All Forum Posts by: Dare Lamberson

Hello everyone,

I've worked as a general contractor in Austin, TX for about 10 years doing landscaping to complete gut and remodels. Over the past few years I've done a few flips working as a general contractor for myself. I've recently decided to change gears and get my real estate license and start selling real estate. I passed my exam just before the holidays and I'm very excited to get started.

I'm looking to find a sponsoring broker that would be a good fit. I would love to work with other investors that are interested in flips, rentals, and even commercial properties. I've lived in South Austin my whole life so I'm very familiar with the city and it's growth.

Does anyone have recommendations for brokerages to check out in town?

Thanks,

Dare Lamberson

Hello everyone,

I've worked as a general contractor in Austin, TX for about 10 years doing landscaping to complete gut and remodels. Over the past few years I've done a few flips working as a general contractor for myself. I've recently decided to change gears and get my real estate license and start selling houses. I passed my exam just before the holidays and I'm very excited to get started. 

I'm looking to find a sponsoring broker that would be a good fit. I would love to work with other investors that are interested in flips, rentals, and even commercial properties. I've lived in South Austin my whole life so I'm very familiar with the city and it's growth. 

Does anyone have recommendations for brokerages to check out in town? 

Thanks,

Dare Lamberson

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for property management companies that could possibly help her manage this project?

Thanks Sharon for the contact. I'll give him a call tomorrow. Amy, she doesn't live in the house because she's single and it's a big two story home with a bigger mortgage. It makes more since for her to rent a little apartment and rent it out, or sell it.

Thanks Rick! I totally agree about being aggressive with the insurance company, I just wasn't sure about the strategy to take. I've never had to deal with a property insurance claim so I'm not savvy to what usually is and isn't covered by certain policies. I heard them say that they would cover a sudden leak but not a slow leak that had been neglected. Also, that they would cover "wetness remediation" but not mold. My thought is, if the wetness caused the mold all within a week, how is it not covered? Any suggestions about dealing with the insurance company? What to say or what not to say? Do you think that trying to sell the property as-is to a rehabber/investor is a bad decision? I would think that someone that has done a major renovation like this before would have a better chance of making money on the deal. I just don't want her to put everything on credit and then end up upside down on the house and in debt. I would gladly buy the property from her and renovate it myself but I don't have the finances to do it now. Does anyone have any experience with subject to financing? Is this something that could apply to this situation?

Hello BP, I have a friend that has just been through a divorce and owned a house with her husband. They didn't own the house for very long and didn't have much equity when they split up (about a year ago). She has been in charge of the house and will get all, if any, of the returns. During the last year it was rented it to tenants that put a lot of damage in the house. Upon inspecting the house she found that all the upstairs flooring (carpet) would need to be replaced door to severe pet odor. The tenants replaced the floor in the living room without asking and did a poor job with a cheap vinyl. There are also a good amount of smaller things. There was a deposit but not nearly enough to cover the damages. What would legal action look like to recoup some of the costs? Then to make matters worse, she went on a work trip and when she returned the water heater busted and had a small leak that ended up flooding the pantry and kitchen which ruined the flooring. By the time it was cleaned up (2-3 days) mold had grown on the floor and some areas of the drywall. I'm a contractor and have done a lot of remodeling and have dealt with mold before. Once we started cleaning up the area I noticed that the area under the cabinets also has mold. The cabinets and drywall need to be removed so mold remediation can happen. She has home owners insurance and has filed a claim because the water heater was still under warranty. The claim is still pending. Does anyone have advice on how to navigate the insurance claim to maximize payout? At this point I'm trying to make sure she doesn't get screwed even more from this whole situation. My thoughts are to try and sell it to someone who wants to rehab it. She doesn't have the experience or the capital to do the rehab herself. I worry that even though the rehab could be done with a profit that if things go wrong she could end up in debt after the selling of the house. This property is in north San Antonio and she would like to be done with it in the next month or two. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts about this situation. I'd also like some advice about finding a local investor that would want to buy the property as-is to rehab it for a rental or flip. Thanks in advance for your help!

