All Forum Posts by: Gary Bailey

This is a CRAZY situation that is unlikely to ever happen, however, I started a little blog to document a big rehab I was doing. Within 1 week my entire job site got shut down by the code enforcement office (I'll confess i didn't pull permits!) and when I asked how they found out about the house the guy said "I saw it on the internet"!!

Craziness.

Builder's risk is typically used for new construction homes. I'm not saying it's the wrong type for your situation, I'm just saying that we typically get 2 policies: Dwelling Fire (which includes vandalism) and General Liability. These typically cost around $100/month total for both.

Check out National Real Estate Insurance Group. They came highly recommended by our REIA chapter and we have bought over 68 policies from them this year. Plus, they have a great online form for ordering new policies once you are set up in their system.

Gary

Ohio is a great place to expand your real estate investing business!!

Outside of REIA, consider checking out the free 1-hour workshops and resources offered by Build Ohio. There are free workshops on the 2nd thursday of each month ( plus no coaching, membership or books/tapes/dvds to buy!). These are also great opportunities to network with ACTIVE real estate investors who aren't just "lifetime learners" that don't actually do any deals.

Gary

The fact that we have 4 seasons and all the other great things about Cincy don't amount to a hill of beans if that doesn't line up with your strategy.

Consider linking up with a company that has a track record in Cincinnati for helping investors like yourself. Are you looking for single or multifamily properties? What type of cap rate are you looking for? Do you want houses that need work or are ready to go?

Sorry to play 20 questions!

Gary

Why not just find a reliable hard money lender that accepts outside lenders and pays a fixed return?

BUT......(and I'm playing devil's advocate here)...how much time and carrying costs does it REALLY save you?? Most of my customer's rehabs are pending within 2-3 weeks. It seems to me that the benefits don't outweigh the risks!

I'm not an attorney or a CPA, however, I am someone who at one point set up a ton of LLC's and ended up with 24 (no exaggeration!) bank accounts for my little "real estate empire". Guess what? I got sued when a buyer didn't close and I kept his down payment (I was completely in the right and the lawsuit was dropped)..but guess who he sued? Every singe one of my LLCs and me personally!!

I have learned that LLC's don't protect you from someone who wants to bring a lawsuit against you - even if you didn't do anything wrong.

Consider consulting a cpa and an attorney. However, remember the KISS method: KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Gary

Be careful not to go full time too soon. If you can take your real estate classes in the evenings or on weekends you could still maintain your income while building your business. Make sure your bills are covered! (my 2 cents)

Gary

Hopefully this will spark some interesting discussions.

I remember hearing about a real estate investor when I was first starting out who supposedly had all of his flips pre-sold before he even bought them. The idea of having owner occupant buyers lined up and ready to go sounds great in theory, but seems to create a lot of unintended consequences.

This came to mind when we tried to sell a wholesale property to an investor who turned the deal down because her owner occupant buyer didn't like the house. It seems to me that if you really think about it, letting your owner occupant determine your buying strategy seems a bit off base.

Would you rather rehab a house for a set price to 1 buyer or do a great rehab and hopefully get top market price by offering it to EVERY buyer (by listing on the MLS)?