All Forum Posts by: Jeshua Patrick

@Randy E. you make a lot of good points. As you suspected, I have been spinning my wheels in my career gaining ground slowly and only recently have I made any significant gains in my “market value”. None of these gains have been significant enough to allow me to begin investing on my own terms yet. It would definitely be a risk; however, I have the tools and know how to do a lot of the work and feel confident I can find the people I need to help with work I can’t or don’t have time to do in the desired timeline.

@Brian M Sweeney the $20k is my emergency fund specifically for situations like this. I was hoping not to have to dip into it but here I am. I have not had an opportunity to network for money partners yet due to working full time and going to school; however, at least for the short term, work is out of the picture and I am starting my last semester of school in two weeks.

@Aaron Klatt it so happens that I’m not a complete noob but not an expert either. I just sold a house last year that we did a major remodel on, I know an extremely good realtor, and I know a foundation guy whose company also does some flips so I am better prepared than many. I would also be willing to partner with someone if the right partner in the Charlotte area came along but not sure rushing into a partnership is the best idea either.

First, some context. I just recently left a good stable job for a job that appeared to be an opportunity for professional growth. I was upfront on my current skill level and abilities and was offered a temp to hire position with the company with a 90 day upfront contract period. Today was two weeks from the end of my contract period and despite feeling like I did everything asked of me they said I wasn‘t working out and terminated my contract. So to my point, I have a 401k from my previous job worth $80k, $50k after tax, plus about $20k in cash and at least $30k in available credit. I have a couple potential leads on properties I could possibly flip. If I could get one under contract at a price that makes sense would it be worth taking the tax hit, assuming I could make back the loss in taxes of course? Obviously an SDIRA is out of the question for a flip. Go...

First, if it doesn’t cash flow it’s not worth it. Don’t throw good money at bad deals. However, if it doesn’t cash flow because rents are too low due to deferred maintenance but catching up on maintenance and raising rents to market value puts cash flow back where it should be then that’s different. Second, if comps are $50 lower then amend your offer to no more than market value. Most likely it won’t appraise anyways if comps are what you say. Maybe you should take a little more time to learn your market if you are struggling to properly estimate values prior to making offers. Finally, is this an on or off market deal? If it’s an on market deal and there don’t appear to be many on market deals that doesn’t mean the deals aren’t there. It simply means you aren’t looking in the right places. Go to REIA meetings and start networking to find reputable wholesalers and let them know what you are looking for and where you need to be on them. Learn how to do yellow letters, door knock, call for rent listings and ask if they have properties they want to sell, etc. It might take a while at first but if you are patient and put in the work the deals will eventually come.

KC Hunt how about posting some info and numbers on the property. What you could expect to get if you rented it as well so people can help you determine if it’s a good deal. Also, if it is a good deal, the idea of paying down more is great but not likely to pull a better interest rate. You are already getting a great rate for seller financing in this market as mortgage rates are starting to climb. Maybe consider finding a friend or family member to help you with the down payment?

I would love to be a part of this; unfortunately, I won’t be able to make the first one but if there are subsequent meet ups I will make it a point to get out to one.

Open houses are typically great, low pressure ways to get inside houses if you are only trying to get comfortable looking at properties. They are also a great way to get to know some agents in the areas you are looking to buy in. Just curious as to why you would be looking at new builds though? That is more likely to be a higher pressure environment. One tip, if you do plan to work with a specific agent when you buy, make sure other agents doing the open houses know up front if your agent is not present with you.

Any fees that you fail to collect prior to rendering a service carry a risk of not getting paid. The income class of the person you are dealing with doesn’t matter. The potential applicant is correct that you should have asked for the money up front despite the fact that you have something in the application about a fee. If you failed to ask for the money up front you will eat it 10 times out of 10.

Clint Earnest I actually agree with Greg Hamer on this point. If you decide to carry you must first be sure that you will be willing to protect yourself. Many think they are but aren’t so if you don’t think you would be willing to take a life in defense of your own or someone else’s then you shouldn’t carry. Not saying you shouldn’t own for hunting or sporting purposes but certainly not for self defense. Why? What if the bad guy finds it on you and takes it from you? Now you have just armed someone who has no qualms about taking innocent lives because you negligently carried a weapon you had no intentions of ever using. I also want to speak to the insurance aspect of it. There are several products out there to protect you; however, I recommend proceeding with caution as many will only reimburse after an acquittal. I do believe that if you carry you should have self-defense insurance but make sure that it will provide you with the intended protection. I personally use USCCA as they pay until you are convicted or you max out coverage with no obligation to repay if you are convicted of a crime as a result of a self defense situation. Also, they don’t only cover firearms related or concealed self defense so if you used a knife or other weapon or open carry you would still be covered.