All Forum Posts by: James Wheeler

Check out your local Credit unions or local banks... not the national ones, just the ones in your state or city... they often have money to lend, lots of it, and not many people to lend it to...

Hope that helps!

~James

Yes, it is, and it takes time... remember “Whenever you get frustrated with yourself, remember that it takes 13 hours to build a Toyota and six months to build a Rolls-Royce.”

This is a numbers game, if you check out 100 properties and find 10 to make offers on, you might get 1 accepted... that means you need to get busy and work hard... also remember that the 70% rule is a rule of thumb and not an accurate measure in all cases... for instance on a property ARV less than 100k you need to make it 60% or less... I know that on deals over 200k I can get away with 80% unless there are some extreme rehab costs needed.

Just keep looking at properties and eventually you will find the diamond you are looking for... you might also consider finding a wholesaler in your area to buy from, or to double wholesale from... depending on the spreads, just try not to make them too thin for the poor rehabbers! 

If you want an excuse to not do this, there are many... if you want to find a way to succeed at this, start with "Why?" and when you know why you are doing it, ask "How can I do this?" instead of finding reasons you cannot do it.

~James

This is a rather tough question. I would start by saying that you really cannot compare your own use of appliances to the way tenants use them. In fact, it is very likely that they will be harder on them than you would be, even under "normal" conditions. Since they have not purchased the items and are not responsible for the care and upkeep of them, they will not take as good a care of them as you will under the same circumstances.

If the appliance is out of warranty then you can assume that it needs to be replaced after your tenant moves out. Also, carpeting and paint are common after a tenant moves out. Of course, if there are obvious signs of deliberate damage such as burn marks or cuts/tears etc. then it is beyond normal wear and tear. Of course, it is important that you take pre-move in photos and inspection sheets with the tenants signatures to substantiate any claim of intentional damages that may have occurred.

As for the disposal, well they go depending on usage and what exactly people are putting in them... My mother-in-law went through 4 in a short period of time, fortunately they were all under warranty and we were able to replace them for her without cost...

Hope that helps!

~James

Definitely worth the money, just upgraded myself to have access to the calculators and that alone makes the money worth it. Another advantage is that the pro account fees are tax write-offs at the end of the year through your LLC or other business entity... So in reality, this is a cost effective tool also. Highly recommend it if you are serious about networking, getting alerts for things and if you are serious about actually doing real estate deals.

Hope that helps some!

~ James

Time. Don't worry about putting it "all together." Get some traction driving for dollars or door knocking, make a mess of offers and negotiate the heck out of them... determine if you will wholesale, rehab or rent... then do it. Learn all you can and ask millions of questions... then Fail and recover, then repeat... eventually it will all make sense and you will develop your own systems for doing things. No one solution is right for everyone... try try again... embrace fear (false evidence appearing real or fail early and recover). 

Wishing you the best of success!

Writing our goals down is always a good idea! Love your goals and wish you the best of success in them all!

 I would definitely NOT recommend this option, especially if you are in an apartment complex... even if you own it...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/realestate/renovating-in-new-york-let-er-rip-not-so-fast.html?_r=0

http://www.katzmatz.net/lawyer/2013/04/01/Residential-Real-Estate/Apartment-Combinations-and-Renovations-%E2%80%93-Be-Prepared-!_bl7383.htm

Unless you are an expert at installing windows there is a good chance that you will also be in violation of one of NY's many noise laws, not to mention that the work would be unpermitted and may cause issues in the future... also, the type of windows that you need may be very specific, do the abut a property line? Fire Rated Glass... Is the building a historic building? You may need specially approved Historic replacement windows... NY is full of crazy laws and rules... not abiding them is asking for trouble.

Is it profitable? Or was is a wash?

If you are working with a contractor my advice is to negotiate. Everything is negotiable. I would say something like you can understand their rates and if there were only one or two windows that might be reasonable however this job is a larger operation and as they are effectively sub-contracting this you expect a discounted rate. Then I would see what they say. Whatever they offer, thank them and let them know that you will get back to them in 48 hours. Make them sweat a bit... when you call them, explain that you have had a couple of offers on the job and were wondering if they are flexible on their pricing... or offer them a rate you think is fair for the job, let's say $280 / window installed (arbitrary number), $8400 for the job. If they come back, let's say at $300 you would counter with, "alright, that could work... IF you can start tomorrow and be done by the end of the week..." Remember time is money and they need to see the need to hurry, heck if they take your offer you could "sweeten" it when negotiating start and end times by offering a "bonus" for early completion. 

There are only three ways to get what you want in life... Negotiate, Negotiate and Negotiate...

Also... you might want to let them know that as an investor you frequently need contractors for jobs and that if they are doing great work (and price is insinuated) then you would call on them in the future... oh, and they will also understand that investors have friends who are also investors...