All Forum Posts by: Don Hines

All great reasons I am not a landlord. But, I get a few whackos during open houses I am selling.....

1. I know you said For Sale by Owner. How Much is the lease?
2. So you accept housing?
3. I will pay you the deposite when I get my unearned check.
4. I got a deposite and 3 months rent. Do you check references?

I have the same answer for all of them too. Except it is, "do you really think I will spend $20k to $30k just so you can move in here and tear the place up?"

I don't have as much cooth as the rest of you.
Don

David
I am living exactly everything you have stated. My last flip took over 20 offers. But, I have three offers out right now to owners that I found by driving around and looking.
Also, you might want to focus on the houses that will not FHA finance. These will be on the market for a while. I like the ones that are torn up so badly, the owner occupant competition will not consider them. Mold, mildew, bad foundations ETC can be your freind.
Don

I sold my last flip for $10k more than it appraised for (three times!!). That would mess up a pending comp in the $120k to $130k range.
I do consider what the agents have homes listed for when current comps are hard to come by.
Don

I am learning from bloody knuckles. I know what my last rehab cost. So, I am applying numbers from it to my next project. I am getting estimates from a contractor on exterior work even before I make my offer. Don't listen to Gurus when they tell you to use 10% for a rehab estimate contingency. I haven't completely covered my hiney yet using 20%.
Don

Get in touch with J Scott either through a PM or 123flip.com.

I am vaugly (SP) familiar. They educate the buyer's to be responsable, then seek down payment assistance. I don't think they are tied to any Gubmint agency.
I just closed on and ADDI assisted purchase last week. I thought assistance was dead and gone.
Good Luck
Don

I carry a Sig Sauer SS 380. It is really a little too small for my hand. And the action has actually cut my hand going back and forth.
Don

Spoken like a true Texan!! Don't pullit unless you intend to use it.
Don

We eliminated them in our office with a nightly regiment of Dawn detergent down the drain for a couple of nights. I am not sure what it does to them. But, it got rid of them. Let it sit in the trap over night undisturbed. This tennant might be a PITA. But, he is your PITA right now. And this is a legitamate complaint. Those bugs are annoying.

Good luck getting this tennant to agree to that.

Don

Could you live with owning a duplex and renting the other side out? Sounds like it could be the best of both worlds.
Don

Keith, it was really simple and stupid stuff that I really should have taken care before hand.
I mean by "offending my eye" items such as a rusty valley in the roof, rusty vent caps ETC. A can of paint and a trip on the roof made an extreme difference. Took about 15 minuets. TV cables and wires to the security system were tackey and needed to be tied up and secured in the crawl space. I should have triple checked before the inspection; he found a dead squirrel in the attic.
I spent so much time inside the house making sure everything was perfect that I didn't tend to these basic details. There was nothing mechanically wrong with the house. But, I should have remedied the "Home Made" apperances to these items mentioned.
I learned the term "Offends My Eye" from a dear freind I made in Houston while I was racing sports cars. He drove my car one time and came in from a practice session complaining about a tie wrap that should have been trimmed that he could see out of the corner of his eye. That really P'd me off in the heat of that moment. But, he taught me so much about business after that day.
RIP JT. I miss you.
Don