All Forum Posts by: Jennyfer Sakiewicz

It does include the binding clause on both parties. Would something as minute as the seller signing her name only and did not write "Trustee" after her name invalidate the agreement?  She did have the words under her name on the second extension of the agreement. 

Trustee who executed agmt died. Successor says they don't have to honor it (bc they're greedy and the market has increased dramatically). It has binding clause. It has been renewed and extended twice, to expire 12/31/2023. What would invalidate that document?

Our first flip, pretty small kitchen and wallspace, had trouble deciding what backsplash to put in so I asked hubby, why not just paint it and let the new owners decide? Kitchen will be staged with decor on countertops which will be beautiful anyway. 

Also, we used laminate granite-look countertops for the same reason, and I hate granite. I prefer quartz. Stone is expensive and if someone doesn't like our choice, they might not buy the house. This way, if they want granite/marble/quartz, they have that option to upgrade to what they want. 

Thoughts? 

I have managed rental properties for 20 years and would be happy to assist you with yours if you are still in need. I live on the northwest side of San Antonio near Sea World, too, so the proximity is perfect. We can talk details privately. 

I LOVE The Miracle Morning and Hal Elrod.  I also LOVE Dave Ramsey and the Total Money Makeover.  Stay BIG in your thinking but wise in your steps.  It will take time to grow to that point.  Get working to bring cash in now, get your credit score up, save up some cash and do your first deal.  That will give you confidence, know-how and credibility.  Grow from there.  It will take time so don't get deflated if it doesn't happen overnight.  Stay hungry :)

I keep hearing that to become wealthy in real estate is "Don't be a flipper, be an investor.  Don't even touch a paintbrush."  

Working on our first flip, we're doing most of the work ourselves.  Yes, it's taking longer, but I'm still saving more than what the carrying costs are.  I am still not convinced that hiring contractors will keep me profitable.  I will crunch the numbers when we are finished, but I can almost guarantee there would be little to no profit left if we were to hire contractors to do all the work.    

We just paid a guy $1000 to hang drywall, float and tape a 1,500 SF ceiling.  He slapped up one heavy coat of mud without even feathering out or sanding.  I asked him about that and he said that whoever comes in to texture and paint will cover most of that up with the texture.  I thought to myself "that's gotta be some heavy texture to cover all those bumps!"  I thought he should have sanded it down and gotten it ready for texture and painting but he said, again, the painter will do that.  So, we got a quote from him to take it from it's present state to texturing and painting of this 1,500 SF house, interior only, and the bid is $5,620 which is $1.25/SF of surface.  My philosophy is this...if I take the time off work it would take me to earn $2,000, I could do the job myself and have an extra $3,620 in my pocket.

Installing kitchen cabinets is another thing.  It would cost $2,700 for a small L-shape 9'x10' kitchen.  I've done that before and it's not that difficult.  Not $2,700 worth of difficult for sure and I could do it in 2 days max including assembly of the cabinets.

Had a bid for $800 to tear down the top 2/3 of the brick facade; took us 1 1/2 hours with a hammer drill.

Bottom line, hiring contractors would probably eat away about $20k in profit if I hired them vs DIY.  I will find out when this project is done and I crunch final numbers.

I would love to hear from you.  If I need to change my mindset to become a successful and wealthy investor, please do your best to help me understand the role of investor who doesn't even touch their properties and still makes a decent profit.

@Michael Lewis another great tile tool is my RotoZip with a diamond blade.  I can cut almost any shape in the tile with that without cracking it.  The tile cutter is great for straight, through cuts and much less mess than a tile saw.  I've never had to use a tile saw and I've done back splashes, floors and shower surrounds.

I also ditto the painting, carpentry, minor drywall repair, plumbing and electrical!

Do you have before pictures?  $26k seems low for how beautiful the outcome is, even doing the work yourself, unless you didn't have to do major HVAC, plumbing, foundation work.  We're already at $30k and haven't bought cabinets, fixtures, bathroom tile or landscaping yet.  We got lucky uncovering some beautiful original pine floors that all we need to do is sand and refinish!  Did you get your cabinets from Home Depot? 

@Caleb Heimsoth LOL!  Thanks :)  Same to you @Jonathan Yip

My husband and I have been property owners since 1993 and landlords since 1999 of three single-family homes and would be happy to help with anyone's properties in the San Antonio area, or scoping out potential properties you are considering purchasing (going to the property and doing an on-site look for you).  We currently have one flip underway(!) and looking to grow our own rental/owner finance portfolio in residential and commercial. 

If I were looking at properties outside my are, one thing I would be very cautious of is tenant screening.  I learned from a experience that I needed to run the prospective tenants' names myself, maiden and married, at the courthouse(s) in the county(ies) they lived in the last 12 years.  When I had my agent run this one, nothing came up under her "married" name (they ended up not even being married).  She was refusing to pay rent and threatening to sue us for increased medical conditions due to a plumbing leak she claimed was in the slab.  We had 3 master plumbers check out the property and nothing was ever found. These outlandish claims got me suspicious so I started to research her and found under her maiden name multiple alias's and several criminal charges, even for felony theft. The online tenant screening services usually only picked up what is available online only and not what is only at the courthouse itself.  If anyone knows of a more comprehensive service, please share!  Luckily, we were able to evict based on the fraudulent application, otherwise, we probably would have had to go to court for all her false claims of unhealthy living conditions (the house was a 2003 Centex in immaculate condition).   I've had a courthouse/title research business for 27+ years and should have known to do my own backup search but I trusted my agent's report.