All Forum Posts by: Dominic Lucarelli

A fellow mail carrier, eh? I've carried in every one of those Mon Valley offices. I've got a few projects in my pipeline if you'd like to partner up.

I'm just about 6 months ahead of you on my real estate adventures. My best advice to you is to analyze a ton of deals to start. Find a property you like. Anything at all. MLS listings, an old apartment you used to live in, even your mom's house, and just run the numbers on them. It'll help train your brain to see the numbers.

I'll even give you some free advice: look in the Monongahela area for properties. Great little town with a thriving Main St and plentiful opportunities for deals. But beware of hidden repairs in those old buildings.

Best of Luck!

Heavy Landscaping. Great guy. Search for them on Facebook and tell them I sent ya

I absolutely love Monongahela! Great little town. Lots of life along that Main Street corridor, and many more properties to rehab there as well! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Ever heard of Rich Dad, Poor Dad? He used his youth working for companies to gain experience firstly, paycheck secondly. What are your weaknesses? Find a course/job/mentor to teach you the things you want to learn.

Lucky for you, you're in construction. Take a business mgmt course. Take a marketing course and learn how to sell yourself and your business. You'll be a force very quickly!

Good luck, and keep us posted

The 203k process is a lot of paperwork, inspecting, and contracting the 203k loan officer. I used one on my current home and had a great experience with it. If you need a contractor, I can get you in touch with mine. He understands the 203k process well.

I've got a similar location I'm spying close to me. Logistically it's in an amazing location along the RT.30 / I-70 corridor. Just need some business partners. It's hard for a rookie to come up with that kind of capital. Hard, but possible...

I read the news about that also. They're currently planning to have 125 licensed growers and an undisclosed number of distributers. So unless you've got a gigantic warehouse to use for production, you've got some work to do

Think of your screening process as a funnel: step one, step two, step 3, down to your final 3 picks.

Go through the BP podcasts. @marcia Maynard has a fantastic interview on her screening process. (BP# 83 I think??)

The first thing I thought of when I saw your intro is: you're buying one half of a duplex? Although it's not a crazy endeavor, my thoughts are: why not buy the whole thing? Assuming all your numbers are laser accurate, buying the whole building and not half would sweeten the deal much more.

Now, onto the numbers:

$20k purchase + $46k rehab = $80k ARV?

Too dangerous for a flip. Just one hidden problem (sewer line replacement, new roof, etc.) will push your rehab budget higher. If you haven't done so, anticipate your first rehab to take longer and cost more than planned (because it will). You've got to strive to keep your costs within 70% ARV and present a property in that area that's the best in show. Which leads to the next point:

Are your finishes at the end going to command the $1100 rent you seek? Are there people renting similar units in your area at that rate? Check your comps. Ideally you should be the best looking property at that price point. If you are, you'll go a long way in keeping happy tenants in place!

Good luck, and keep us updated on your progress!

I've got an offer in on a triplex right now that is severely overpriced due to deferred maintenance. The asking price is almost double what is worth. But the owner isn't accepting anything under her magic number. So everyday it sits on the MLS, the stronger my offer becomes... Be patient. Don't chase. The market (aka YOU) dictate price. A property is only worth what someone is willing to pay. If your offer is the only one received after 1+year, then... :