All Forum Posts by: Jacqueline Mann

Hi, Jay! I would love to get a referral to a contractor. I need one ASAP in order to get funding for a new property I'm trying to buy. The lender wants me to provider a name and license number for a GC, but I don't have one. Thanks for offering to help.

so, how did this turn out? did you inform anyone?

 Brooklyn AU, you sound very bitter against landlords. Your posts make me also want to check for any lawsuits a potential tenant has been involved in, period, regardless of details. Especially when you said "the immediate previous landlord hasn't been sued YET." 

If you're sure you want to be in real estate, I suggest you get any 9-5 job in real estate and begin networking. You'll find out along the way where you want to fit in long-term (investor, lender, property manager, or whatnot).

If you want to be in business, but not sure about real estate, then your ability to make a business money may count more than any degree. So, find a business and make them some money. You'll advance that way.  

Thank you both. OK, back to being patient and looking for the right deal.

Is this a good real estate rehab strategy? 

I am looking for my first rehab. I rehabbed my parents house, but that wasn't to prepare it for resale. It just taught me a lot about rehabbing. My ultimate goal is to rehab and resale to an end buyer, so I'd prefer to do a job that is somewhere between well-done and top-notch. 

However, I am finding properties in my area that require a lot of work - like 40-80K. I can't find any that require just paint and carpet and maybe a roof. The problem is that I don't always have money for all these repairs and the level of rehab required seems like a lot for a newbie. 

So instead, I'm thinking about buying properties and paying for a level of rehab I can afford rather than everything the house needs. For example, I could  do some of the heavy work and make it a light rehab project for the next investor who just wants to add paint and carpet and prepare it to be a rental. Or, I could buy a house that may need serious work and just take it up a notch but not all the way. For example, I can remediate the mold and replace some drywall, then resale for someone else to finish the windows, kitchen, baths, etc. 

Will it work to base my rehab on what I can afford and not what it takes to make the house whole again? 

@Brian Buchanan The purpose of campaigns is to get deals before anyone else and to negotiate directly with the seller to get a win/win price.

@Account ClosedToday I made the decision to start a mail campaign. I'm going to research how to get my mailing list and which company to use, but I definitely have decided to do it and I've set a budget. 

One idea I read about today (in The Rehab Investor's Bible by Esajian) is to partner with a realtor, contractor, real estate attorney, or other real estate professional to split the cost of marketing by including them on the marketing materials. I think the idea is that it may give an unknown investor more credibility. Also, someone may not want an investor right now, but may need a contractor or want to talk to an attorney, so they will be more likely to notice the mailings. 

I'm only sharing this not because I think you should do it, but because the idea of sharing the marketing appealed to me, so I wanted to pass along bright ideas. 

I look forward to hearing about your success. 

These are great questions. I have wondered the same things. Years ago, I found my own 2 rental properties. However, now I want help, but I don't want to run my realtor away. He's very responsive and helpful right now, so I want to keep that going. I hope people keep providing answers and insight in this thread. 

I don't think the student loan crisis will have a devastating effect on the housing market. Fannie Mae is looking at ways to ensure that people saddled with college debt can still buy a house. 

https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loa...

If the student loan situation gets bad enough, I guess the government can resort to garnishing people's checks. 

Hopefully that will scare enough potential future borrowers to not borrow at all. 

Then, colleges can go back to offering an education for reasonable prices like they did before debt became so available.

Then, with affordable higher education costs, maybe we will learn that we don't need student loans after all. 

I agree with Caesar Rosas. If you're experienced, you could just use an attorney to do the paperwork, but if you need eyes on the property or if you're still getting your feet wet in investing, then by all means use an agent. My agent's advice helps make the process smoother for me, and he educates me along the way.