All Forum Posts by: Derek Carroll

@Nicholas Standford

I was

Just driving on 690 headed east today between downtown and Fayetteville and saw a big billboard advertising windows. I wasn’t paying attention but the price jumped out to me as relatively inexpensive. Might want to take a drive and see who it was and what the offer was.

I flip houses with my own crews and we get windows from Home Depot, 84 lumber or alside and we are always less than $200 a window for standard sized double hung.

@Nick Dillaha

For many people this is an emotional response. It feels good not to have debt, feels secure, and that’s why many will recommend it. If you look at the math though and you have investment alternatives that will generate more than 3.5% then the decision is simple and always gives the same answer. Invest the cash instead of pay off the debt.

My personal belief Since a vehicle is a depreciating asset, I never want to put any capital into it. Finance it and think of the monthly payment as a rental or business expense. Paying cash just takes capital away from what I could be investing. I like cars and trucks and typically drive a newer high end vehicle, but with almost free money on the interest, I always finance it. I can always find better uses for large chunks of cash than to buy a vehicle that will immediately start decreasing in value. You can make the argument that it would be wise buy an older less expensive car, but you might be $10-15k to get into something reliable and if you have that cash you can always do better by investing it.

@Nate Rohlf

I’m a broker and I only list my own deals. I also get commission when I buy. When I sell the houses that I flip, I almost never sell to someone who doesn’t have a buyers broker, even though it would save me commission. I don’t have time to show houses to every person who wants to call and see them nor do I want to hand hold a buyer through the process (even experiences buyers need an agents help to write the contract, ect).

I know that many brokers who only do listings and don’t represent buyers also feel the same way. Or, the listing broker would be expecting to get both sides of the commission due to the extra work.

That said, many brokers or sellers might negotiate a discount so if I were in your shoes I’d absolutely ask.

@Bryan Mitchell

While I tend to agree that stale offerings get placed on LoopNet, I absolutely love that the general consensus view is to avoid LoopNet. If everyone is avoiding the site or skeptical of

Everything that is being listed, that makes for less competition for the good deals when they do come up.

Pricing is a major component of what makes a deal attractive or not. There are some quality assets placed on LoopNet and costar that don’t sell for a long time, solely due to asking price and a seller holding out to see if they can get top dollar. High asking prices relative to buyers expectations will turn a lot of people away but that isn’t to say that overpaying for a deal can’t be a profitable strategy.

Conversions, redevelopments, or long term holds of core assets in prime locations can often overcome initially “overpaying”. It all depends on investor strategy and risk profile. If most people are looking for a light value add, 3-5 year flip then they will skip over deals that don’t fit their model. The deal might then sell to a 1031 buyer who needs to place capital and intends to hold an asset over the next 10-15 years.

@Jamia Stevens

Don’t put your investing goals on hold, figure out what value you can provide and partner with someone. Figure out how to find a deal and if it’s good, you’ll either get paid a wholesale fee or get to partner with someone.

I’m always looking for deals in my markets and I’ve paid many wholesale fees and also brought the deal finders on as partners. Do That with someone a few times and it would be a great learning experience as well.

No matter what. Start doing something. Momentum builds momentum so sitting around waiting and hoping you can save for a down payment could end up never being a reality.

@Wes Barnes

Also, staging helps. My stager also hires a professional photographer. These two expenses are a must in my opinion. It makes the house warm and welcoming and makes even smaller or older houses look more desirable.

@Nick Mess

Do you NEED one, no.

But as soon as you have one and make use of it the first time you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one.

They really are do it all vehicles now. Mine is a luxury car, client center, kid mover (keeping them far enough apart not to fight), road trip hauler, tow vehicle and real estate work horse (even when I’m having others do the work).

I couldn’t imagine getting by without one anymore.

@Jonathan Trimboli

I switched to a Mac about 10 years ago. Before I switched I thought that there was no way I would ever consider a Mac and that they weren’t real computers. I love the hardware though so I gave it a shot. At this point I would never consider anything different. If you ever really need to run windows you can still do it on your Mac.

 Haha. Yea for sure. Many of my first flips I did the work myself and still enjoy it on my own house occasionally. I think the most fun is buying all the new tools. Let me know if I can help in anyway. Love talking real estate. Congrats on the first deal!

@Lucas W. Emhof

Do either you or your spouse make $200k? Even while married if you make $200k my understanding is that you’ll qualify, though I let my attorneys verify everyone.

The $300k is if for example you and your wife each make $150k.