So, I am a contractor by trade and I do feel comfortable managing a build on the property. I have lived there for 6 years and I'm very familiar with the property. My thought is to get a modular home, and contract a road to be built. There is a septic system already and there is city water and electric already. I would need to add another septic for the RV spots but there are no building restrictions in this area. You just have to register with the county.

It is an interesting idea to prep the land to build and then sell to a builder, I hadn't thought of that.

The property is down 2001 near 21, basically in Neiderwald.

It would be less work and hassle to just sell it and take the cash to put into the next deal but I feel like there is a lot to be gained by improving the property first before refinancing or selling.

Thanks Jim, I know a little about the 1031 exchange but not all the details. I'll have to do some more research there. Do you know what kind of loan would I need to get to use the equity in a piece of land to do improvements to convert it into a SFH?

Hello all!

I have a situation that I haven't been able to find much info about in past forum posts. I bought 15 acres of land in Texas with a mobile home about 6 years ago and I have about $50k left on the note. The mobile home could be rented but is in pretty poor condition and isn't much of an asset. There is also a hookup for an RV and I have a renter in a trailer staying there now. This is property is financed with just a standard loan (not a mortgage) through a local bank. Since I bought it, the land has appreciated greatly and I think I could reasonably get about $250k if I were to sell it now. I also recently bought and rehabbed a SFH in a subdivision in Austin and when all was done I ended up with $130k in principal on a mortgage that appraised at $240k (likely could sell for much higher). I would like to use the equity in either of the properties to get into the next investment. I am open to short term flips but would really like to build a portfolio of rental properties.

I have come up with a couple options but I would like the opinion and advice of the BP community. (1) I could offer the land up for sale and walk away with whatever I could get for it in cash to use on the next deal. One reason I hesitate to do this is that the property will continue to increase in value as this area (east Kyle) is just starting to develop and is expanding quickly. Also there will be a lot of taxes to pay for an outright sale. Alternatively, it would be a relatively quick source of a decent amount of cash. Or (2) I could get a equity loan (or HELOC) to remove the mobile home and replace it with a newer mobile home/modular home/stick built house, build a road to the house (dirt road now), and also put the infrastructure in for 2 RV spots (pads, electric, septic) and convert the property to a SFH (or is it MFH with RV spots?) and refinance into a standard mortgage. This would greatly improve the property's value to no longer be classified as just land (could appraise for $400k+). From that point I could either sell it outright or rent out the house and hold onto it for a while longer. I would likely hold onto it and try and get the note paid down as quick as possible with the cash flow from the property. Theoretically, does this sound like a good plan? Any other suggestions?

Here's the next thing that makes this a puzzle. I am a self employed general contractor with not a lot of provable income. My wife is currently looking for a full time W2 job that should look good to a bank. I figure not much can happen until she's been at her job for a couple months but I would like to explore different options and see what's available in terms of financing. Besides going the traditional route and asking a bank for a loan, is there some other creative way to make this happen by leveraging my existing equity? There is even enough space on the property to have two more independent houses built on the property so there is lots of potential for equity and cash flow growth.

I would love to hear people's suggestions about my situation. Thanks in advance

Thanks for the input @Jason Hirko @Jd Martin and @Austin Pitts

So, as with everything, this raises some more questions. My goal is to have moved into a SFH before next May. I'm trying to figure out my business plan for making this work.

With the BRRRR strategy I can put 20% down in cash and use a private lender for the rest. Make any repairs, then rent it out. When it's rented then I refinance with a conventional loan (using rent income for approval?). Then get a HELOC to use as a down payment for the next house?

I'm looking for a way to maybe move into this first house and make the second house the rental property. My problem is getting refinanced with a conventional loan for the first property. If I move in and do the repairs can I get an appraisal (after about 6 months) to gain that equity? What's the best exit strategy from the PML? The longer I keep the loan through the PML the more interest I'm paying on that. Also, keeping in mind I own another property with ~75k in equity that will be a renter when we move out. Thanks!