All Forum Posts by: John Byrne

Hi Rich,

I am down in Montco near lansdale. I am in the process of finding my 1st flip.

The property report said the pipes passed a pressure test, but it also said there was damage to the electric system, but the meter is red tagged by the utility company. So i dont know if there is actual damage to the wiring or if it is just that the electric is turned off , but the service needs to be upgraded from the current 60 amps anyway. I just would rather not have to rewire the whole house, but i have a feeling i wont be so lucky. 

Im just really trying to not get crushed on my first attempt.

Hi All, 

I have a property in mind that I feel is a good candidate for a flip. The house is a foreclosure in my area and needs quite a bit of work, which is exactly what I am looking for, but I am not sure how extensive the damage is to the plumbing and electrical systems. I will be buying the property in my LLC name and as such do not qualify for the owner/occupant status. As such it looks like once an offer is accepted there is no refund of any earnest money deposits if it turns out there is something structural I didn't account for in my estimate rehab costs. Would it be a good idea to pay $300 for a home inspection prior to submitting the offer as opposed to submitting the offer only to later find something seriously wrong and risk losing the $700 EMD.

I just can't seem to justify in my own mind paying a home inspector to inspect a house I do not have under contract, but as this is hopefully going to be my first flip I don't want to take a punch on the chin either. 

Any help or insights would be really appreciated. 

Hello, 

I have a property in mind that I think would be worth putting an offer in on. Its an REO currently listed at $100,000 with comps in the 190-210 range. The house is in rough shape, but has loads of potential. Does anybody have a recommendation for a contractor in the Montgomery County PA or Philadelphia areas. I want to get a better idea of estimated rehab costs before I place an offer. Thank you all in advance

The realtor you use has to be licensed in the state where the property is located. 

I am sure the listing agent would jump at the chance to submit the offer for you as it would basically double their commission.

Aside from the MLS and Realtors, where else have you found properties to buy. What marketing strategies do you use and who do you target? I have access to the MLS but I feel like there are more deals out there and I would love to hear some strategies used by the pros on this site to get some ideas.

@David Vitarelli

Glad to see some other people from the Philadelphia area logging on here. I am a license real estate agent as well as an aspiring investor in the area and would love to help you grow your business.

I feel like seizing the car would be more trouble than its worth. I would just find a collection company and send his account to them to try and recover any costs. 

I am the property manager at a 200+ unit complex, and if the tags or inspection stickers are expired or if the vehicle is in disrepair we have it towed off of the property.  I am in pennsylvania and we have never had any issues. 

We put a sticker on the windshield giving them 3 days to remove the vehicle before it is removed.

I really think the best option for our 1st deal would be to use cash. That will give us an opportunity to get our models and systems in place without the pressure of holding costs constantly looming over our heads. 

After we are comfortable and actually prove to ourselves that flipping homes is possible and profitable I think it would be best for our business to begin to take out loans and have multiple flips going. But for the first 1 or 2 I think using our own money is the proper strategy.