All Forum Posts by: James Allen

Hi BP Community,

I wanted to see if anyone has recommendations on great online video courses or any books related to starting a new business. I'm looking to expand on what I've done so far in real estate and grow it into a serious real estate business. Hoping to gain a strong business foundation, learn the basics, nuts & Bolts of starting a business, etc. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated! 

I would be interested to hear about other investors thoughts on this as well.

@Aaron McGinnis - Agent, county assessors site, people who have worked with him. 

@Aaron McGinnis - I hear you but I guess huge track record comes down to our own personal definitions. Maybe "huge" was the wrong term but definitely a solid track record to base trust on. About 15-20 of these flips. 

Here is an example of what I'm talking about. The house on the left (269k) is one they did. The other two were both rehabbed and sold either the same day or before the 269k house sold. 269k is 1500 sq ft. 185k is 1502 sq ft and 164k is 1392 sq ft. and within .1 acre back yard. Yr built the same other than the one on the bottom. I know you could pick aside little differences in these comps but nothing that would warrant this big of a discrepancy and keep in mind this is just one example to give you an example of what I'm talking about. Once again, I wouldn't have even considered them if they had no track record but they keep killing and killing it but of course at a cost.  

In conclusion the other rehabs hover around 118-123/sq ft. This custom house is just under $180/sq ft. 

@Brian Pulaski - I hear you and normally I would be very suspicious as well. It's not just finishes but the design and layout concepts are unique and unlike the other high end rehabs in the area. They have a huge track record of setting records in this area. It's hard to really determine the ARV off of comps because they set their own ARVs essentially (Yes totally different to everything I'm used to) but they sell very fast within a couple weeks normally and often times before they even hit the market because of their brand being recognizable to people now. People are willing to pay a premium because of their unique designs and custom feel the houses have. I've seen them do it with many properties selling 70-100k above what the normal ARV would be because it's so unique and premium.

@Ryan Johnston - for painting the exterior, it is partially brick with some vinyl siding which we will be replacing. New type of siding has yet to be determined. Currently brick is in as is red color and vinyl siding is white. We haven't discussed any specific color schemes yet. 

Hey BP Community,

First time flipper and I need your help! I have a house under contract I'm planning to flip and I'm about to close on. I bought the house (about 1500 sq ft) for 80k in the 30032 zip code of Decatur with an ARV of 185k. There are some very high end custom renovations going on in this area along with the more cookie cutter ones that still sell for good prices. I had a few bids given to me by GC's and one of them while being much higher also produces much higher ARVs.

The first two bid out the property inbetween 55-65k. The third bid the house at $124.5k but with an ARV of $280-290k.

This is the one I’m interested in working with. However, I’m out of state and don’t want to be taken advantage of by the GC as far as price. I received his bid with sectional break downs and it feels like he’s taking a lot off the top for himself. I understand he’s doing a lot of custom work and he is essentially a designer as well in the sense that I don’t have to be hands on at all and just let him do his thing creatively. (I don’t need to provide finishes, exact brands and such) Essentially he’s an artist and has an amazing track record of doing these flips and selling for crazy prices.

I don’t want to begin the relationship with him knowing I am willing to pay prices like a retail home buyer. I also don’t want to be offensive when dealing with him because he has a strong history of great work and shattering records in different subdivisions. Below is a breakdown of the quotes he gave me. I know you can’t see the house I’m referring to but given the area I’m talking about but do any of these quotes seem outlandish? One that stuck out to me was the exterior paint being over $4800. How would you go about negotiating with a GC on this?

@Account Closed - thanks, that was very helpful information! 

@Perry Farella - Seller financing is equally for the benefit of the seller as it is for me. I will end up having to pay more going through a 3rd party for the house in addition to the seller making less money on the deal. I have cash to pay in full but this is something the seller brought up that could potentially make the numbers work for everyone.