All Forum Posts by: David Oldenburg

@Tycee Tyler. This is exactly why I am always my own contractor on all my flips. I do use generals at times, but only for really serious stuff and I only pay them for that one job.

I run a big REI group in the Sacramento area and I get this " my contractor took my money and never finished" all the time! I'm sure there are some great contractors, but there are a lot who I do not trust.

Chances are this battle sadly is not worth your time. You may win after a long court battle and he will probably file BK. Either that or he has no money anyway. Get the work done salvage the deal the best you can and move on. Just never let it happen again!

@Justin Goodin I get all my deals from networking. I have been doing it a long time, but you have to start somewhere! The huge advantage to getting your deals from referrals and networking, is the cost... almost FREE! In the beginning it is hard when you don;t know a lot of people, and they also don't know you. However, try to meet a lot of people here on BP's and at local REI meetings and take the time to actually make connections and build these relationships. Network with lots of wholesalers, as they do come across some good deals, even if many of their deals are not that great. It takes time. I spend about 10 hours a week speaking to people and building relationships on the phone, but I spend zero on marketing. Good luck!

@Patrick Gray Yes, a house is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, so the "value" changes everyday.  I can sell any house in any area in any condition in 24 hours.  It is always price!  If you can't sell it, or you are not getting any offers, you are priced too high for the current market and current buyers looking.  Your only options are to either lower the price, make your terms more attractive, or allow for more time to try and find the buyer who will pay a little more.  

It sounds like you have offered some better terms with owner financing, so I can almost guarantee you are just priced too high. I sell most of my flips in less than 7 days. I do this because I price them all under market and get multiple bidders to pay more.  I have sold my last 4 flips a combined $200K over list price, and for more than I could have sold if I had listed at that price.  People love a deal, but once they fall in love, they will pay much more. Good luck!!

@Kylee Johnson  @Wes Blackwell  Wes thank you for the mention.  Yes, if you reach out to me here I will be glad to help and get you going with what you need in this area :-)

Hi, I am the leader of a local REI group with over 2,000 members, and I teach people how to flip and wholesale in live events. I also do a lot of deals on my own and most of these deals come from people who are not experienced flipper or investors. If you are in the greater Sacramento area, including Placer and El Dorado County, and you have a deal or possible deal and you need short-term financing, or a partner, reach out to me. I put together and give advice on 100+ deals a year and have a lot of sources, connections, and money! I am including a pic here of me recently teaching over 50 people how to "wholetail" inside a house I made $60K on in 2 weeks.

@Willie Taylor  I have a friend in the Sacramento area who looks for properties with code enforcement violations and he has made some pretty good money.   This is public information if you can search public records, but I bet you can find a title company who can help you search for this kind of violation on a home.  I'm guessing looking for condemned properties would be similar.  

@Teren Cooley First, congrats on buying a property for a really good price! It sounds like you may not be real clear on the ARV (after repaired value), as you mentioned the assessor value and that is almost never accurate. I'm guessing you also had other reason to believe this was a good deal, similar sales etc...

I do a lot of wholesaling and fast flipping (wholetailing).  The key is always price.  I can make money on any deal in any condition, if I get it for the right price.  If you did get it for the right price, it will practically sell itself to flippers and other investors.  Bigger Pockets is a great resource and so is Facebook if you run inexpensive ads in the local area for the home and pitch it as a great under-market investment.

I also recommend calling a number of Realtors in the area and tell them that you have a great investment off-market.  The more successful realtors almost always have people they know who buy and flip.  They may want a commission but that is negotiable, and a small commission is well worth it to find a buyer quickly and make a profit.  

@Jacob Roland Yes, the VA has rules against buying a property to rent it. I think in the past you had to live there for at least 12 months, unless there was a life event that you could document that changed your plans. However, buying a home with zero down payment is a great opportunity and VA has decent rates etc... Be careful as many homes are not good rentals. Do your homework in advance and make sure you will be able to rent it for enough to make sense with your actual PITI payment, possible repairs, and other expenses.

@Frank Jennings  This type of thing happens a lot  in the real estate investing world, whether you are on the residential or commercial side.  If you put a requirement in a contract and someone fails to meet the terms, or the situation fails to meet your terms, you can back out.  Here in California it is called a Notice To Perform. and the default in some contracts is 48 hours.  Meaning the other side is given 48 hours to resolve the issue, and or make good on the terms of the contract.  

I'm sure you don't actually want to back out but you probably do want a credit or incentive of some kind.  I frequently issue a Notice To Perform when it makes sense and a specific date has expired without something having happened.  This can light a fire on the other side, as they probably don't want to lose the deal either.  You could just continue forward and say nothing, if you believe you can take care of the problem on your own.  

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Merced.

Purchase price: $170,000
Cash invested: $6,000
Sale price: $350,000

$160,000 profit after all expenses in just 2 weeks! This was a great wholetail fast flip. I put in a small amount of work and owned the property from beginning to end for just 2 weeks. I was able to negotiate the seller down $55K from what he wanted and then I was able to push multiple buyers to $51K over list price when it sold. These factors contributed largely to the large profit. This home was 3 hours away from me each way but ended up being worth it!

How did you finance this deal?

Paid Cash