All Forum Posts by: Erwin Groenendijk

@Jim Scholten, pleasure!

Look, there are a lot of people out there that are dying to tell you how you should do it/begin. Like you are saying, begin somewhere with people that you trust or mean well. Don't think about the money yet, that will come if you develop your own strategy and give yourself time. You can also attend the Dutch investor Meetup events, for which in one of them @Geert Schuring is organizing them. I was a speaker on one of the last ones and you will meet a lot of interesting, honest people.

Hi @Jim Scholten, in general not all is possible, but a lot of topics are. The most important thing is first getting to know the individuals in these specific topics, or taking on a couple of 'normal' deals in the Netherlands with the Dutch rules and regulations, before diving deep in the sometimes complex concepts they are discussing here. Everyone can give you advice of where to invest your money in, but it is you who needs to make calculated decisions.

Do you have experience in real estate or have you done projects yourself?

@Johann Eriksen, that is already a good start. @Adrià Creixell and me have several projects now in Valencia and we are considering taking on two more in the upcoming time, so, if you are around Valencia, let us know to meet up. You can have a look at some flips that we are doing there for example.

@Johann Eriksen, have you been doing real estate projects before? It all starts with your experience in general and then applying it to the Spanish market to be able to start BRRRR'ing. The method deals with renovation works, needing to have contacts, and knowing the bank system, to name a few. The 1% is indeed hard in Spain to achieve.

Individuals and companies are representing different possible risks for banks to loan money too. Or, in our situation now, to refinance a property with a mortgage/loan.

It is most likely all about track records based on different characteristics. For companies, for example, the length of owning a company and owning other assets. For individuals, employee contracts, other assets, your history of mortgages/loans. Among other requirements of course.

@Joaquin Camarasa, we did some and still doing some projects in Valencia. Once you are there, please let us know. Would be nice to contact in person and share the ideas further. Are you looking for BRRR'ing as an individual or a company?

Exactly, @Gilbert R.. There are more characteristics though. Have you guys been talking to mortgage brokers? These brokers can do an amazing job of making things with banks possible that for normal individuals are impossible. Getting the best interest rates, doing (re-)taxations, changing the percentage for a down payments that needs to be paid or for the % in refinancing to get back.

We are actually planning our next meet up in Barcelona about refinancing where a mortgage broker is coming to have a talk. Would be nice to have the both of you there, but will also give you a recap how it was.

Hi @Joaquin Camarasa, we are now busy with the topic trying to figure out the way/contacts via which it is possible to do this. The requirements are different for an individual and companies, of course, but there should be a way. The only thing that lacks for us at the moment is finding that way. I am Dutch and living in Barcelona, so once we know more I am happy to share the information with you. Where are you from originally in Spain?

If others already did this research or even put the refinancing in practice already (preferably in Spain), please reach out.

Erwin

Hi @John Goldbranson, sounds familiar the hassle of permits.. The same over here! You can read about it in the latest project description that we did in Valencia. Curious if you are financing these projects yourself and where you are originally coming from. Good luck with your new adventures! 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Valencia.

Purchase price: $70,000
Cash invested: $50,000

Contributors:
Adrià Creixell

A former local butcher shop that is being transformed into a beautiful, spacious, light apartment where the old characteristics are being maintained. The apartment is located close to the popular neighborhood Ruzafa in Valencia (Spain), a hip area with a lot of bars, restaurants, and charming artisan shops. The close proximity to Ruzafa is going to be one of our main KPI's to sell the project for the right price.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The fact that we bought the property as a former local butcher shop meant that we could buy the apartment for a less expensive price then what is asked normally for a project of this size (100 sqm) and in this Ruzafa neighboorhood of Valencia, Spain.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Via a trusted agent of us in Valencia. Listed at 82.000+ we first offered 68.000 after which agreeing on 70.000 in our second offer. Our strength was that we offered all cash and the availability to move immediately. Even though there were other offers, this gave us the advantage of winning this deal.

How did you finance this deal?

We financed this project through our investment community My Blue Bricks. Within My Blue Bricks, we are publishing group investment projects in which our community can take part in. There was a lot of excitement for this project, and within no time we had the amount together. We also always try to invest ourselves +/- 25-50% of the investment amount. This is because we believe in each project we move forward on, and we know that there is sufficient ROI potential to be made participating.

How did you add value to the deal?

Maintaining the old rough characteristics of the apartment, creating a completely renovated modern apartment with light from both sides coming in. An inner lounge patio, a kitchen island, and big crystal slides doors are just some of the highlights of the project.

And we managed to even get a 100 EU for selling the old grinder of the butcher shop second hand! If that is not a deal, what is?

What was the outcome?

We managed to negotiate the buying price for the local commercial shop down to 70.000. Currently, with still having one month to go before finishing the project, we have put 50.000 in for renovations, taxes, commissions, and homestaging services. Especially driven by the homestaging part, we are expecting to finalize the renovation and immediately sell the apartment within the upcoming month in May 2019 for a price of 160.000. This is leaving us with a net profit amount of around 40.000.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Dealing with licensing for being able to officially transform the local butcher shop to a single-family residence.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

One of our local agents in Valencia, Spain. Highly recommendable. Reach out to us if you would like the contact details.