All Forum Posts by: Brian Benton

Pretty good.  My wife and I have been hot and cold with this real estate stuff over the past few years as we both have full time careers.  We both have committed to really jump in over this next year.  We both have our licenses and currently have 2 new constructions starting in the next month, closing on 3 rentals in November, and start another flip in 4 weeks.  This has the potential to lead us into a career change putting us full time in the real estate world.  

@Mark Gliebe This one was a little nutty.  The seller rented the house back from me for 1 month.  The rehab took about 75 days.  Few unforeseen challenges and I wasn't as hands on as I should have been.  

@Mark Gliebe Not necessarily.  My wife and I live over in Mount Juliet, but she and her family are from Gallatin.  We, therefore, tend to really focus on Sumner and Wilson Counties.  Lets grab coffee or something soon and connect.  

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $85,000
Cash invested: $31,457
Sale price: $135,000

Sitting in the center of the most sought after neighborhood in Cookeville (Allgood), I thought this thing was an easy one. House was destroyed and full of rodents and fleas. I thought buyers would jump on this one as it offered one of the highest square footage's in the neighborhood and fully rehabbed. I was right...ish.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was really the neighborhood and budding friendship with a realtor over in Cookeville that drew me into this one.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Local realtor in cookeville turned me on to this one.

How did you finance this deal?

I leaned on a hard $$ lender on this one (Greg Self) along with my cash.

How did you add value to the deal?

I leaned heavy on the comps and feedback from the local realtor that brought this deal to me.

What was the outcome?

After a rather long and frustrating process, encountering unforeseen objections while selling, I settle for an offer leaving me with a profit of about $5k.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Biggest lesson learned was that I was no where near ready to manage projects from so far away. I also needed to focus more on markets I really knew and understood.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Kelly Morgan over in Cookeville

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment.

Purchase price: $145,000
Sale price: $150,000

Initially contracted this to one to flip, but quickly realized it was going to be more than I had time to give to it during that time. I quickly reach out to my network and was able to assign the contract to another investor that owned a few other homes on that block.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Up and coming neighborhood close to new hospital in Hendersonville. Just made since as a solid flip opportunity.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Lead was generated through a pay per lead service I was utilizing. Worked out that what I was wanting to offer was within $2000 of what the seller had to have.

How did you finance this deal?

I had cash set aside, but since I assigned the contract, no financing was necessary.

How did you add value to the deal?

Seller was desperate to get out of town and needed to make something happen quickly. My buyer had other deals working in the area so this worked out perfectly for him.

What was the outcome?

All parties walked away with a solid outcome. Nice when everyone feels really good about the deal.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

None

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment.

Purchase price: $101,200
Sale price: $105,000

This was a pretty straight forward wholesale deal. Assigned the contract and made $3,800.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Seemed pretty straight forward and thought all parties could do well.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was through a pay for lead service. Negotiation was limited to what the seller had to have to clear their debts.

How did you finance this deal?

I had cash set aside, but since this was a contract assignment, no fiances were needed from me.

How did you add value to the deal?

I made the transaction painless for everyone and ensured that everyone had something to gain.

What was the outcome?

The seller was able to free themselves of a burden and finish to their last minute relocation to Florida. Buyer/agent was able to get his for flip opportunity and he crushed it. I was able to walk away with a solid profit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Once again, wholesaling is contagious.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Just the agent that bought the house (Brian Bandas). Solid guy.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment.

Purchase price: $25,000
Sale price: $40,000

This was a pretty straight forward wholesale deal. Assigned the contract and made $15k.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Seemed pretty straight forward and thought all parties could do well.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was through a pay for lead service. Negotiation was limited to what the seller had to have to clear their debts.

How did you finance this deal?

I had cash set aside, but since this was a contract assignment, no fiances were needed from me.

How did you add value to the deal?

I made the transaction painless for everyone and ensured that everyone had something to gain.

What was the outcome?

The seller was able to free themselves of a burden. Buyer was able to get his for rental home investment. I was able to walk away with a solid profit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Once again, wholesaling is contagious.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

None on this one

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment.

Purchase price: $25,000
Sale price: $40,000

this was a pretty straight forward wholesale deal. Assigned the contract and made $15k.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

quick and easy and happened to be 2 miles from my old home.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

through a pay per lead service

How did you finance this deal?

had cash on standby but since I assigned the contract, no financing was needed.

How did you add value to the deal?

Even at the wholesale price, buyer had a ton of margin left to make which he did when completed his sale of the rehabbed property.

What was the outcome?

Everyone walked away content with their deals. This one was a good one!!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Wholesaling (contract assigning) is a solid strategy.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I actually sold this deal to a real estate agent (Brian Bandas). Solid guy.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence wholesale investment.

Purchase price: $45,000
Sale price: $50,000

Quick little wholesale deal. This gentleman had inherited the property and simply didnt want to deal with all the work that it would need.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I figured this would be a pretty quick, painless wholesale opportunity for other investors.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This came to me through a lead service I had at the time.

How did you finance this deal?

I cash on standby but no financing was necessary.

How did you add value to the deal?

I provided the new buyer a game plan with pricing that I had put together for the rehab.

What was the outcome?

Assigned the contract to new buyer giving me $5000 on the day of closing for the deal.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

This gave me my first experience with wholesaling. I immediately so the draw to it.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

As a licensed agent, I handled everything.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $212,000
Cash invested: $85,000
Sale price: $329,000

This was in a nice neighborhood next door to an higher end neighborhood. House needed a ton of work as the previous owners had destroyed it. Tore out some walls, finished out a basement, and replaced every inch of the home.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The value of the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods drew me to this deal. The fact that this was an all brick house with new windows and roof made it appealing.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was through a wholesaler (Blackjack Realty).

How did you finance this deal?

I utilized both my own cash and hard money lending through a local lender (William Wood)

How did you add value to the deal?

This was a complete overhaul including giving it an open floor plan and finishing out a basement. Lots of value added!!!

What was the outcome?

Sold the house and made a little bit of money. Several curve balls and learning lessons on this one. Though I was still in the black, I left $10-$15k on the table.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

First, I didnt have entire plan nailed down prior to closing which cost me time. Secondly, I underestimated the value of the square footage in the finished basement. Third, cigarette smell wound up costing me thousands of dollars even after rehab as we struggled to remove the smell. This also cost me numerous buyers and time. Due to all of this, I ran out of time on payment being due for lending and had to accept a lower offer to move the house and close in time. Still made $5000.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Being a licensed agent, I handled everything myself. The retail buyers agent was a pretty sharp guy.