All Forum Posts by: Dan White

Has anyone ever bought a property off Craigslist to flip?

We are looking right now, and there are some great deals. However, no one is answering their phone, and we have noticed that we are calling the same 5 numbers for about 20 different properties

Most of the phone numbers do not belong to anyone. But we did find one of the numbers was attached to an actual person. We then looked at property tax records, and the owners name did not match up with the owner of the phone number listed. Also the details of the bed count and sq ft were incorrect

Seems to be all scams, but I have never done this before, and hoping someone on here knows how to navigate Craigslist more successfully than I do!

Thanks 

Im looking to scale my business next year and bring on help.  I have brought all of my deals through this year by way of wholesaler and other relationships I have built.  This is still a core part of my strategy but need more so I can scale.  I am budgeting $2,000 a month and looking into PPC or postcards.  What do you all see?  Also, what PPC company would you recommend that really knows our industry?

Thanks for the suggestions @Dan White! You're right, it's more about wanting to feel confident that I'm getting a fair price and that I'm not just being charged a 500% markup on materials. I've had that happen for small repairs for other items, so it gives me chills thinking that could be happening on a much larger scale. 

Are you suggesting that it's more reasonable to ask for a total (which includes materials, labor, profit) for each "phase" of the project ? i.e. X amount for tearoff and re-decking, x amount for chimney, x amount for shingle replacement.

Short answer is no, your not going to get a line items detailed break out on a quote/Estimate.  You may only see that if your dealing with an insurance claim, and then the totals will be high, which is probably what pricing the 2 companies you mentioned are using!  (ins #'s to get their final price)  The Est's you shared, ARE High!!!  And surprising you are correct on your own assumptions... $20 on the high end. :)  That is, if it is truly 1sty, Non-Steep, 25sq, Total ReDeck.

Dan had a good suggestion (but reading his comments, I see why he doesn't do roofing anymore (lol)), to ask a local Supplier for a reference.  But, if you want to cya (cover your a*s), and require them to have insurance, long warranty (5yrs), etc... you won't get a "crew" but perhaps a good owner/operator.  "Crews" don't have their own insurance, generally.  And again, no line items so they won't be quoting you price per/sheet of plywood or osb, because it is ALL being installed!  (cedar shake shingles being removed, solid decking being installed) = a ReDeck job.   IF it already had decking, then you'd see a breakout of: $xxx per/sheet of decking replaced.

@JD Martin :  Kind of curious, WHY would you use 4 different contractors for roofs?  Did each one close shop, or you were looking for the cheapest person each time? ... If your an Investor, your the type that "we" usually try to avoid for sure! lol  Nothing personal, but the Investors that we work with, know that WE are trustworthy, do a GREAT job, and we are very fair on pricing.  So why wouldn't they use us on other jobs!? :D

Suggestion: On a total ReDeck, spend the little extra and get the OSB boards with the Radiant Barrier on the back of them! (like aluminum foil)  When newly built or situations like this, is the only time you get to do this!  And here in the South, we build or always think about ways to reduce or alleviate the Heat!  Maybe you don't have to worry about that so much up north.

AND, when they strip off the cedar, you'll have the lathe boards up there (1x3's or 1x4 boards), most time the crews want to just move the few in place to catch the edge of the new decking, BUT go ahead and tell them remove all the extra ones!  So you'll leave the ones up there that need to be on the edges of the decking, about every 4ft, coming down the roof.  Do this Especially if your going to use the Radiant Barrier decking, as any surface of that stuff that is pressed up against something, I.e. the support lathe boards, is negated! (if pressed up against something, the R.Barrier doesn't hardly work)

Sorry I/we aren't closer to help.  For sure, don't call anyone that you might hear on the Radio, see on TV, etc... There's a reason they have the money to spend on those expensive ad slots! :P  Message me directly if you have specific questions or that.

Jerry  w/J's Roofing  Richardson, TX

Moisture in crawlspace - although I would check it out to see exact cause, I would not worry about it unless it is excessive. Every raised foundation house has some moisture under it.

The floor joist could be easy - you may need an engineer - but without seeing it, I would just sister a couple of other boards (same dimensions) on either side of the break/split, glue and through-bolt. You need to overspan the break by ~5 ft each side.

Generally speaking I would never let these issues deter me from buying this house....

 Dan, 

Thank you for that! It seems the people I run into and have thoughts like the one I shared tend to not be flippers nor wholesalers. 

So through PPC and direct mail, you are able to generate enough leads to fill your pipeline? Do you have a website that brings those PPC ads?

Understand it will be different for my market but I am interested to learn what successful flippers are doing to generate enough pipeline. 

I think for the time being we are okay with the direction we are going, MLS, Wholesalers, etc. but know when we start ramping more that will be an area I have to focus more time, effort and money on.