All Forum Posts by: James R.

@Taylor Hall

Penfed (Pentagon Federal) will do a HELOC in Florida if you own 4 or fewer properties. PenFed membership requires military service OR a small donation to their charity. I also think Space Coast Credit Union will do them.

Flooring like luxury vinyl plank, laminate, tile are all easy to learn. A bit more wear and tear on the body though.

Paint. Many say they can paint but in reality aren't very good at it. 

Basic electrical. Lights, fans, replacing outlets and switches.

Basic plumbing. Replacing shut-off valves, supply lines, shower/sink fixtures, toilets, dishwashers.

Hang blinds. Replace door slab and hardware.

The list could go on. What some consider easy are impossible to others.

1: Yes, it's possible. 

2: Build your business to fit your lifestyle. 

If you goal is to quit your W-2 job then how much money do you need to make that happen? Take that number and create a feasible plan with your wife. If you don't have her commitment then create a better plan.

There is a ton of free info on BP and the internet for REI. Books are also great. Take advantage of learning everything you can for FREE, then you can decide if you want to pay for some super secret strategy.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck then you should really build an emergency fund and payoff any high interest debt first. You don't want to throw everything you got into an investment property then have something tragic occur like getting layed off, costly medical emergency, or expensive property repair that you can't afford. 

Good luck Russell

There are special paints designed specifically for encapsulating lead based paint but they are pricey. If you are concerned about lead paint then have the property tested and use that as part of your negotiations to lower the price. You can then hire a professional company to remediate the problem so you can market the property as lead free. 

You can buy lead test kits at hardware stores to do spot checks yourself to get an idea of how extensive the problem is before spending bigger bucks hiring a professional to test the whole property. 

Was it a computer generated appraisal or a human appraisal? 

A recent computer appraisal I received appraised my property $3k under my purchase price with a "very high" accuracy confidence score. It took none of my renovations into account and pulled comps that really weren't comps. I paid to have a human appraisal and that came back $60k higher with legit comps. 

While telling the appraiser about the recent property upgrades I like to point out a couple nearby comps and price to help him/her in the right direction. 😁

@Ryan M. I'm no expert but where I see the potential issue is that you will have roofer friends helping you. What if one of them falls off your roof, gets hurt, and sues you for damages? A licensed roofer will have insurance and workers comp to cover himself in the event that occurs. I don't think your current home owners policy is going to cover you, you should check with your insurance company before you let your buddies up there. 

I'm capable of doing a roof myself; however, I have no desire to do so. My current rehab needs a roof so I hired a roofing company. 

+1 for Cozy

If you want to keep it simple there is also Zelle.

Why not buy a white sheet of Formica? It'll probably turn out better than one of those paint kits at roughly the same cost.

@Jonathan Alden I buy in the Central Florida area and target properties I can BRRRR. My current rehab will be roughly 34% CoC after refi. My best so far is a little over 600% CoC. I haven't landed one of those infinite CoC yet; perhaps I need to make that one a goal for this year.

I look for property in can be all in for under $150k (purchase+rehab). 

@Account Closed I wouldn't want to vacation in Sanford. It's near nothing and far from everything. I-4 is consistently a mess traveling towards the theme parks in the morning and heading back to Sanford in the evening with rush hour traffic would also be painful. I agree with Emmanuel that Kissimmee would be a better choice if you are targeting theme park vacationers.