All Forum Posts by: Prashant P.

Whenever you think you can make a buck someone else most likely has the same idea. Its called competiition. I have lost alot of houses for the same exact reason. Just keep your eyes open.

I just buy a ATT go phone or Verizon prepaid phone. Its just like having a normal phone but without contracts. I use this phone when I am listing my property for rent. I leave a greeting on the voicemail which gives information about the property and how to setup a viewing. Once I find the a tenant, I just give them my personal cell phone number.

If the house has hardwood floors, I would refinish the floors. It may be extra cost upfront but they will be more durable. Also if a tenant damages an area, you can sand the area down and refinish. Plus renters like floors.

I use an antique white (it like a cream color) and white on the trim and ceilings. They gives you neurtral color sheme. Don't wash everything. Also when you hire a painter make sure they remove all the faceplates to your outlets. Discount painters just paint over them and it looks horrible.

As far as the garbage disposal, I am one of the few people on here that would say keep it. It is a small investemnt ($80) but can save you tons in the end. Think about it, without a disposal your tenants might send all kinds of food and garbage down the drain. Eventually the drain will clog and you will have to call a plumber or snkae the line your self. Just a plumber will cost you a $100 to snake the line. If something worse, like a complete clog will require opening up the line which is even more expensive. Newer garbage disposal have a overload circuit in them. Basically when the blade inside cannot chew up whatever is down there it will trip. This is an easy fix with new disposals. At the bottom of the housing there is a spot where you can insert an allen wrench. All you do is put the wrench in there and turn. It will free up the blade and then you just hit the reset button. Very easy fix, takes about two minutes. Most of the time when a disposal stops working this will fix it. I have never replace the disposal in any of my units. Well worth the cost.

Hi Joe, I work a full time job and also do real estate investing. I focus primarly on buy and hold rentals. I also manage my own properties. I spend the most time on my properties when I buy them or have to find new tenants. When I first started out, I would do any minor repairs and cleaning myself. I did this on the weekends. As far as showing the property, I would devote a couple hours after work to showing the property. I wound say in all I would spend about 20 to 30 hours doing both.

After the property is leased, it probably takes only a couple hours a month to manage to collect rent, deal with any issues.

When I was working with my realtor, he showed me a place one of his clients bought. He was like you, lived in NYC and tried to flip a house in Philly. Anyways, he didn't know the area that well, overvalued the house and his contractors ran his holding cost way too high. They didn't complete the job on time and used the wrong materials. The house sat on the market for a long time because the guy was trying to make up his costs.

Like everyone else said, stick to a local flip if you can.

I agree with the others. You return on fixing it up is not going to be great.

It also looks very out of place.

You are stating the ARV is $249,000. If I were in your area looking for a rehab, I would not contact you about this house. By looking at your pictures I do not see anything that needs to be repaired. I find it hard that some paint and carpet is going to get me $30k.

Also as one of the other posters mention, it looks like a double wide on a foundation. Are your comps from actual slab and frame houses or manufactured homes. Manufactured homes don't carry the same value a slab and frame homes.

Mason, glad to see you are planning before actually jumping into the game.

You asked "What can I do to ensure that their first impression of me is as good as possible?" This question is a two way street. Not only are you looking to make a good impression on them but they have to make a good impression on you. If I was looking for professional service I would want to kind someone that is engaging, presentable and willing to anwser my questions without be rushed. The other person is looking for the same.

Also, before arrive identify exactly what you need. If you need a realtor, what exact services do you need. Are you looking for someone you specializes in short sales or the MLS. Don't go up to someone and say I need a realtor.

Since this is your first meeting, I would just go in with an open mind and see what impression people make on you.

I don't use a 1-800 because I just use my number for local real listings. However, I do pickup a cheap prepaid phone and leave a detailed message about the rental unit or house for sale.

I then put up signs with this number outside homes. Bettern than having people calling my personal phone.

Welcome Cheryl,

I picked up a couple things from your post.

1. You need to learn more about investing in real estate and identify what path you want to take. I would spend some time reading Biggerpockets, reading some books and attending a local REIA meeting to gain some more knowledge.

2. Real estate is not a way to make quick cash no matter what you see on TV. You need to know what you are doing and give yourself some time or your going to get burned.

3. You say you have bad credit and don't have any money. If I were a private investor I would not give you a penny. Most private investors want you to have some skin in the game.

4. When analyzing a property, Zillow is not the best method to use to determine market value. Real estate comps will give you a more accurate measure of value. Zillow is basically a big average that doesn't take into consideration key facotrs.

If you want to get started in real estate, balance your personal budget to save some money and improve your credit score. In the mean time do alot of research and attend a REIA meeting. You might meet an investor there that will pay you some money to find a deal for him, ie bird dogging