All Forum Posts by: Daniel Raposo

Ditto to the above responses. One tip I'll give you about Listsource though is that if you call them and "set up an account" which really means just giving them your name and contact info over the phone that you would normally have to give online anyway, you can get a huuuuuuge discount on the list price.

The good news is that you're going through what every Good Landlord goes through when they're getting started. You want to make your tenants happy. However, I think you probably understand at this point from the experienced investors' reactions to your post that there is only so much you can do and it's really more on the tenant than it is on you. You're not going to replace a perfectly good furnace because your tenants are unhappy with their bills, and you have already gone above and beyond by having newer windows, weatherseals, door sweeps, servicing the system, etc. At some point they have to understand that utility bills are tied to tenant use and you as a landlord have little to no control over them. Therefore there really isn't anything you can do to help other than informing prospective tenants honestly before they move in. After that, it's on them. Now you're next challenge as a landlord is breaking that news to them in a way that doesn't get them throwing a tantrum like a 5 year old... Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of Real Estate Investing!!!

There are quite a few terms you can use, just saying you're a wholesaler or sourcing deals or finding deals for other investors, etc. I think more important than the term you use is your comfort level with what you're doing and talking about it with the investors. Typically most investors will want to know how you're sourcing the deals (MLS, mailers, drive by, probate, etc) how you're looking to get paid (assignment of contract, percentage of price, equity position, etc) and things like that. I don't really operate up in your area, but good luck!

I always like to take the first month of the year to look back at my past year and plan for the next one.

In 2014 we bought and sold our first flip for a nice profit, I've discussed this in previous posts so I won't get into it here. 2015 was a pretty good year for my team, in both lessons learned and money earned. We purchased a number of properties, including 3 rehab flip properties, a 15 unit multi-family for holding, and a 2 family for holding. We also did our first direct mail which led to two wholesale/listings and the 2 family property we purchased. While this was a nice step forward, we fell a little short of my goals. We dealt with delays on a few projects and some family health issues. I learned that I need my team to be more flexible, less people dependent, and more system oriented.

We completed our second flip in 4 months this spring/summer which we documented in a video deal diary here Video Deal Diary! We earned a total profit of $108,500 on this deal, representing an 81% Cash on Cash Return (not annualized)

We completed our third flip in 6 months this summer/fall which earned a profit of $54,000 representing a 66% Cash on Cash Return (not annualized)

My goals in 2016 are to grow our team and systems to handle more rehabs, but to do this means finding and buying more rehabs, which means ramping up our marketing and stabilizing our deal flow. I plan to focus my personal attention more immediately on the systems we use to find deals while my team works through our current inventory. We will buy what we can handle and wholesale/list what we can't, all the while systemizing the process and outsourcing where we can. The next step will be to grow our investor base and project team so we can slowly take on more deals. My goal is to be buying 1-2 rehab properties per month by year end, and have the people/systems in place to properly manage them. 

What are your goals for 2016?

I'm not familiar with the Oxford area so can't really speak to value questions, but as for the heating options, I think you should go into the flip planning and budgeting to replace the entire system. Budget for a new furnace, condenser and ductwork for either Natural Gas (check with Eversource to see if its available there) or LP tank (the $20k from @Travis Lloyd is probably a good start). If when you get in there and find out that the furnace is in good shape, you may want to just replace the baseboard and install new air conditioning. Keeping the old heating system and installing a new air handler, condenser and ductwork can be about half the cost of doing everything new while still providing the features (central air) that your buyers will be looking for in a renovated house. 

I believe Michael Noto is an agent/investor in the New London area, as well as Jonathan Makovsky Good luck.

Sorry, quick question. Do you own the house, or rent it? If you own, you should have language as to giving notice to vacate or end the lease in the agreement you signed. If you rent, this would be considered a sublets d can complicate things a bit. While most people on this site will tell you start eviction or give notice, etc immediately you may just want to start with a conversation. Tell her it isn't working out and you would like her to move out. She can stay until then end of when she's paid and if everything is fine when she moves out you'll return the security deposit. Being that it is mid month, giving her until the end of February may smooth the process over for her, but if things are that bad she would probably rather move out too....

Join a group of investors for great breakfast and conversation, this is just a group of people discussing real estate and getting to know each other. The group changes every week with a few consistent people, but we have had a good group of active investors, new investors, wholesalers, rehabbers, flippers, agents, brokers, mortgage lenders, insurance agents, designers, and many others. Everyone eats breakfast, right? So come and eat or have coffee with us and network at the same time!

Meetup Connecticut Fairfield County Norwalk Stamford Bridgeport Darien New Canaan Westport Wilton Weston Easton Redding Ridgefield 

With the new closing procedures financed purchasers are taking a little longer to close, so you may be looking at 45-60 days to close from a signed offer. Unless you get the property back on the market within 30-45 days and have have a short market time, a 4 month timeline would be tight. Either way, look at your lower offer as the potential to get it done quickly and earn extra profit. Always set the expectations lower to protect yourself, and then work hard to beat them.

Where is the property? In New England it is pretty safe to assume most older homes have some lead paint, as it was only banned since 1976. In that case I would say the lead abatement could actually be a selling point, not a negative, especially for tenants with children. I have bought two very old multi family properties in CT and went through the expense of the environmental testing and removal of all materials containing traces of lead and asbestos just for the extra peace of mind and potential up sell when I rent/sell them. In my experience, CT towns requires environmental testing and appropriate remediation to pull renovation permits for 5 or more residential units. Hope this helps. Good luck! Dan