All Forum Posts by: Eva Dees

 Yes,  I have and I'm considering doing so, however I'm not a natural sales person and the commission-only makes me a little nervous. 

Critical thinker, problem solver, certified carpenter, RE investor seeking a position in the world of Real Estate. I do not currently have my Texas RE license but I am 100% willing to acquire this if needed. I am interested in working with established real estate professionals in the Austin area but I am also willing to relocate to San Antonio for the right opportunity. I'm highly interested in value-add deals (off market fix and flip or BRRRR), vacation rentals (do you need a co-host or property manager?), live-in flips (have a multi family? I can live in and renovate one unit at a time), or...? I'm very flexible in what I actually do but here are my most valuable qualities: I can form quick and genuine connections with almost anyone. I am a constant problem solver - if I see an issue, I will identify it and most likely fix it or find someone who can fix it. I am optimistic and see potential in almost any property ie... identifying a property or a rooms highest and best use. I am resourceful - I am constantly finding creative ways to problem solve. I am driven to provide superior customer/client experience no matter what I am doing and have been in the world of customer service for 20 plus years.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $3,000
Cash invested: $25,000
Sale price: $75,000

Purchased at judicial tax sale (my first time purchasing ANY RE). I then lived there for the next 18 months and slowly renovated it while also working 60 hours a week between 2 other jobs. I had gone to school for carpentry the year before so I was able to do a lot of the work myself which saved me tens of thousands of dollars.

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

I was able to pay cash at the tax sale for this property and then live in and fix up as I had the money over the next 18 months.

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

I found this house on a list of houses going up for sale at the judicial tax sale in Blair County, PA.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash for the house. My renovation money came from a combination of a PLOC, credit cards (no interest), and money I was making at my other jobs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Sweat Equity and waited to sell until the market was peaking

What was the outcome?

A $40,000 plus profit

Lessons learned? Challenges?

You can fit 8ft lumber inside a Honda Fit and be able to close the hatch if you lay the front passenger seat down and push the lumber onto the dash. Amish labor is cheaper, faster, and more accurate than non-Amish labor.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $3,000
Cash invested: $25,000
Sale price: $75,000

Purchased at judicial tax sale (my first time purchasing ANY RE) along with another property. I rather quickly sold the other property for a 600% profit without doing any renovations but the that property was too big of a project for me to take on. I focused on rehabbing the one house that had tenants from the previous owner living rent free (FOR 2 YEARS!!!). I paid them $800 to exit the property and clean it (it was absolutely disgusting). I then lived there for the next 18 months and slowly renovated it while also working 60 hours a week between 2 other jobs. It got a new roof, windows, doors, electric panel, new stairs, roof over the back door, new flooring throughout, paint throughout, carpet in attic, drywall in attic, new sink and cabinets in bathroom, brick repair, this list goes on... This was an amazing and profitable first deal for me and although I may never take on a project that big again, it was an amazing learning experience. I avoided A LOT of headaches by listening to 17,000 Bigger Pockets podcast episodes before embarking on this journey. I joke that I have a bachelors degree from the college of Bigger Pockets Podcast. lol

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

I was able to pay cash at the tax sale for this property and then live in and fix up as I had the money over the next 18 months.

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

I found this house on a list of houses going up for sale at the judicial tax sale in Blair County, PA.

How did you finance this deal?

I paid cash for the house. My renovation money came from a combination of a PLOC, credit cards (no interest), and money I was making at my other jobs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Sweat Equity and waited to sell until the market was peaking

What was the outcome?

A $40,000 plus profit

Lessons learned? Challenges?

You can fit 8ft lumber inside a Honda Fit and be able to close the hatch if you lay the front passenger seat down and push the lumber onto the dash. Amish labor is cheaper, faster, and more accurate than non-Amish labor.

@Troy Jaster Awesome! Yes I definitely want to connect. I will respond to your message directly. Thank you!

@Rich Ferradino Thanks for the tip. I will definitely start looking around there!

@Troy Jaster Hi!! Thank you so much for your breakdown of this deal! I am currently living in Pennsylvania but planning a move to Central Texas in the next couple months to be closer to family. I desperately want to do exactly what you did, which is buy a lakefront (or river front) property and Airbnb it when I'm not staying there. I've been looking at Lake Brownwood (a lot of family around there) but I'm not super enthusiastic about investing there as it's kind of...not a popular market.... amongst other reasons. Looked at Lake Travis and all along the Colorado and recently have been looking at Medina. I'd love to connect in the next couple months to find out more about Medina Lake Airbnb's and their current and projected profit potential and to discuss your experience as an agent as I'm interested in getting my real estate license in Texas 😁. Thank you!!

@Rich Ferradino I see no one replied to this post from 4 years ago, but yours was the first that came up when I searched "Medina". I am currently in Pennsylvania but plan on moving to Central Texas in a couple months to be closer to family. I have family all over Texas but mainly near Brownwood Lake and Big Spring. I've been window shopping lake and river properties from Dallas to Big Spring to San Antonio to Austin for a couple months as I would prefer to purchase on or near water even if I have to drive a couple hours to visit family. My mid-long term plan for the property would be to use it as a vacation rental on weekends and then full time once I move on to another property. Did you ever end up buying anything near Medina or any other properties close to water anywhere in Texas and of so, do you have any insight (good RE agents, lenders, etc...)? I see you invest in mobile homes which is also an avenue I am interested in. Thank You!!

@Gary Dawson

Thank you!! We shall start with the Mellow 🍄. And if she doesn't already have that app, she will now!

@Lucas Carl

Thank you! Yes I have been reading some of the threads. I imagine I will spend days reading all of them!

How long do you think is realistic to work up to average occupancy through Airbnb and similar sites if I'm managing and marketing well?

I have long term rentals but have never worked with STR's before.

I want to have a ballpark timeline for my partner on when returns will ramp up and level out.