All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Hotz

I always paint or white wash depending on the color.  White, grey, it's all in style and makes a huge difference for cheap cost.

@Vince Lucas I have a lender that will lend in Cuyahoga county at 75% of purchase price, if that helps. I don't think theres much season required.

If its outside Cuyahoga then I have a lender that will lend 75% based on appraisal and only 1 month season.  

@Ed Perez 4k rent in Cleveland is a tough sell from my opinion, that price point people have options and most likely would mean short term rental with high turn over and expensive upkeep.  Go for the cash, if you can make 100k on it do it.

(I am from CLE, lived there a long time and an active investor in the area, so can speak for CLE market.) 

Hi Scott,

I'd think Good, Bad and Ugly would be different for ever Franchisee and entirely based on their business model, so not entirely sure I can specifically address.  The bad for all of us is obviously franchise costs!  Of course no one wants to pay Franchisee fees, but if you come up with a better way let me know and I'll do that!  

Sounds like your concerned about performance within in the appointments and ability to buy at levels most of us do, is that correct?  You think all 800 some franchisees are salesmen?  Reality is with a little knowledge and structure your not actually selling anything, I don't think for a moment that I'm a salesman.  We have a quote that sales is a "broadway play put on by a psychiatrist" and your 3/4 of the way there if you have trust and confidence with the seller.  It's about getting free flow of information to figure out if we are going to be an opportunity for them or not. If the seller has no pain, or motivation to sell at a discount, it's not the right option for them and nothing you say or so will get them down to a price that will make sense for you.

The fact that your an honest person and people can perseve that is perfect, that's the main point! I've been highly impressed with the values and culture HomeVestors has established. There's a lot of shady investors out there, and you don't have to play games with the seller, just facilitate the model HomeVestors has in place and you can buy at 65% of ARV minutes the cost to repair over and over again. Youve seen that first hand with the properties you've bought from HomeVestors franchisees in your market. And how much did they make at closing when you bought from them!?!

There's another aspect within your scenario that I think should be mentioned.  In RE investment you can increase your profit in one of 2 ways, buy deeper and reduce the cost of rehabs.  With your knowledge and background maybe you don't need to buy as deep as others?  Just a thought as I'm not much a fan of rehabs and certainly not as efficient as I need to be, so I must buy super deep.

Happy to chat on a call a little if you need.  Don't know if I helped any, but it's not about getting you to join HomeVestors more than getting you the appropriate information for you to make that decision.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Victoria L. There are scenarios where pulling HELOC is appropriate in RE investment, but I'd really recommend against it for your first buy and hold. I think a lot of investors often get caught up in the hype and excitement of this industry and lose focus of the fact that this is a highly speculative industry, and nothing is a guaranteed I would consider what would happen in the event you have an issue with you tenant, or the market shifts. Do you have enough capital to manage through the down side? Can you pay your mortgage as well as the HELOC and the mortgage on the rental?

Wanna let @Patti Robertson respond, but interject my 2 cents about the "bigger company assumes bigger money"....it's exactly the opposite from my experience, bigger company assumes lower price.

Talk to everyone you can! I'm always available. First figure out how you plan to invest, what access to $$ do you have and establish a business model. There's so many different angles in this business (single family, multi, notes, but and hold, flips, rent to own, etc). Find something that interest you and focus on developing the skills within that category.

@Paul Fagot we're the largest homebuyer in the county, checkout the website.  I'm not suggesting you use "We Buy Ugly Houses" as its copyrighted branding, I was simply saying that many have wrapped vehicles and they aren't nearly as successful as spending on other ad options.

@Paul Fagot There are many franchisees within HomeVestors, the "We Buy Ugly Houses" guys, with wrapped vehicles and I've generally heard they aren't getting many calls come off them; especially the motivated seller calls we are looking for.  Probably best spent on other ad methods that are more fruitful.  My 2 cents really...

Judy M Ritsema Again I'd say cut your losses and move on. You argue that you don't have to have a license to sell antiques online, or a car, but there aren't government regulations within that industry, or lobbyists. Why is it ok for you to find a seller and a buyer and make money in the middle without having to go through the requirements of a license? This is what you will have to argue, and in any state they all see it the same; Facilitating a sales transaction between two parties. Sometimes in this industry you simply have to cut your losses, turn the other direction and walk away.

Biggest key to investing, you make the money on the buy! No amount of rehab will make your deal profitable if you don't buy at the numbers Im with HomeVestors, the "We Buy Ugly Houses" guys and the largest homebuyer in the country. I've seen multiple times investors come in and buy homes that I have passed on higher than my numbers, only to see failure in the end. Your numbers are the numbers, the time to "jump" into real estate is when an opportunity presents itself at a price that makes sense to you. That could be tomorrow or 3 years from now. I often go months without purchase with major advertising budget. It's difficult when you need that buy to put food on that table to pass on something that might work out, but you have to control your head trash and buy at the numbers. The homes that have been most difficult for me to turn have been those I convinced myself I could make work, either buy speculating on a higher ARV, or adjusting the repairs. Don't know what I can do to help, but always up to talk RE investment.