All Forum Posts by: David Goossens

I've never purchased a 4plex but in my dealings with single family homes, I typically pay around $400 for a home inspection here in California.

I've used the Intermatic k4221C 120v stem and swivel dusk to dawn photo sensor. It's inexpensive on Amazon. Around $10-$15. It uses a 1/2 knockout with a rubber gasket, so it's easy to mount to a junction box. Make sure the junction box is weatherproof and use wire rated for a wet location such as THWN. Good luck!

Sounds interesting. Do you have an attorney that you typically work with? If so, see if she/he can point you in the right direction.  I wonder how much back taxes are owed? Maybe it will end up as a tax foreclosure. Or try and contact the owner to see if they can give you any information on it.

I liked Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller, The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs by J Scott, The One Thing by Gary Keller, The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No an Low Money Down by Brandon Turner, and Rich Dad Poor Dad. Those books should get you started!

If anyone comes across this post, I ended up having my attorney draft a contract that outlined the specifics of the deal, and then used a Quit Claim deed to add my name to the title of the property. The title company will then divide the money in escrow so that both me and the original owner of the property get the agreed upon amounts at closing. I also signed a promissory note with my investor outlining the specifics of the deal and the amount money that I'm borrowing for the rehab. That debt will be settled out of my own pocket after closing.

The moral of the story is to find a competent attorney that understands what you are trying to be do, so that all of the proper documentation can be created and filed. 

Get your concealed carry permit and look for a tuckable Inside the waist band holster like the Galco Sky Ops. It's made for dress clothing and a tucked in dress shirt. Then pray you never have to use your firearm.

Hi BP,

I'm working on my first flip deal and would like some advice on how I should legally structure it. Here is the scenario: A family friend is retiring and moving out of town. He wants to sell his house, but it is outdated and in need of some serious work. He he has no interest in doing the work, or even contracting it out, and was considering taking a loss of the property for a quick sale. Instead, I told him that I would put up the money to fix and update the house in exchange for a portion of the proceeds after the sale. He would get an agreed upon sales price plus 20% of the net profit, while I get the remaining 80%. My question is this: What are some ways I can legally structure this deal, and is it possible to set it up so that I get paid straight out of Escrow? I don't really want to risk the due on sales clause resulting from a subject-to transfer, and getting a hard money loan to buy the house outright seems like a waste if i can instead setup some type of joint venture. 

If I didn't provide enough information, please let me know so I can be more detailed!

Tim, I've thought about doing this as well but I'm not sure it's the best decision. Tyson is right about staying diversified. If flipping doesn't work out, you would still have that great cashflow from your rental if you utilized hard/private money. You could even use the rental income to help cover the hard money payments during the flip if the project takes longer than expected. I think you would have more options that way. I'd say run the numbers and see what works best for you and your goals. 

Get a map of Nor Cal and stick a push pin on your house. Mark out a 150 miles radius from that point. Start looking towards the outer end of that circle. Chances are its within 2 hours of where you live. Start investing in those more affordable markets. Build up a good track record and slowly work your way back to the Bay Area. I live in San Jose and this has been my strategy. Like others have said, there are deals, but you aren't going to find them on the MLS. It will most likely be off market word of mouth type of deals, or the result of direct marketing. I think there is good opportunity in the South Bay for Estate type sales where a trustee is looking to unload a decreased parents SFR quickly so that the estate can be settled. Find the deal and the $$$ will follow. Lots of people in this area with brokerage accounts earning miserable returns.

I'm 25 and I got a Business Management degree. I started college right out of high school, got "good grades" and finished in four years. Problem is, the market is super competitive for college grads and starting salaries are dismal. Luckily I was able to do it without debt, but I have friends with student loan bills ranging from $40k all the way up to $200k. Is that worth it? Maybe. Most of them have no idea how they will pay off their loans and just assume it's going to follow them into retirement. If I could do it all over again, I would skip college completely. After high school I would get my RE license and start working under a broker. I'd Start learning everything I could about RE. Then I'd Find a successful agent to mentor me. Most importantly, I would learn how to find and identify deals, all while saving the majority of the money I would be making. After a few years of learning the business, it would be much easier to start investing. MLS access, a network of RE related people (investors, contractors, inspectors ect.) Then it's a matter of finding a deal, partnering with a lender, and executing the project. I would rather borrow $100k for a fix and flip and have a quantifiable ROI in a reasonable amount of time, instead of an abstract ROI built on the premise of making you a more "rounded individual". Just my two cents. Good luck!