All Forum Posts by: David Holt

Just going through a horrible experience with Zeus so I have to second the sentiment to not use Zeus. 

Late closing, not proactive, horrible communication then extra charges at closing. 

Now late funding four days after closing and they decide the want a new survey.....after the fact......after the current survey was accepted from them in writing prior to closing.....now at my cost when the wholesaler would have provided prior to closing. 

Ridiculous! Very unproffesional 

I've paid insurance and other holding costs for a week and it's still not mine. Late fees and crew costs out the window due to this silly avoidable issue had they been on point and on time. Every day was the close is in the morning, then it will be this afternoon.....for three days standing by ready to get a check and go to the title company! Finally closed but not really since they decided the funding would be held until I pay for a survey that was resolved in writing prior to closing. Only after I contacted them to find out why they funding had not gone through yet. 

Even when they agree to something in writing they will not honor their own agreement. Beware!

go here and request the catalog. 

http://www.cabinetstogo.com/kitchen_cabinets.asp

Imo the prices are good and the quality is better than expected. If you call them or stop by and tell them you're an investor, which translates to them as repeat business, they'll find deals for you that aren't always online. You can pay the same or a few buck less for RTA but you'll burn the savings on shipping and putting them together. Plus RTAs have those telltale clips inside that's a giveaway for cheap cabinets when you open them. 

They have a lot in stock and you can pick them up. The site and catalog download have measuring and pricing info so you can get a pretty accurate estimate of your cost. 

Good luck

Get on several wholesalers radar. I see these daily from wholesalers in my inbox but I'm flipping and not doing multi.  The only issue with wholesalers is, while you may get a great deal from some of them, you'll need to close fast before their contract runs out. Typically va will never be fast to close. I just bought another flip house and closed Friday on a two week close and that was with a delay due to title issues since the son was selling his deceased moms house. With va you'll be lucky to get to the closing table under 30 days and most wholesalers will have an issue with that. You might find an owner financed deal through them though. More on that below. 

First, look into your va closely. When I used mine I tried to do a duplex to rent out the other side and they wouldn't do it. They would do the side that was our primary home but not the other side because it was considered income property, but the va rules may have changed. Hopefully they have, but just check with the va.

Maybe you can find something with owner financing while you improve it then you can refi through va once it meets their criteria. Just be transparent with the owner so he understands he won't be getting interest from you for 20 years and once your va comes through you have an agreed payoff without him hitting you with a jacked up price or tons of extra intrest. If you are improving it from your pocket you could leave the purchase price and agree to pay interest until the va loan comes and then you pay the agreed purchase price. Kind of like how private money works. If he can wait it's a good deal for him and you aren't paying interest and principle while you are trying to fix it up. 

Best of luck and thanks for your service. 

Anthony, you are saying $6.00 per sq ft? $1.50 out and $4.50 in =$6.00 

I'm in Houston and got a quote on a flip house this morning. The job was a flat $4.00 per square ft. I see $3.50 to $4.00 per sq ft lately for driveways. Around $3.00 for patios and walkways.

I don't see realtors as competition. A conventional realtor is just an expense that cuts into the profit so there's really no need to deal with them on most deals. I usually stay away from deals involving conventional realtors. Too many investors, wholesalers and others in the business have a license so why give up the profit? On the current flip I bought Friday I would stand to lose 15k to conventional realtors if I was represented by a normal 6% realtor. Most of us have flat rate realtors or can do it ourselves. We still have to deal with the potential buyers agent but never at more than 2%. I would rather price a property to move quickly than push up the price to cover the conventional realtor expense and have it sit on the market twice as long. 

Just a couple of thoughts. Around Houston foundation issues are common. It's hard to tell a 4k vs 14k repair on a walkthrough though. I viewed a possible deal last week with a 4k discount for foundation repairs but after a getting a quote it was a 10k repair and because the water barrier was broken and the location they would not warranty the repair. In the Clearlake/Seabrook area few companies will do the work and fewer will warranty it due to the flood zone and sandy loam under the foundations. Remember also for flips, a foundation issue on the disclosure without a repair or warranty sends up red flags to your buyers lender and insurance company. It's a big ticket item that can bite you a few ways if you don't consider and budget for it correctly.

The Bagster is good because no dumpster delivery or rental fees. You can use more than one ac the pickup is cheaper Also the Bagster is great to put in a trailer so you can fill it then dump the whole load, bag and all, at the dump. Great for trailers without built up walls. Our dump is free up to four times per month. I have a cable and a 3ft stake I put in the ground then pull the trailer forward and the whole bag slides out quickly and easily. I've seen guys put 5-6 pvc pipe lengths under the bag to roll them off at the dump too. Whatever works right?

Also, anything working and reusable like appliances, ceiling fans, cabinets, sinks, doors, etc can be set aside and once you have it out Habitat for Humanity will send a truck and pick it up for you as long as you have big items and a local store. You can get a donation receipt also. 

Where is the big crash you speak of? It's still a sellers market here. We need a little crash to be able to acquire some properties at less than retail prices. 

I agree Sam and thanks for your post. I'm definetly not saying ALL wholesalers but a few I've dealt with recently certainly fit that description. The lazy and greedy ones are the ones I have an issue with. Some are too lazy to find the deals so they aren't providing me a service when I could find aging mls listings and offer a few grand less and be at 75% ARV before rehab. I had a greedy one that his model is 70% so if he gets one at 50% or 65% he sells a 70% to anyone, not just investors. In the end he is more of an agent than a wholesaler. Same with your 80% deals, even if It is a small profit, its discounted property not a wholesale deal that would attract a flipper. I understand it's what the market bears but I don't see the "investors" paying 80% being around long so maybe maybe the market will level out when people stop paying those prices.

Until then I'll just have to find the deals myself but that is the time consuming part I would gladly pay a wholesaler to do if they could do it without charging market prices.

I've been on here a while but I never post so here it goes. I've done 6 flips in the houston area and luckily found some good deals but it was time consuming. Lately I've been trying to deal with some wholesalers for my next flip but they seem to be closer to retail than wholesale. I see a mls listing for 87k wth 50 days on market and a wholesaler is bringing me this great deal at 85k. Do they think we are stupid? Great, they called and got a contract for 80k then tacked on 5k and its a "smoking hot deal and and it will go fast". I can do that if I want to pay 75% ARV. The thing is this is not an isolated situation but more of a trend I'm seeing from several "wholesalers". I guess it's back to finding my own but I but I would rather spend more time flipping than finding. I don't mind paying some for the service but do the work an find real deals. Also, if you do find that 50% deal don't get greedy and mark it up to 65% and I'll be back 10 times a year. The deals are out there so it's not the market. What I'm seeing lately is not a service I am willing to pay for because with time be being money the time saved becomes too costly. Are there a any decent wholesalers left in Houston?