All Forum Posts by: Daniel Oren

I started my real estate career in 2017, and flipped 5 houses from 2017 to February 2020. After selling my last house in February 2020, I took a break from flipping due to the pandemic and wanting to work from home. Now that the pandemic is getting better, I am starting to think about getting back into flipping, and I do expect to get back into it in the next 2 to 3 months (as more people get vaccinated and I feel safer to go out into the real world and interact with people). 

My first 5 houses that I flipped were a learning experience for me. Without a doubt, I was making mistakes, but I've learned from my mistakes, and I do feel that I am ready to run a very efficient flipping business right now. For my 5th house, I was only flipping one house at a time, so I did not need a project manager, but now, when I go back into flipping in the coming months, I will certainly want to hire a full time project manager as I am expecting to be flipping 5-10 houses at once now, and I expect that number to grow. 

My question is - how much should I be paying a full time project manager to manage 5-10 houses (in California, LA County)? I also do not yet have a general contracting license for my company, so I want to hire a salaried project manager that will be able to pass the GC test for my company. 

Any information that anybody would like to share would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

Hello BP, I am finishing up my 5th flip, which is a house in San Pedro, CA. However, my first four flips were in Ohio, so this is my first CA flip. I am interested in the opinions of others who are familiar with San Pedro or at least the surrounding areas.

Simple question really - should I get an A/C unit for the house? It will be listed around 900k. I’ve been working in the house for months now, and I personally am always fine with just keeping the windows open, and I can easily work with no A/C and just windows open. There is also a fan system that goes through the vents and is hooked up to the Nest Thermostat that I’ve already installed for the new furnace.

I personally would never use an A/C in San Pedro (rather open windows than pay for energy costs), and I know that my opinion is biased, so I’d like to know your opinions...should I get the A/C system anyway? Good investment for the flip or bad investment?

TIA.

As I’m about 2-3 weeks away from listing my first flip that I was 100% owner (I did a few others as a 50% owner with my dad), I’m trying to fix my errors and make my business run more efficiently in the future. For my current flip, I’ve done about 40-50% of the work myself, and hired contractors for the other work. I’ve found my contractors on Thumbtack, Home Advisor, Craigslist, or by word of mouth. A few of the contractors were good workers AND a good price, but a lot of them were not a good price simply because there was a middle man such as a general contractor. Thumbtack, for example, appears to be mostly general contractors (although not entirely). And I don’t want general contractors in my life anymore. They don’t deserve my money.

I’m wondering what the best way is to find good cheap subcontractors? Currently I think the best way to find someone good AND cheap is Craigslist, but I still suspect there’s gotta be a better way?!? Where do general contractors find sub contractors? Do they post a help wanted ad on Indeed / Monster or something? Where do sub contractors usually go to find work?

Any help is much appreciated. TIA.

Hi all, What are the best ways (or websites) to find private lenders to finance a flip? What are good rates for receiving loans from private lenders? Thanks, Dan

I'm flipping a house currently (I'm pretty new to the profession), and I just recently found out that the old floor tiles are almost definitely asbestos tiles. I've already put new floors over all the tiles, except in the bedrooms which I'm bringing Lowes in to install carpeting over these asbestos tiles. 

Before I realized they were asbestos tiles, I removed at least 20 of them. I also have the fan blowing in the house all the tiles, so with 20+ tiles being removed, and the fan blowing, I'm assuming I've gotten the asbestos airborne. 

What should I do at this point? Is it okay to enter the house to continue other work if I wear one of those expensive $40 ventilation masks? Most of the work I've done in the house, I've used the ventilation mask for. Now I'm worried and don't want to even go back in the house at all. Am I being too paranoid? Or am I right to not enter the house, even with the ventilation mask? Thanks in advance. 

Dan

Hello, I am new here to BP. This is my first post (I think, maybe 2nd?). Anyway, I have a question: I currently am flipping my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th flips simultaneously. I sold my first in January of this year. I really just have a question about contractors. What are the best ways to find good contractors? I know of Home Advisor, Thumbtack, and Yelp. Are there other good websites for this? Also, I currently have a general contractor that I believe is just working way too slow. I’m considering getting rid of him and finding a new general contractor. How lenient should I be with these guys? Should I be expecting to find a great contractor that can work all 3 houses, 5-7 days a week, and not try to screw me in any way? Or am I just dreaming and I should be more lenient with my expectations? What does everyone think? Also, where do the general contractors get their workers from? Do they just post an ad on Indeed / Monster / craigslist etc? Or a different way? Can I get workers the same way they do? Or I need to be a general contractor? TIA. D