All Forum Posts by: Don Gouge

An experienced  carpenter should be able to handle this.

Vacancies do look a bit low but If you are confident in being able to raise the rent then it isnt a factor. It isnt a homerun deal but it's a solid single.

@BruceWood,since I have been a licensed GC for over 25 years I very well understand the concept of overhead. Doing quality work with responsible employees that are well paid isnt cheap. Workman's comp,GL, health insurance and benefits can quickly add up. Then add in licensing, equipment, supervision, advertising, vehicles and a modest profit and the sum is large 

  The op said the job took him 6 hours. We don't know dump fees but let's get wild and say $1000. So if you bill $2500 for the job than that means you are billing out $250 an hour for unskilled manual labor. Do you bill out $750 an hour for master carpenters?

@Kristi Tietz Go to the top of this page and search "Detroit Real Estate Forum" 

Find a local real estate group and join. Someone there will know a legit lender or even be one.

Your best source for mentorship is a local, in person mentor. The best way to find this mentor is thru a local real estate group. Either a mentor will be in this group or can recommend one they have personal knowledge of. 

  in my area I have successfully offered myself as a mentor/consultant and it has been a great experience both ways. You need someone that can evaluate the deal, evaluate the property and what improvements need to be made and can help with estimating costs and getting contractors as well as walking you thru the steps all the way to closing.

  With my business, I can either offer my services for a percentage of the profit or as a fixed fee depending upon how much hand holding is needed. A good education is expensive no matter if you learn by trial and error, books and seminars, or thru mentorship. Seminars and books offer the lure of being easy. All you do is give them your credit card number and they will make you rich. Some seminars are good and there are some good books and they may be very well worth what you pay but some are just a gateway to suck more money out of you. 

  Bottom line find a local real estate group. You can often find them on Facebook or on meetup. Join their online groups and attend their meetings. You will eventually find a true mentor.

Lady calls wanting to sell her house quickly since she is going thru divorce. Get to house in a nice neighborhood which needs a little work but not much. Lady answers door and soon to be ex hubby is there. Both seem to be mild mannered average people. I look around and lady points out some features of house. Points toward a door and says there is there are the stairs to basement. "There is a storage space and a rec room down there". I head down the steps expecting to see a pool table or bar or a big screen. I open a door and turn  the light on and attacked by black carpet and red walls! I adjust my vision and look around and find hooks and chains on the wall and hooks on the ceiling along with one occupied by a swing. (Not the little tykes type) and other various pieces of "furniture". When I get back upstairs I am super careful to not mention "submitting" an offer.

Its sounds to me like you need a mentor or a consultant.  You  need a person that can evaluate the purchase price and the rental numbers and costs as well as the renovation costs. You need someone to walk thru the property and give you an assessment of what needs to be done. Unfortunately this usually involves three or more people unless you can get help from an experienced investor who understands rehabs.

  I offer this type of consulting service but unfortunately I am not in your area. This is something that cannot be successfully done only virtually.  Perhaps you can find a mentor in a local real estate group. Fees for this type of service are all over the board but usually well worth it to gain access to many years of knowledge and experience and to help build your own knowledge  base. 

Let me simplify this for you. This rule is simple and applies to all business. Buy from those that want to sell and sell to those that want to buy. 

So we have a broker dispensing a legal opinion? Is the broker also an attorney? Call an attorney and get a legal opinion.