All Forum Posts by: Jason Brown

Where are you paying $850 dollars for a 1,000 names? Those prices are insane. You could get 10,000 names a month for $99 on any of the REI software programs.

Also where are you getting 1000 stamps for $115. That's incredibly cheap.

I'm a little confused by these prices.......

Just wanted to also mention that I do acknowledge that 10k is not a couple hundred and helping a solid team member does not mean turning a good deal bad.

I'm going to go the opposite way here. I've got a great contractor that I would trust with my life. Up until recently he used to leave some (not all) of his tools at my rehabs and just lock up at the end of the day. Unfortunately someone did break in once and walked off with about 700 worth of his things. Was it his mistake? Absolutely. Should he have always taken his valuables and tools with him every night? Absolutely. He admitted it and didn't once even ask me about reimbursement or covering anything. But with all that said I still cut him a check for about half the cost anyways. Why? Relationship, relationship, and relationship. He's a guy who always shows up and gives me no BS quotes which I'm happy to pay no arguments because his prices allow me to truly not be there, not deal with headaches, not hear excuses about subs not working, not discuss materials and not worry that a six week job will take 6 months. He made a mistake. We all do. We just have to make sure we implement processes so it doesn't happen again. Everyone wants to go hard ball process and procedure no compromise with contractors but the truth is that for a lot of us small business investors a couple hundred dollars to a tried and trustworthy member of your team will pay dividends ten fold over the course of your REI career. Hahahaha ok now everyone can let me have it fit for being a compromising, unprofessional......

I just had this same issue with a condo flip on Miami Beach. the jalousie windows were not closing very tightly and the air was escaping and insects were also getting in. I called a window guy I use and he basically dismantled the entire louver mechanism that controls the shutters themselves and then cleaned them as well as each shutter joint. It closed much tighter after that but still wasn't air tight. jalousie windows by definition will never be air tight unfortunately but they should be tight enough to prevent insects from entering. depending on the condition of yours maybe swap them out for regular windows if the energy efficiency is what you're looking for. mine was in a condo so i had to keep with the same window style. 

@Kenia Crevoisier as a fellow investor out here in Miami the only time I have ever been really burned for shoddy work was when I foolishly allowed myself to go with a contractor's cheaper NO PERMIT option. Roofers I've had to take to court, plumbers who have replaced main sewer lines that have gone wrong..... it goes on and on and all were done without permit. If you are going to tackle any of the systems such as roof, plumbing, electrical, & hvac you MUST MUST MUST get the work permitted. ESPECIALLY here in Miami. Any contractor doubling their price for work done with permits is indicative of the corner cutting their original quote implied. Permits are a couple hundred dollars and once they are approved the city inspector comes out THE DAY AFTER you put in for the request for inspection. I had a roofer tell me after the inspector left that the roof had passed inspection and that they were wanting their check. I looked online quickly and saw that the inspector had not only NOT passed the roof but also dinged them for failing to install two layers or roofing paper as is CODE. He knowingly knew that and tried to just lie to my face to get the rest of his money and leave. Luckily for me I know how to look at the inspection report as it is updated live online at the county website. I know permits and city inspectors can be a hassle but here in Miami they are 100% a guard against getting cheated with shoddy/incomplete work. Trust me I've saved THOUSANDS!...........rant over.

@Sunil Dudeja yeah this is definitely a problem all over. On my last flip, which was also in a rough area, we were sure to keep everything fairly boarded up and secure. While we didn't have any breakins what we did have to deal with was vandalism of our newly installed impact windows which was frustrating. A great help was the installation of the fence around the property 6ft high on all sides. Most thieves/vandals are looking for the least possible amount of work and are not too keen on stealing anything that they would have to lug/lift over a high fence. 

@Branden Rivero Yes it is the one on 2nd ct. I was seeing fully renovated comps of approx. 800K for them when finished. This is leading me to believe there was opportunity at the right price point. Like I said however I have never flipped one completely burned out such as this one nor have I done multifamily. This is why I figured just extrapolating my single family cost basis over the extended size would not work. I did not take into consideration the possibility of the city deeming it an unsafe structure and requiring an architect or engineer as I had assumed I would simply be restoring the original interior framework of the property through the typical permit application process. Outside of the time factor what would you estimate as total putback costs as being in your opinion?

@Branden Rivero the property is here in Miami close to wynwood. Any exact reasons as to why you would stay away from it?

Hi All,

I am currently looking at a potential deal in an solid C class neighborhood here in Miami.

The building is a 4 plex that suffered fire damage and was completely gutted. It's a solid block structure with 2 units on top and 2 on the bottom. I've done pretty extensive fix and flips before but I've never brought back anything on this scale. I know the basics regarding framing, plumbing/electrical rough ins, hvac and roofing and all the associated permits that go with those as I've done all of that before but they've mostly been single family/condos with this being my first multifamily rehab. Given that what do you think i could expect to spend even on a cost per sq ft basis to rehab this project? 

Again just estimates from any with experience having done extensive multifamily rehabs would really be appreciated in order to see if my numbers are within the ballpark of making this work. 

Building is approximatley 2700 sq ft with each unit being approximately 700 sq ft and consisting of 2 beds & 1 bath.

See pics below:

Thank God for questions and conversations like these. Can we have more of these and less "should I open an LLC...... well it depends on your goals" threads.