All Forum Posts by: Jon Graham

So I guess I missworded part of my original post and kind of derailed the topic. All I meant was that I could get info on listings I’m looking for from realtor friends.

So I've done a few flips and wholesale deals with varying degrees of success. Getting started as a REI has been a lot of work which I enjoy. The more I get into it the more I realize there different levels of investors that a beginner like me can't even access. The big boys if you will. For instance the wholesale deals that get presented to me are the ones that have been picked over by the heavy hitters before I even get a glance.

I've been putting thought into trying to help myself get a bit of an edge to get off the ground floor. I've done some research online trying to find a way to get full access to MLS without having to go through a realtor. The websites that are out there seem to only offer partial or outdated info. Not that I prob couldn't ask a realtor friend to give me access, but I'd rather have direct access myself.

I’ve been considering getting my realtors license in order to gain access. I thought this might have the added benefit of helping me get more familiar with real estate contracts and procedures. 

I live in NW Indiana, and I believe in Indiana you have to become a ‘broker’ and not just an agent. Which I’m not 100% clear on the differences but there seems to be extra work involved obviously. 

Can someone please tell me if I'm stupid for considering this path? I don't necessarily plan to become a full time realtor, but would getting my license really be a benefit? Once I get the license, do I have to sign onto a real estate company to gain access to the MLS or can I get access operating independently? The main goal for me is to have more tools to be able to find and secure better properties for wholesaling and flipping. You know, until I become one of the major players... All advice welcome.

You cannot use solid hardwood floors over concrete slab.

I would just recommend trying to find a domestically made engineered floor. There's a lot of cheap crap coming over from China. I've seen masking tape pull the finish off after painters were done etc. can't go wrong with Mohawk, Shaw, etc.

Also some engineered floors have a thick enough wear layer that you can sand and refinish them. Just throwing that out there in case that's an option for you. 

An engineered wood floor is going to have very minimal expansion and contraction. That's kind of the point of it. 

I disagree with @Trevor Hodges about a floating floor having a less clicky sound. Yes a good underlayment will help, but a floating floor will always sound more hollow than a nail down or glue down. 

I'm assuming you are going over a concrete slab and that's why you are having to glue it down? And also why you are being recommended engineered. Solid wood expands and contracts to much with moisture changes to be used over concrete. 

The advantages of floating wood floor are going to be ease of installation and lower installation material costs (no glue). WIth a floating floor the installation suddenly becomes a do it yourself project for pretty much anyone with any handyman skills at all. Other than that the products will be identical. Many manufacturers make the same exact floor in a floating design and a glue/nail down design. 

The only thing to be cautious of is the hollow sound and if you are ok with it. I recommend trying to find somewhere that has similar floor installed and walk across it to see if you are ok with it. 

I'm interested in the two polar opposites of opinions I have gotten on here. Some think a 'blank canvas' and the best deal for the buyer is best, some feel like putting some extra finishing touches pays off in the end. 

We have tried to make a few areas of each house 'special' in some way or another, and also tried to do it as cheaply as possible. For instance, the shiplap in the bathroom pictured above is just CDX plywood with a saw cut every 8". In that room we had to replace the drywall anyway so this approach was about a wash in cost. A lot of people who saw the house gave great feedback on this area. 

I guess it's always a risk when you put your own flavor on something, and it's difficult to stay up on trends and have a current look that a majority of people are going to like. 

What about if the inventory of houses available to fix and flip is super low would that affect how you rehab? Since there arent' a lot of houses available, should you squeeze all you can out of the houses you are able to acquire?

I get your point, but up until now we have kind of picked our areas based on the premise we wanted to do higher end flips. My question is more what type of approach is more profitable, rather than what type of approach i personally should choose. Im fortunate enough to live in an area where I have the full range of opportunities high to low.

 Did you see any change on the number of days on market for your flips?

Strikes me as a little odd that they would call out the appliance and not just say 'north kitchen outlets' for instance like the breaker above. It's not an electric stove is it? If it's electric I would say there's no way 20 amps is sufficient for that type of appliance and you need to have an electrician check the gauge wire used and if the breaker amperage can be increased. 

If it's a gas stove that isn't pulling much power my first guess is you have an old breaker that is worn out? That would be the cheapest thing to check first. If not that then you have an appliance problem with the microwave. 

Also is a possibility there are other things on that breaker that aren't labeled. Have you checked if anything else goes dead when the breaker is off?

I am wanting this discussion to be more about the extent of rehab rather than the size of the project, if that makes sense. That is, should I put extra money into bells and whistles to try and get more value out of the house, or just make the minimum repairs required as quick as possible and move to the next.