All Forum Posts by: Ian Evatt

You both have solid points. It's somewhere I would be willing to live but the idea of 'making it better and reselling it'  is something I hadn't really considered. Passing the property onto a more qualified house flipping investor after I've made it more solid (it needs that roof yesterday) might be a good idea. Every time I go over there I see more work. All of which is doable and the numbers still work but the time it would take me to get it livable just keeps getting extended and that's no fun. 

The main reason I was looking at it as a live-in flip is because of all of the effort it would take if I wanted to save money by doing the work myself. I don't have the benefit of a house on the property (that's awesome Raven, I'm jealous) so I'm just staying with friends and family. I'm sure we'll all get tired of my being a vagrant before the house is ready. 

I think I'm probably looking at $20,000ish to get it either livable or ready for resell and I'm not entirely sure I'd make my money back on a quick resell. However, I'll have been in there working long enough to know if I actually want to keep hacking away at it. 

I've definitely got some more to think about on this one. I appreciate the great advice!

I was waiting to make my second post based on whether or not my offer was accepted on a complete gut job. I either needed to find some hard money lenders OR learn how best to handle a foreclosure where almost everything needs work. Well, the bank accepted my terrible offer on their terrible house so now I need some help on what I should do next...

The Numbers:

It was listed for 32k and I bid 25k. We wound up at $27,500 and after closing, etc. I should be able to buy the monstrosity for around $29,000 total. The comps in the area are between $110,000 and $130,000 but I plan on a live-in flip where I'll live in it (once livable) for at least a few years and then see where the market is to decide to sell, rent or get a roommate. It needs between $35,000 and $60,000 of work depending on many factors. That wide range is because certain things are in such bad shape (leaky roof) it's not clear how bad the damage is throughout until I can get some estimates. Chattanooga, TN isn't an expensive town so I'm hoping a number of the things I budgeted for will be cheaper than I expect but it could go the other way too.

The Problems:

All of it. The house needs a new roof, new/replaced electrical, new HVAC, new kitchen, new flooring throughout and so much more! I can do all interior work myself excluding anything that must be permitted (this ain't my first rodeo) but this is an overwhelming amount of work that I need to prioritize what comes first and what work is best contracted out. It still has good bones or I wouldn't have bid on it at all. I also wouldn't have minded not getting the house :P but the math checks out so it's not a bad deal. Just a TON of work.

Solutions?

In the case of the live-in flip where I'm not in a huge hurry to finish the house, what should come first? I'm paying cash so there's no carrying costs and minimal utilities/insurance/taxes ($250 or less). The roof is a must since its leaking in several places but after that it's kind of up in the air. What can/should I do and in what order? What things should I let a contractor manage? What kinds of things would you guys do to efficiently get this thing "live-able"?

I guess my priority is to save money so advice like 'HVAC work is cheaper in the fall' (I have no idea if this is true) might be something useful to know. Or 'don't do any plumbing yourself or the inspector will eat you' would also be nice to know. 

What do you guys think?

Thanks everybody! I already made some headway on finding a portfolio lenders to talk to over the next few days. I would have had no idea that was even a thing without this crew so I'm already moving along. Offered 25k (listed at 30k, comps around 110 if it was fixed up) on a gut job yesterday but when that likely gets rejected I'll reach out for some more specific help. If it doesn't get rejected... SEND HELP :P

I didn't make the meetup tonight but I'll plan for the next one!

Thanks for the invite @Jeffrey Holst I might not be able to make it tonight but I'll definitely try

Hi all, 

I've been lurking for a couple months and thought I would reach out for some advice about a good deal on a mess of a house. I went to post my question and got a suggestion to introduce myself first so here goes...

I bought a fixer upper in a college town about 9 years ago and just recently made about three fold what I put into it. It was a mixture sweat equity, buy and hold and sheer luck that Nashville got so expensive my small town picked up the slack for "not outrageously overpriced" homes. It was a success story but a very long one. Buying a house at 23, renting the rooms while I lived there (minor cashflow but paid the mortgage!) and doing a lot of the work myself are all things I see you guys recommending now that I've joined BP.

Now here's the mistake (maybe?)... I bounced back and forth between finishing a degree and working at start-ups that all failed. So I have a sketchy work history and currently no job at all since I thought I was gonna be rich! The banks don't like my lack of work history so it's time to be cheap, creative or both!

So, I'm here to navigate my way through starting over and getting another property. It'll be another live-in flip most likely and if I can rent some rooms and turn it into a fully rentable and leveragable property to make another deal. 

Hi Bigger Pockets folks! Looking forward to diving in!

-Ian