All Forum Posts by: Justin Pierce

Just one point: The neighbors are never going to respond to a letter. If you have any hope of them providing information you'll have to go knock on their doors and do a face to face.

Chris,

This is your very first flip? I've done quite a few in Temple Hills. I'd be interested in knowing the details.

Yeah, the hedge funds are certainly a factor across the board. They're putting a lot of money into the market and it's hard to calculate how this is changing the market dynamics.

Yeah, my understanding is that there are a lot of attorneys that are buying these tax liens because they can charge legal fees.

Welcome to the jungle. The MLS is heavily patrolled these days and not a very good source for deals. You need to be diligent and persistent. Focus in on your market (neighborhoods) and utilized direct mail, area canvasing and internet marketing to get direct to sellers. Don't get too tight on your numbers.

I think a lot of people are getting really tight on their numbers and they're likely to get burned.

What city do you live in?

There are some deals still to be had in Baltimore if you know the areas. You can also still find deals in PG and Ann Arundle Counties but they're just not in the MLS. More labor intensive marketing is required but it's possible.

I like the fundementals in Jacksonville FL. What area of Florida are working.

The MLS is tough right now. There are a lot of people fishing it right now. I've not have much luck with MLS deals for the past couple years. The deals I did get were very tight. It's worth the money to do other types of advertising to find sellers directly.

Builder's risk is the way to go. And you can get a policy as an owner. It is more expensive.

Kelsen,

Be careful, NE D.C. can be extremely hard to comp. If your numbers are correct then I would be interested but here's how I work my numbers.

$565,000 Sales price

- 15% for realtors, tax, insurance, transfer fees, closing costs etc.

- 15% profit

=$395,500

- $25,000 fix up

=$370,500 Purchase Price.

Here's the thing: $25,000 seems very low for fix up.

My estimate:

Full Bathroom - $4,000

Half Bath- $2,500

Kitchen - $12,000

Paint - $3500

Flooring - $3,500

Windows?

Roof?

Basement - $12,000 Does it have a basement?

HVAC $4,500-$6,000

Plumging?

Electrical? a $1,000 for new fixtures, switches and outlet covers is usually a minimum.

It's tough to fix up a home for less than $40-50k.

But, if you're confident in your numbers then I'd be a cash buyer. Feel free to email me. full details.

Justin

The D.C. Area Market is tight. All the low hanging fruit has been snatched up. I'm not getting much of anything from the Open Market/MLS. You pretty much need to get direct to sellers and that takes a lot of work. Be careful out there. A lot of people are paying too much and then trying to cut corners on the renovations. Buyers want to see all your inspection are complete and some of the counties really seem to be cracking down on permits and inspections.

Good luck.