All Forum Posts by: Cassie Montalvo

Not always; I’ve picked up many homes that were stale. Just make sure your numbers are solid. 

I honestly prefer the stale deals. “Hot” homes get sold fast and people start bidding wars and end up over-paying. I stalk the listings that have been lingering and then low-ball them. 

Beware that the majority of condos in Florida prohibits STR's (not explicitly, but will they have minimum lease duration and a maximum number of times per year you can rent the unit) and those that don't, know they're part of an elite few and charge all the money for them because they know an investor will buy it.

Make sure you read the condo association’s rules and regs before entering into a contract. 

Wow! These are the risks of flipping, especially OOS.

You have two options - dump the house, take a loss, and loose your friends ... or invest in making the house right and trying again.

First, how much money do you think it would take to close the permits and clean up the half-*** work?  I would probably cancel the listing, fix all the issues, then list again in spring for top dollar. Maybe change the wall colors and stage the place to make it look like a new listing. 

It doesn’t matter what the tenants know - you are required to honor their lease and they are entitled to enjoy their home in peace. 

If you think renovations will only take 2 weeks. Offer to put them up in an AirBnb for 3 weeks. Then they can move back in an keep the same rental price.

The tenants really have you in a corner here. You need to find what can motivate them to help you out.

Don’t invest in condos.

HOA rules can change at anytime. They could vote to entirely ban rentals thus forcing you to sell once the current tenant's lease expires (this could be in a down market forcing you to take a huge loss, short sale, potentially even a foreclosure).

Monthly assessments eat up profits.

Special assessments pop up all the time.

HOA can control you who can and cannot rent to, severely limiting your tenant pool.

Don’t invest in condos

For my projects, I buy all the “finishes” which are pretty much anything you can see with the naked eye (except for paint, which I just give the contractor the color codes). I will either have the items delivered or coordinate with the contractor for the items to be picked up by them.  I don’t EVER let contractors buy “finishes.” I simply don’t trust their taste. 

As for required, there are certain items that if you don’t have, it will cost you in either sale price or time on the market. For example, I’m in Palm Beach County and stainless steel or higher grade appliances are ‘required’ by our local buyers. I’ve seen absolutely beautiful homes for sale, but with black appliances - and buyers just can’t seem to look passed this. Even though it’s an insanely easy fix, the house just SITS on the market. Therefore, in my area, I consider stainless a ‘requirement’ of buyers.  You need to identify these items in your local market. 

Lastly, here’s a pro tip. Once you’re done spending tons of money on the rehab, please hire a professional photographer to take your listing photos. If you are using an agent, this should be requirement #1 from them - no exceptions!

NEVER let your GC pick out finishes ...EVER!

Go and research other homes in that particular area that were recently updated and sold quickly and for top dollar. Try to find similarities in the color schemes and finishes (some areas can get away with cheap counters, others have granite, some quartz, and a few are marble).  You need to be able to identify what features are REQUIRED by your local buyers, what features are liked, and which items are deal-killers.

Once you know this you can build out your design.

Also, Pinterest is your best friend for finding color schemes and cool design ideas. I usually set up a “board” on Pinterest for every house I remodel. 

Was the Seller’s hardship package approved by the bank yet?  Did you get the Approval from the Lender for your purchase contract?

Please answer the first two questions and I will answer your question further.

I know this is late, but I hope it helps someone...  I use FoAC for my fix and flips.  I will say that they are still pretty slow to close (they need 21 days).  So sometimes I will have to pay with my own cash out of pocket (if the sale requires a quick close) and then cash-out refi with them a few days later.

The one thing that I can't find anyone that is better than FoAC is their rates ... the lowest loan origination fees and lowest interest rates.  I have another source for fix and flip funding if I needed it that can close in 7 days, but they are double the loan origination fee and a couple points higher interest.

Honestly, I recommend setting yourself up with two funding options - one that can fund super quick and only use them when absolutely required and then FoAC to use with more traditional timelines (21 days is still very quick in the grand scheme of things).

I hope this helps!

I just refi’d all my rentals and didn’t have to show any income for myself, I solely used the existing rental income.