All Forum Posts by: Corey Schaecher

Hi Donna,

I just sent you colleague request as well, but my brother (@scottschaecher) and I love investing in Brentwood, we actually have a house almost directly behind your on Rosalie (8666), another in the 8500 block for Rosalie and he 8500 block of Litzsinger. 

Is the property occupied?  Also, I'd hold off on replacing the carpet unless you're also trying to sell it to the retail market. Some investors here might prefer to put in place something else or have their own people they use to do things like that, and you should let them worry about it, unless it's someone who wants to buy turnkey and then you can new just make the new carpet a condition upon closing.  

We have 3 Properties and use Alicia Haas at Holt and Patterson, very responsive and knowledgeable. But if you're looking for a CPA to give specific strategy advise for real estate investing and focused primarily on investors, I don't have a good reference but would be willing to find out.

Thanks, @chris b. I had a feeling that would be the most popular suggestion and don't disagree at all with the assessment. I think it'd be an absolutely fair structure.  My only issues with that are (1) how much would i be giving up if I could just convince the seller to hold off until my current project cash is available and then offer that toward the partnership; and (2) that i want to stick around throughout the flip and get that part of the experience as well, which I'm sure i can still work in to the discussions even if treating it as a wholesale fee. Perhaps there's a way to structure it with a breakover point where if this turns into a homerun for the flipper i get an additional small percentage on the back end.  I also don't want to get greedy.

Thank you both. A think you're right, Manolo, that "motivated" is a strong word choice here. The "price is right," wording thought was not something they said, I really only meant that it'd be a potential option for a flip and partnership if i can get it at the price that works, because I don't know what they're really expecting or how motivated truly motivated he is. The problem is, though, that i fall short on the negotiation experience on buying the off-market deal to to go in and say "yeah, the ARV is X, we're looking at Y in repairs if i'm lucky, a realtor will charge you 6% and you'll be stuck here until they sell it, etc." to work that best price whereas an experienced flipper might be able to use that experience to edge out a little more profit. So, right, he's not "motivated" in the sense that he's going to be facing foreclosure, bankruptcy, or defaulting on a business loan that provides his livelihood to my knowledge. Only that he just wants to wipe his hands of the place with as little fuss as possible and move to a low maintenance, age-appropriate living arrangement.

Can you find out who their divorce attorneys are through public court filing systems (i'm not sure if NC has public access to court records, but ask your attorney to look into it for you if you have one)?  The attorney likely can't tell you if they actually represent the client outright, but if you reach out or have your attorney reach out to either or both of this couple's divorce attorneys and mention you might be able to propose a solution to their marital debt on the mortgage (assuming the mortgage is held by both husband and wife), you might be able to work out some sort of deal whereby you bring the loan current and assume the note - if permitted under the terms - until you're able to secure financing to pay off the entire balance (refi, investor/partner, etc.).

Their attorney might also be able to offer creative suggesting if it means more money in his/her client's pockets to pay the legal fees or help finalize the divorce. 

Do you have collateral you can temporarily loan against to secure the funds necessary to obtain the remaining balance to purchase it outright from the couple and then cash-out refi? 

This is probably not much help, but a few quick thoughts after skimming the question - which hopefully i understood correctly.  

Alright experienced flippers that are kind enough to partner with newbies - how much information do you want from a potential newbie partner when they're pitching a lead on an off-market deal from a motivated sller, i.e. - how much diligence should they have done before approaching you; what numbers should they have, if any; should they have started negotiations with the seller; what information/stage of the deal do you expect them to be in when they pick up the phone or sit down to e-mail you before you'll start partnering. 

The good news is - i have a potential lead on a motivated seller The bad news is that my personal capital is tied up on another flip that was an MLS deal for another 6-8 weeks. So i don't have (1) access to my own cash or (2) the experience on negotiating an off-market deal with a homeowner.

Following the solid @brandonturner advice, i tell people i have rental properties and am always looking for more.  A work acquaintance contacted me and said that their dad owns his house outright, he really wants out of it, that it needs a lot of work, he doesn't want to do the work to get it ready to sell, and is willing to sell it for below market.  Her dad knows that I might be able to get him cash in a few weeks if the price is right and he is "very excited" about the prospect. 

Is this enough info to call a local, very experienced and well-funded flipper and offer a partnership on the deal if it can work, or do i need to make sure it can work first and provide numbers, photos, comp data, repair estimates, etc.?  I am not an expert in this specific neighborhood, true comps are tough to come by, and I'm still very green as far as estimating repair costs.  

So: is this enough to start the ball rolling on a partnership or do i need to do more before i reach out?  If so, what else should i do?

Being local in St. Louis and working with a contractor now, I can confirm what @AndrewRobbins said, we had a really hard time getting quality contractors to show up to give bids and when they did show up to actually follow through.  I've heard repeatedly that the good contractors are being tied up by their bread-and-butter clients, which makes it tough for low volume folks.  As soon as i find someone that turns around with some good results in a timely matter, I'll let everyone know.

Kory, I was one of the two other Corey's that met you over at that bombed-out shell of a place on arsenal - at least I assume it was you, I'm not sure how many other Corey/Korys there could be in the real estate game. Let me know if either of you guys want to grab lunch or a drink sometime.

Congrats! Always great to see others from STL here making things happen. Great looking place and I think it's awesome you've thoroughly thought through and written out your goals, I bet you reach them well in advance of your target dates. . Congrats again and good luck!

Ive had walkthroughs with about a dozen contractors for a south City duplex rehab and will be choosing one this week. I'll have to circle back around in about 5 weeks and give some feedback. It's been surprising how many contractors come look at a property, spend time there discussing it, taking pictures, measurements, etc. and then you ever hear from them.