All Forum Posts by: Christina Morgan

Not 1 single response?  I'm shocked.  Thought someone would have some opinion on something.  Anyone?

Hi everyone! I'm currently working on my first deal to flip a property here in central Virginia. Narrowed it down to 3 properties, have financing lined up, just working on some deeper analysis to determine the best exit strategies. I've been finding deals on the MLS, hudhomestore.com, networking with real estate agents locally, Trustee sales listed in the newspaper, some wholesalers with deals and what Brandon Turner calls "Driving for Dollars."

All are great sources, but there are so many other sources for finding deals and I have always been tempted by the websites with subscription services.  Foreclosure.com is $40/mo.  Seems a little high and I can only guess the quality of their information, unless I sign up for the Free Trial.  There are many other subscription services I've come across while searching online, but I've yet to take the plunge on any of them.  

• Which companies/websites/services are worth the monthly cost?  
• What information on those sites do you trust or not trust?
• Do you subscribe to list services?  If so, which ones and what's the quality of information you've received?  
• Have you closed any deals that you found from an online subscription or list service that was not available anywhere else? 
• How did the deal work out?

Thought I'd ask around in the best community of real estate investors I know.  The wealth of knowledge here on any topic is amazing!  Love reading all the posts.  Love BiggerPockets!

Looking forward to the feedback!  Thanks everyone!

I appreciate you sharing that Lesson Learned.  While the deal does seem like an overall WIN, I get that you would like to continue having access to that $72K for the next deal and to get it you'll have to go through the application process again, which is not fun.  Thank you so much for sharing.  I may have ended up in that situation at some point and it's very nice to Not have to learn everything the hard way!

This thread is highly entertaining and knowledgeable.  Thanks for all your posts and everyone's comments.  Sounds like you got a lot of hard lessons out of the way in your first deal.  I wouldn't dare say you're done learning though.  None of us ever stop learning.  You've got a LOT of commitment and hussle!  You will find success with a little more education under your belt and the right team around you!  Best of luck!

The confidence of getting a good profit really matters.  If you and your husband are getting paid hourly, that should come out of the Rehab costs (prior to selling).  That would be guaranteed no matter what the actual profit margin ended up being.  The split to me sounds extremely favorable on their side.  I have some experience, but would love a sweetheart deal where I got 45-50% of the profit and 0% of the stress (aka Project Management)!!!  Not to mention the labor!  And the education they are getting, assuming they are taking full advantage of learning from you through the experience.  Seriously, sign me up!

These kinds of actions are so stupid.  Like threatening to sue a landlord is going to change the landlord's mind into renting you the dwelling.  "I'll sue" is just an idle threat that people use when their own actions have caused them to be denied a new home.  They feel insulted, like things are unfair because they are angry with themselves for being in this situation with the pressure of needing a place to stay.  Like other have said, Sleep well!  Highly unlikely anything will ever come of it.

Were you able to get out in the positive?  I know mobile homes.  Everything on and in them looks normal, but if you take anything apart, it's all custom stuff.  Custom, weird plumbing fixture.  The list is endless.  Would you do another one?

I'm also a huge supporter of the Richmond Fisher House and Foundation. They have a house near the VA hospital that provides housing to out-of-town families of vets getting services at the hospital. You may want to inquire with them if they need more space. Might be a good opportunity if you ever need to sell, or even just rent to the organization.

Hi Tyler.  I'm reading through some Richmond forums and saw this discussion.  Curious how the rehab went and if you've been able to rent the property.  What your results were.  I'm sure you've long figured out the heating oil tank, but if not, I'd recommend calling a heating oil company.  Some gas, oil and propane providers actually own the tanks in yards.  If that's not the case, they probably have information on what to do with them.  They may even purchase them for reuse.  Anyway, let us know how things went.

Has the house been vacant?  Have you had a tenant?  I'm guessing with that tax situation, you better move quickly or this decision is going to be made for you by the city/county.  You should contact the city or county about the taxes owed and tell them you are working on a solution or that you would like to arrange a payment plan as Charles said.  If you don't know the process and timeline for their actions, ask them.  Find out how long you have to come up with the funds.  Now, you could network and see if you can find a partner to bail you out on the taxes and become partial owner where you both benefit from rental income.  If not, I would echo Charles' solution, sell it and pay off the taxes.  I hope it's worth far greater than $60K so you can pocket something.  Taxes don't go on your credit record since they are technically owed by the property and not you.  But the taxes have to be paid - one way or another.  

Best of luck!  (Oh, when you say you 'never really recovered,' I hope you mean financially and not physically.  Finances can be repaired, but the human body is much more fragile.)