All Forum Posts by: Jason Rivera

@Charlie Fitzgerald, that's what I was thinking.  It puts me in a weird spot b/c my partner didn't even know about the properties until the owner reached out to him.  In fact, he called me to tell me that he was going to look at one of the properties and it wasn't until I looked them up that I realize that my agent had emailed that one to me a while back.

I have an agent that alerted me about some potential investment properties that the agent found on the MLS a while back. I asked my agent to check into them and both of us forgot all about those properties when other, more desirable properties popped up. I never got around to showing my partner the properties either. We never looked into them and the properties were eventually pulled off the market. The owner of the properties coincidentally knows my partner and reached out to him directly and asked if he was interested in them for a far lesser price than it was listed for. My question is, should we pursue the properties directly or should we bring the agent back into the loop? Keep in mind that the properties are no longer listed on the MLS (I don't know if that matters or not).

I wasn't planning on finishing it but was wondering if its a situation where I'd be required to do something about it. The previous owner left a washer/dryer down there which would've been nice to put new ones down there but doing laundry down there must be a nuisance. There is space on the 2nd floor to create a laundry room.

I made my first offer on a single family home to flip.  The agent still hasn't submitted it yet and I'm getting organized for the due diligence phase should the offer be accepted.  There was 1 fairly big issue that I started researching and that was the height of the basement. I'm 5'7 and had to duck. I found some info that Philadelphia requires basements to be 6ft. While I would love to do something about this basement, if the offer is accepted, my guess is that the cost will blow my budget out of the water. If I were to purchase and do nothing about the height, what, if any, kind of issues could I expect? Could this be one of those cases where the home could be sold to me because that regulation didn't exist when the current owner purchased but any renovations would require the fix to be included?

Bryan, I was thinking along the same lines. We'll see how it goes with the agent but yes, I may have to try to find these properties some other way.

Thanks Michele.  In general, I tend to shop around when making most purchases.  I'll have to reign in my partner though. I've seen him go a little overboard on some of his projects. 

I was originally planning to buy & hold and after doing a ton of research, I decided to switch to a fix and flip strategy and revisit buy and hold in a year or 2. The 2 deciding factors were my plan to move out of my current place in a year or 2 and the fact that I'm not allowed to register a business to my current address.

I took my 1st steps in the fix and flip direction over the weekend. I'm going to partner with a relative with a much more flexible schedule than mine who can work with contractors that he's already formed relationships with. We'll invest 50 / 50 and split the profits (or hopefully not the losses) down the middle. I met with an agent over the weekend and gave him my criteria and he's going to send us a list of properties that meet it. 

I explained to him that I'm following the 70% rule and I think he and I are on the same page. We're probably looking at low income neighborhoods on fairly busy streets and/or near public transportation. (No dimly lit blocks tucked away somewhere).

Once I get the list, I'll work with my partner, who can better estimate what a rehab will cost, to make sure we're in the 70% (I'll take that opportunity to start learning how to estimate a rehap... checklists will become my best friend). I'll also review the property to see if it's a viable buy & hold if for some reason things happen to make the flip unprofitable... plus, hey, I did all this buy & hold learning, might as well use it.

Right... if I had the option to go LLC, I probably would, but given that my condo rules don't allow it, I'm wondering what are the common risks that should concern myself with as a sole prop on a flip.

Hi folks,

I've read plenty of posts and articles about choosing between sole proprietor and LLC. I'm still prepping but it's looking like I may start with a flip and eventually would like to get into buy & hold. I currently live in a condo and one of the association rules is that you can't register a business to your address so that would rule out the LLC at least until I move out in a couple of years. If I begin flipping, what possible issues could I be potentially exposing myself to that insurance may not protect me from and are these issues something that should concern me or are they low probability issues?

I don't think my wife will go for house hacking :)

The numbers have me kind of rethinking my approach. I might partner on a flip with someone who has been successful doing so and has the time to manage the day to day.

Still figuring it all out.