursue the quiet title.  I found an excellent company to help me through the process.  It took a little longer than anticipated but we got it done and finalized in March.  The potential buyer disappeared on me, which was OK.  We had agreed on a price that would leave me without any profit at all.

I ended up relisting the property on Facebook Marketplace for a higher price than what I knew I could get for it while we were waiting on the QT to come back.  I figured if someone did come along willing to pay it, then YAY for me!  Over the next few weeks, I slowly lowered the price and had a lot of interest in the property.  I also tried listing it on Zillow.  Since we were going through the QT action at the time, Zillow listed the property as a Pre Foreclosure which I wasn't happy with at all, but what can you do?  

Once the QT cleared the court and I had paperwork in hand, I lowered the price to a level that I feel is still sell-able with a little wiggle room for negotiation so that I still make a bit of profit.  I updated the Zillow add and they removed the Pre Forclosure note.  I have now been getting a few nibbles from realtors and I recently received a couple serious inquiries into the property.  One gentleman noted that he had been watching the property since it started at the high price and he is now ready to negotiate at my low price.(Good thing I left wiggle room!) 

I have meetings set up at the property with 2 potential buyers this evening.  Though I would love to sell this as a cash only sale, I have decided(after talking to my attorney) that I am also willing to offer owner financing as an option. Fingers crossed that one of these meetings tonight will be fruitful.

As for the property itself, we have been out there several times over the last few months to clear out debris, trim trees, and cut grass. I have put out marker flags to show the approximate property lines and added a For Sale sign to the front which can be seen from the main road.  I have had several neighbors call looking for information but all have said the price was still too high for them(One man told me he bought his property a few lots down with a house for 30k)  The property looks a lot better than when I first bought it so I am happy with that.  

I am starting to finally see the end of the tunnel though I am in no rush so I can take all the time I need in order to sell the property for a price that I am happy with.  Whether I sell to a cash buyer or do owner financing, I am still selling and bringing in money.  I will try to update this once the sale is final :)